Читать книгу The Organic Garden - Allan Shepherd - Страница 33

Gone are the days when everyone covered their fences with creosote or white paint as a matter of course. The average can of paint contains fungicides, heavy metals such as cadmium, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Titanium dioxide, used in most shades but particularly in ‘brilliant white’, is a possible carcinogen and can cause respiratory problems and skin irritation. Paints also give off VOCs (volatile organic compounds) when drying. VOCs are known to induce eye, nose and throat irritation, headaches and dizziness; some are suspected or known to cause cancer in humans. There is now a range of environmentally sound alternatives for waxing, polishing, painting, decorating and otherwise preserving internal and external surfaces. CAT sells some of them, as does www.greenshop.co.uk and www.greenbuildingstore.co.uk. Brands include Auro, Green Paints, Stuart Furby’s Lime Earth Paints, Ty Mawyr Lime, Eco-strip, Holkham Linseed Paints, Osmo Uk, Earthborn, La Tienda, Treatex and Clearwell Caves.

stakes use local untreated chestnut, which lasts longer in the soil. Bash the stakes in at 2-metre intervals with a sledgehammer and draw the wire as tight as you can before fixing it in place using a hammer and 10-mm fencing staples. For more information on hedges, see pages 80–82.