Gardening Press Event - Dalefoot Composts

Despite the snow the attendance at The Garden Press Event 2018 held at the Business Design Centre in the heart of Islington was very good and according the event brochure there were 110 exhibitors including a host of international brands. This is the 13th anniversary of the event and my second year attending.

I amassed a load of brochures and memory sticks and had some really interesting conversations with a number of the exhibitors. There were a number of companies showing there robotic lawnmowers and gardening products that can share battery packs, it looks like everyone is jumping on the Ryobi band wagon.

I came across Dalefoot composts who make compost using Sheep's Wool of all things!.

The composts are all made on the companies small hill farm in the Lake District. The ideas for their composts come from old gardening books.

Made from renewable and natural ingredients. Bracken is harvested on rotation improving the biodiversity of flora and fauna where it grows. Harvesting also improves the habitat for ground nesting birds and butterflies and in particular the High Brown Fritillary. Grazing for animals is also improved. Sheep's wool sheared each year from their flock and their neighbours - provides an alternative source of income to local hill farmers.

The company feels that they have made a range of environmental products that offer their customers strongly sustainable choices and real alternatives to peat. Dalefoot are also one of the leading contractors doing peatland restoration works. Working for clients such as Natural England, the Yorkshire Peat Partnership and Cumbria Wildlife Trust, they have built innovative machinery and techniques on both upland peat bogs and lowland mire for re-wetting and re-establishing sphagnum and bog flora.

They are going to send me a selection of their products to experiment with and it will be interesting to arrange some comparative experiments and see what the results are, the wool should assist in moisture retention which will be idea for the Tomatoes in the Summer sun assuming we get a sunny Summer!

I will post separate articles regarding other manufactures and suppliers of gardening material and produces that attracted my interest over the next weeks and months.