Page 57 - ALG Issue 3 2023

Decoy Allotment Field Wildlife Garden
Decoy Field is an allotment site run by the Newton Abbot & District Co-operative Allotment Association (NADCAA) and this article describes the corner that has been designed to encourage nature and wildlife.
The project was a joint effort between many of the NADCAA volunteers from Decoy Field. The purpose of the project was to provide as great a variety as possible of wildlife habitats, that would attract as many species as possible and provide safe havens for displaced wildlife whose habitat has or is being destroyed due
to development in the town. The area was designed by Clive Burton, and students from Co-Ordin8 (a charity that works with adults with learning difficulties).
Work began clearing an area of the field that was not good for cultivating crops in the early spring of 2018 and it continues to this day.
A large wildlife pond was constructed at the heart of the garden using local stones sourced for the pond edge. Willow rods were soaked to weave on site. Water lilies and other pond plants soon flourished and looked as if they have been growing on the site for years.
A Bug Hotel ‘Newton Hilton’ was constructed out of reclaimed materials, ready for leafcutter bees and other residents. A separate small frog breeding pond for amphibians was also constructed. A Hibernaculum was constructed to allow hibernating reptiles etc. to hibernate in the garden over the winter. A sturdy frame, also
Work began clearing an area of the field that was not good for cultivating crops in the early spring of 2018 and it continues to this day.
constructed from willow, was erected at the entrance to the garden. Seats were placed around the garden in both the shade and sun for visitors to the garden.
NADCAA volunteers took pictures of the project to
the Devon Wildlife Trust Offices in Exeter where they received high praise from CEO Harry Barton. He said that allotment fields were becoming key to the survival of our wildlife because they create green corridors throughout towns, allowing wildlife to move from one feeding place to another as their natural habitat is destroyed.
A spokesman for the NADCAA described the garden as “hugely beneficial to a wide range of wildlife” and there are now similar areas on all of the five NADCAA sites
in Newton Abbot where other volunteers have created similar refuges for our endangered wildlife.
“The Association is run entirely on goodwill by volunteers,” Chairman Tim Callard said, “Huge thanks must go to Mike who did so much of the hard work, Christine for helping to co-ordinate the project, Clive
for the design, Steve and Meryl for getting grants that helped make it all possible, Andrew, and Rob & Theresa for their help. Also Simon Jones who was very supportive and gave us a discount on the stone, not forgetting all the members that just turned up with plants that they donated. Thanks must also go to the members on all the fields where other wildlife areas have been created.”
Miles Pomfrett
Book review
‘Teaming with Microbes, A Gardeners Guide to the Soil Food Web’ by J. Lowenfels & W. Lewis. (Timber Press Inc)
This book, first published in 2006,
helps you ‘discover how to create rich, nurturing, living soils, without resorting to harmful synthetic chemicals’. It is
in two parts, the first part being the ‘Basic Science’ of the SFW and the second part, “Practical application
for gardeners”. The first part starts
with a chapter on ‘classic soil science’, explaining the processes for the formation, composition and structure of soil as well as the significance of texture, pH and Cation Exchange Capacity of soil. Though a lot of this is revision, it is a useful reminder that organic matter makes up less than 10% of healthy soil. There follows chapters describing the various organisms found in good soil and the role they play in creating and maintaining soil health. This is well illustrated with diagrams and photos oftheorganisms,frombacteria,fungi, nematodes and arthropods to mammals and birds. The second section of
the book explains how to foster and cultivate the life in soil through the use of compost, mulches and compost teas. It shows how to assess the existing life in your soil by various tests, though given that most soil life can only be seen through electron scanning microscopes or through laboratory testing, this becomes a rather academic exercise.
It describes how to make mulches, composts and ‘teas’ for spraying on plants and soils and the different
ways of using these in various garden settings. Surprisingly, though it is alluded to throughout the book, it is not until p166 of this 200 page book that the phrase ‘no-dig’ is used. At the end of the book, the authors summarise their main points into a set of 19 Soil Food Web Gardening Rules.
This book is an easy read, without too much technical language; however,
it was written by Americans for the American market and some of the terminology is distinctly American as aresomeofthephotos.Evenso,itisa good introduction to the importance of microbial life to soil health.
This book is an easy read, without too much technical language; however, it was written by Americans for the American market
For those who want a more complicated, jargon and acronym
filled read, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation have published a 600+ page report into Soil biodiversity; State of Knowledge of Soil Biodiversity2020 (Stateofknowledge of soil biodiversity - Status, challenges and potentialities, Full Report (fao.org)
Allotment and Leisure Gardener 57