Growing Responsibly for the Long Term
At Babylon Plants, we are all invested in the long-term commitment of looking after the environment and our planet. We made the conscious decision to move to peat-free compost over a decade ago, which is not only improving the quality of our plants, but also ensures we are no longer impacting the finite numbers remaining in the peatlands.
Harsh chemicals have almost been eliminated completely here, and we will only use them when absolutely required. This is to protect our plants, should the situation arise. We are continuously cleaning beds down, and keeping the nursery clean from aggressive pests and diseases. We follow rules and regulations for spraying, and you’ll only ever see us using product very early in the morning, or late in the afternoon – this prevents us from accidentally attacking the bees or our other six-legged friends which contribute to our eco-system.
Protecting Plants Using Nature-Led Methods
Most of our pest control relies on natural predators and organisms to reduce plant health issues. Predatory spider mites hunt control red spider mites in the tunnel. Nematodes are used twice a year to control soil borne insect pests such as swift moths and vine weevils. Bacteria are sprayed to control other moth species. Beneficial fungi are used to inoculate the roots of our bare root trees to aid establishment as well as being watered onto lavender and susceptible plants to control root rots.
A Meadow Where Nature Thrives
Our beautiful 4-acre meadow allows nature the freedom to thrive. It is full of wildflowers, native plants, grasses, trees, and even wild Orchids. Rare birds and insects are frequently recorded throughout the year. There are several ponds in the meadow where newts, frogs and toads all breed attracting predators such as egrets and grass snakes. We maintain the meadow throughout the year, creating paths for you to walk through and enjoy some peace in nature.
Sustainability Built Into Everyday Practice
Our commitment to sustainability affects all our sourcing and processes around the nursery. Pots are sterilised and reused, our offices heated with wood gathered from landscaping operations, our office is powered with renewable energy and all paper supplies are recycled and reused. Waste is kept to a minimum. Our residual non-recyclable and composable waste is so low, that we don’t even have a collection for landfill waste. What we can’t compost or recycle easily fits into the owners home bin emptied fortnightly.
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