Nurture Nature

ECO EM’S BLOG

NURTURE NATURE

This month we’re appreciating every drop of sunshine and spending all the time we possibly can out in the garden.

You may have been following our journey of self sufficiency on Eco Ems socials, but if you haven’t now is your chance to go back and catch up. Eco Em is the home of your all natural, plastic free gift boxes and skincare, but my interest in the environment started long before the gift boxes came about.

MY STORY

My love for the environment started when I got involved in litter picking and since then I have been on a quest to reduce my waste. This goes into every aspect of my life from shopping second hand to buying refill and making my own products.

Nurture Nature
I wanted to reduce the amount of waste I created personally and I’m still making every effort to do so. When I first started there were a lot of swaps and years later I am still using things up, but every time I need to make a change I do it in the most sustainable way possible.

And no I’m not perfect, sometimes I buy new things, often we get caught short shopping and have very limited options. But for the whole I am 90% better than I was. The main thing we struggle with is the food shopping.

ECO EMS HQ

When I bought Eco Ems HQ I knew at some point when the time was right, I wanted to create a vegetable patch. Last year with a lot of help from Matt we created our first raised beds, we salvaged beer barrels and even shed doors for our workshop.

And we grew our own vegetables from seeds, granted the crop was small but I caught the bug and I was hooked. I knew we could do it bigger and better and that’s when the planning started, as the season came to an end we started to think about we could do this year.

The list is long and we’ve only just scratched the surface but we have a plan and we’re working towards a garden full of edible plants, vegetables and herbs. This will reduce our food bill, help us eat more healthily and connect us to the food chain.

One day I want to live in a house with enough land to be self-sufficient and my aspirations are that Eco Ems will be our main source of income, we’ll be able to live off our land all year round and live the good life.

HOW FAR HAVE WE COME?

This year we have taken up the decking which was hazardous to say the least. It needed to go as I didn’t want my foot going through it. We’ve cleaned up the paving underneath and it’s revealed a large slab of concrete, which we’ll revisit later.

The paving has been levelled off relayed and ready for the shed’s imminent arrival. We’ve rehoused two new composters to join Courtney & Cameron, they haven’t been named yet but you’re welcome to make a suggestion, send me a message @EcoEmsGifts.

We’re relocating the water buts and replanting the borders with bee loving flowers and plants. I need to create a new border for the side of the garden as well, as the wood is starting to rot down.

We’ve managed to find pallets and collars that we’ve made into smaller beds. The grid pattern will allow us to plant more and get a better crop this year with more variety.

We’ve researched no dig beds and have started to create them already. The next big project for this year is the garage as it’s in the middle of the garden and it takes up so much room.

WHAT’S NEXT?

No doubt they’ll be plenty of jobs that crop up in between and we’re excited to see the full transformation as the seasons change. If you’re interested in finding out more about growing your own, DIY or garden projects then head over to Eco Ems Gifts on Instagram and give us a follow.

And please don’t be shy, we’d love to know what you’ve got planned for your garden. If you have any top tips for us and what your favourite vegetables are.

Thank you for reading this weeks blog, Nurture Nature.

Peace and love,

Eco Em xx