Celebrating Organic September!

In this special section we bring you four great features aimed at improving your crops and allowing nature to thrive

MAKE YOUR GARDEN MATTER

This Organic September, Garden Organic is showing that all gardens -no matter how small - can make a difference to biodiversity. Alice Whitehead shares the gardening charity's top tips...

A container of herbs can offer up bundles of fragrant cuttings for the kitchen and pretty flowers - but this little bit of green could also make a big difference to wildlife. When knitted together between gardens and streets, even a raised-bed vegetable plot or patio of flowerpots can have a positive impact on nature. And if everyone in your neighbourhood joined in, imagine the difference it would make to biodiversity loss.

In our Every Garden Matters research paper, published in March, we showed how small steps in front gardens, balconies, shed roofs and vegetable patches can create green corridors in towns and cities which increase biodiversity around your home and in the community. This 'biodiversity' includes all life forms such as plants and soil micro-organisms, which go on to support invertebrates, reptiles, amphibians, birds and mammals.

Figures show global wildlife populations have plummeted by 69% on average since 1970, with the main drivers being human use of land and climate change. As rural habitats fragment, gardens and vegetable patches become dispersal highways for wildlife to find food, shelter and breeding grounds.

While small urban gardens can be challenged by space, shading from tall buildings and poor soil, there are still lots of ways you can utilise what you have for the benefit of nature. And it doesn't have to be messy. Here we offer some practical and pretty ways to boost biodiversity in your growing space.

REWILD A WINDOW BOX

If space is at a premium and your garden is no bigger than a postage stamp, you can still attract insects with a mini garden in a large window box or trough.