Like many gardeners I am very aware that continuing to use peat based products in our gardens is not sustainable and that we have to find other mediums that will replace them. I have been trying a variety of different peat-free products over the last couple of years. I was contacted by the people at Carbon Gold who produce and sell Biochar products, to see if I wanted to work on a couple of projects with them and I quickly agreed. I am trialling some of their products and their founder, Craig Sams, kindly agreed to answer The Questions.
Biochar is an organic gardening aid and Carbon Gold was founded by Craig and his co-founder Dan Morrell in 2007. Biochar is organic material that has been carbonised under high temperatures. Carbon Gold is 100% peat free and free from chemicals. Carbon Gold's website syas that the company is a B-Corp which means that it is certified as a conscientious business that prioritises its employees, customers, community and its impact on the world over profits. All very impressive!
I will be writing my review of their products shortly and in the meantime......
In which garden do you feel happiest?
Apart from Great Dixter, where else but my own? We have a lovely ½ acre walled garden on a gentle hillside with a huge, sprawling 200 year old mulberry tree, raised bed potagers and a lot of other fruit including plums, a greengage, apples, raspberries, pears and wild strawberries. Ruled over by a gigantic gunnera that needs to be regularly cut back or it would consume the whole garden
If you could only have five garden-related tools, which would they be?
What skill would you like to learn and why? (does not have to be garden related).
Singing. I am having singing/songwriting lessons and there's a great keyboard player with a recording studio in Blackheath who wants to make a few recordings with me. Watch this space!
If you could visit any garden right this minute, which one would it be?
Sissinghurst. I haven't been for more than a decade and love its history. Charleston would be a close runner up.
What is your favourite gardening/plant related word?
Mycorrhizae - if you look at the history of how they evolved, plants are really just the food-gathering tool of mycorrhizae, just as we are the food-gathering tool of our gut microbiome. Humbling. Those microbes have us sussed.
What do you wish you could do better?
Grafting. We had 20 Saltcote Pippin apple trees grafted last Autumn and I saw how it's done but didn't get the hands-on experience.