Useful links

Essential Tools & Resources I use every week

See this page for more information on my recommended gardening products such as the wires.

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Where to buy my books and gardening products in other countries

Ireland

• Books and module trays from Quickcrop

The Netherlands

• Books and module trays from The Farm Dream -  can be shipped to EU countries

Denmark

• Books from Saxo
• Module trays from FantastiskeFroe

Norway

• Module trays from Lindholm gård

USA and Canada

• Books from Chelsea Green Publishing (self-published books only, though at present not including my Calendar or No Dig Cookbook)
• Module trays and long-handled dibber from All About The Garden

Australia and New Zealand

• Module trays from J & E Stevenson in Tasmania.

Amazon also sells my books and calendar, for shipping internationally.

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Recommended Reading

• I have a page on Shepherds Books where I list books that have helped and inspired me.
• Silent Earth. Insects are essential for life as we know it - without them, our world would look vastly different. Drawing on the latest ground-breaking research and a lifetime's study, Dave Goulson reveals the long decline of insect populations that has taken place in recent decades and its potential consequences, and asks for profound change at every level.

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Compost & Mulches

• Compost etc for beds from Woodland Horticulture, based in Somerset and delivering widely.
• I have trialled and like this compost for propagating from Pete's Peat Free.
• In and around Bristol, Phoenix Green Solutions make good compost
• AllGrowSupplies sell excellent compost for raising plants: it contains some peat, a waste product from Yorkshire water filtration.
• Corker is a family-run nursery in Kent that offers mushroom plus other composts and excellent service.
• Online turf sell mushroom compost by the cubic metre, also bulk composts and soil.
• Viridor sell green waste compost.
• Mulch material to kill weeds, made of wool in N. England by ChimneySheep.
• Biodegradable mulch materials from Hy-Tex, for weed control.
• www.carbontrap.org sell Miscanthus Bedding/Mulch – this is shredded grass, half way between straw and wood chips, white in colour.
• Arbtalk is a website in the UK dedicated to helping tree surgeons find tip sites for wood chips or waste tree surgery timber. You can register as a site wanting delivery of wood chip, if you have the space to accommodate a load.

Reporting Aminopyralid Contamination

If you think your garden or allotment has been affected by aminopyralid or clopyralid residues in manure or compost please do report the problem using this link. Please note this form is only for the UK and Ireland. I am assured this information is reviewed by the UK government 6 monthly to assess the effectiveness of the aminopyralid 'stewardship' program which is a condition of the UK  license.For more information on contaminated compost, see this page.

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Seed & Plants

• www.realseeds.co.uk for seeds and info ion seed saving
• Bingenheim Seeds of Germany offer a catalogue with organic and biodynamic seeds. They no longer ship directly to individuals in the UK due to the extra customs regulations. They have partnered with a UK company who offer a product range of their open pollinated organic varieties.  They are Tamar Organics
• Culinaris from Germany offer unusual kales, blight resistant tomatoes et al
• www.seedsofitaly.co.uk for seeds, especially endive & chicory
• Delfland near Ely is a plant nursery where you can buy wholesale amounts of excellent transplants
• Pennard Plants of Somerset sell cuttings of Taunton Deane kale plus other great plants
• Hopes Grove Nurseries in Kent sell native hedging plants and more
• www.walcotnursery.co.uk sell organic fruit trees
• Royale Organic‘s tips on seed saving introduce the easier vegetables to try

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Bees & Wildlife

• Solitary bee observation nest boxes from Nurturing Nature
• Fragrant flower ideas, for attracting bees to your garden
• Arena Flowers site has great information on bees and beekeeping
• www.carymoor.org.uk for learning about/demos of habitats and different wildlife
• more information on bees with some useful links

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Useful extras

• Bacillus thuringiensis from ProGreen.co.uk - sold for Box trees and hedges, also kills brassica caterpillars. If this link is broken, type 'Bacillus thuringiensis caterpillars' or 'Dipel' into a Search bar.
• better plants.ie  sell excellent dried and powdered seaweed, from Irish beaches
• Agralan sell basalt rockdust in 20kg sacks.

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Associations & Learning

• I recommend workshops on soil microbes and microscopy with Eddie Bailey at his Cotswold home
• Monthly gardening advice from Which? UK, includes my articles – special offer
• You Tube channels for growing flowers, a nice selection by Dipto Ghosh of Flowers Across Melbourne
• Budcasts from Sarah Wilson at Roots and All, includes an interview with Charles epidote 47, type "budcast sarah wilson charles dowding" into Search
• www.biodynamic.org.uk for biodynamic information
• Help with career change to gardening, and learning through Skills Day – contact WFGA
• Learn more about earthworms with the Earthworm Society of Britain
• www.lunarorganics.com for calendar of moon phases
• www.organicgrowersalliance.co.uk for news, ideas and forum of commercial growers
• Educational Resources on Life Skills for Wellness
• 'No till farming' event in Herts Groundswell at the Cherry's no till farm
• www.rootsandshoots.org.uk for horticultural training in SE London

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Research

• Frontiers in Environmental Science reports how soil biology (invertebrates etc) is damaged by pesticides
• How compost helps soil biology to conserve nutrients and reduce leaching, by Tom Willey
• Scientists at Rothamsted in 2020 are observing the benefits of more soil life, and endorse no dig
• Minnesota University photos of weedkiller/herbicide damage to leaves – helps identify any problem
• WRAP info on bioassays for pyralid herbicides in composts – check with field beans
• Tips on using Bacillus thuringiensis from Kentucky College of Agriculture
• Benefits of gardening to cancer and mental health sufferers
• Research comparing ‘traditional composting’ with bokashi fermentation, assumes traditional means repeat turning!!
• Garden without pesticides, advice from PAN UK

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Charities supporting soil health and gardening

• Tiyeni, a Malawian NGO (with a UK fundraising team), trains communities in Deep Bed Farming – a low tech, low cost method to sustainably and rapidly increase yields.

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Somerset Activities & Eateries

• www.millonthebrue.co.uk for children’s organic activities
• www.atthechapel.co.uk for excellent meals in Bruton and bread from their wood fired oven

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Other

• www.cotna.co.uk for a great holiday, woofing, compost loos…
• Something different, lovely pictures and mirrors from old wood in Germany
• View microscopic soil life in digital art! By Katelyn Weel, soil scientist in Norway
• Teemil – sweatshirts and T shirts with Charles's own no dig designs, in organic cotto
• Mesothelioma Hope – an advocacy organisation that provides free educational resources, support, and information to anyone that may have questions about asbestos-related diseases

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