THE MODERN MINT BLOG
Hedges
Hedges were grown for practical purposes, the most obvious examples being to keep livestock in the right field and marauding invaders …
Flooding (Part 2)
To prevent future flooding there is a need to manage the land in a different way. The dredging of rivers will do nothing but speed up the flow of water to ‘pinch points’ further upstream. The use of sandbags is a measure provided too late, when normal life has been halted by water flowing into homes. Natural Flood Management (or NFM’s) must now be considered a major part of flood prevention. The critical factor of NFM measures? The planting of trees to slow down running water. By planting trees near headwaters they act as a buffer to hold up rainwater runoff. Planting …
Did You Know…
… Iceland is Europe’s largest producer of bananas. Solanaceae (plants from the nightshade family) are known to produce alkaloids that can be either toxic or advantageous (this depends on your view of the world, and possibly how much you’ve ingested!) Three alkaloids borne by the family are Solanine, Nicotine and Capsaicin. Capsaicin is the one that gives you the burning sensation when you eat a chilli. Several members of the nightshade family are now important crops – tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, aubergines and tobacco. Who would have thought something so tasty could be so deadly too? The Ginkgo tree is a botanical ‘living fossil’ with …
The Bee Cause
(For some background on bees start here…) The Bee Cause is a campaign run by Friends of the Earth. They have helped the Government draw up a Bee Action Plan to help stop the decline of pollinating insects. Now, on the 16th April 2014, you are invited to feedback to the Government on how to make their Bee Action Plan even better. This is your chance to speak. To attend all you need to do is register using the workshop registration form which is near the bottom of the page here. Hope you can make it! To help grow plants for bees, …