Garden for a Greener Earth
How to tend your garden in a way that’s good for your landscape and the planet.
Having a green thumb is a good thing. And helping the earth be greener in the process? Well, that’s an even better thing. Here are the ways I’ve learned to be kinder to the environment when I’m in the garden.
MULCH WITH CARE
Years ago, I mulched my front garden with dyed wood chips. The uniform color looked terrific, but when I dug beneath the mulch to plant, there was a spooky absence of earthworms. Although there’s some concern about the dyes, the University of Florida Extension says the real danger lies with the wood, because it’s sometimes recycled from treated or contaminated materials. Use natural wood chips instead. They are often available for free from local municipalities.
LEAVE THE LEAVES
As a kid, I earned money raking leaves for the neighbors. Back then, the leaves were sent to the dump. What a waste! Today, many communities collect and compost leaves. While that’s good, I’d rather save money on bags and keep the nutrients in my yard. You can mow over leaves and use them to mulch beds. Or add them to your compost bin to help kitchen scraps break down faster.
BE NATIVE-MINDED
Tempting as it is to plant exotics you find at the nursery (many do make fantastic houseplants), your garden will require less upkeep with plants that are familiar with your growing conditions, so grow native plants instead. They’re hardier, and need less water and fertilizer once they get established. As a bonus: Native plants are more useful to backyard birds than exotics.
GO NATURAL
A walk through the aisles at a big-box store will tell you how dependent we’ve become on pesticides and herbicides. Fortunately, more and more organic alternatives are showing up. Give these products a go instead (be sure to follow instructions), or forgo using any additives altogether. You can just pull weeds for peace of mind—and to know you’re not killing one of nature’s valuable pollinators.
GET PLASTIC-SAVVY
Pots made of plastic are convenient, but it’s hardly green to dump them in the trash after planting. When possible, buy plants in biodegradable peat pots. If you end up with plastic, repurpose it or recycle at a big-box store. I often start seeds in old cell packs and sink larger used nursery pots into the ground to contain roots of aggressive plants like gooseneck loosestrife and other spreaders.
PUT NATURE TO WORK
The late Ruth Stout wrote a series of gardening books in the ’70s on the benefits of mulching in place. This is called the Ruth Stout Method, and I can vouch for the fact that it saves labor, feeds plants and conserves soil moisture. The concept is simple: Mulch plants and beds with natural debris such as leaves, straw and pulled weeds. Then let nature do the rest.