Have you heard words such as green living, eco-friendly environment, conscious decision-making, and sustainable life? These are powerful promises and efforts people make worldwide to negate our carbon footprint’s effects. The realization of giving back to nature is gaining popularity and bringing about great responses. So, how can you be sustainable? If you have a garden, then you have a great starting point. Maintaining your garden can be therapeutic, and with sustainable practices, it is very economical. You get beautiful-looking real green landscaping with minimal effort. Even the most contemporary garden designs can be made with innovative technology and ethically sourced materials.
Come along with us to sustainably enhance the look of your garden and achieve inspirational garden ideas.
Best Sustainable Practices for Your Eco-friendly Garden
Sustainable gardening means deploying gardening methods that help grow plants and trees in a way that does not impact the future generation’s ability to garden and grow. Therefore reducing the use of chemicals, conserving water, and maintaining healthy soil. All these efforts aim to keep the environment healthy while maintaining real green landscaping. Here are ways to start your sustainable gardening journey.
1. Recycling & Repurposing
When designing your garden, you can look for recycled materials for installed structures (tin baths and buckets, clay pipes) in paths, patios, and walls. These are available online on places like eBay and Freecycle, or you can get them through reclamation yards. You can also be creative with your design and give your lawn uniqueness and character. It is also budget-friendly. Moreover, repurposing things as home as garden crafts will also add to its look. You can use plastic bottle pots, bicycle planters, wooden plant shelves, and more[1].
2. Conserve Water
Water is a resource that can be taken for granted. It is important to conserve clean water to sustain it for generations. For this, make sure that every downpipe has a butt on it. Having barrels with it will further help you collect water and store it. This will also help you cut costs on irrigation through sprinklers. Only the plant roots need water; hence, you can use the collected water. Rainwater is also great for plants. The container will allow you to collect and use it for the garden.
3. Minimize Chemical Use
Consistent use of chemical-based fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides can damage the soil. Performing soil testing can be very beneficial here as it will guide you on what nutrients your soil lacks. You can use organic fertilizers or compost to fulfill the soil’s needs. It also helps you understand which plants can be grown easily in your soil and may not require fertilizer.
4. Make Compost at Home
Compost can easily be made at home and is a great natural fertilizer. Using food scraps to form a natural fertilizer makes you mindful of your food waste and gives you a sense of achievement in your steps toward sustainability. There are different types of composts that you can make with various foods [2], and it takes a few weeks to get ready to be used. Composts help better water retention in the soil, reducing the watering frequency for you.
5. Mulching
Mulching is the easiest way to provide nutrients to the soil and prevent weeds and insects. It also slows the water evaporation. Therefore you can water less. Moreover, it warms up the soil and helps its microorganisms grow and function well. Mulching is done by leaving a light layer of grass clippings, straws, and old leaves on the lawn. They decay and become an organic way of nutrition for the soil. Mulching helps in the fast growth of plants and vegetables.
6. Companion Planting
Companion planning [3] is a smart technique for growing plants that help each other. You can grow tomatoes around tomatoes to avert whiteflies. Similarly, you can grow garlic and onions between carrots to mask the smell of carrots, preventing carrot root flies. This technique requires planning and researching which vegetables and fruits can be grown around each other and in your soil for the most benefit. This will help you reduce the use of pesticides.
7. Go for Native Plants
Plant selection is critical when planting in your garden [4]. This means that plants that are correct for the area based on the soil and environment grow easily and require less effort. Non-native plants need more water, nutrients, care, and effort to grow. Native plants grow easily and require less maintenance and resources. Additionally, they are eco-friendly as they support native pollinators by providing food and shelter.
8. Use Protective Nets
Some pests and caterpillars still attack your precious homegrown plants despite several methods of prevention. The best technique to stop all the plant-eating insects is by covering them with nets. This will stop the insects and help you avoid harsh chemical-based pesticides. A good quality, strong net is a great investment as it saves your plants and can be used year after year for real green landscaping.
Conclusion
A conscious effort towards sustainable gardening can have a huge positive impact on the environment. It is great for the environment, gives you a high-quality yield, and keeps the soil healthy for generations to come. Starting small by implementing a few sustainable gardening practices can take a long way. You will not only notice the quality of your plant growth, but it will also add to the real green landscaping of your garden. Your garden will become more vibrant and healthy. Moreover, the local ecosystem will improve.
FAQS
1. What is green gardening?
Green gardening uses sustainable methods for growing plants, such as using compost instead of fertilizer, identifying bugs instead of pesticides, and pulling out weeds instead of herbicides. With green gardening you promote the health of the garden and the ecosystem.
2. Which plants are best to make your garden sustainable?
Plants that take nitrogen from the air and store it in the roots benefit the garden as it reduces the need for fertilizers. These plants include lupins, peas, and beans.
3. How can I improve the quality of the soil?
The sustainable way to improve the quality of soil is by adding organic matter to it, such as compost and mulch.
4. What is a native plant?
These are naturally occurring plants in a particular region that have co-evolved with the wildlife. They grow without human introduction.
[1]https://sustainmycrafthabit.com/diy-upcycling-projects-for-the-garden/
[2]https://www.bhg.com/gardening/yard/compost/how-to-compost/
[3]https://www.gardenersworld.com/plants/10-companion-plants-to-grow/
[4]https://www.vanleeuwengreen.com/blog/plant-selection-top-6-things-consider-garden