The Greener Garden: 4 Sustainable Options To Explore

Many of humans’ daily activities contribute to the decay of planet Earth. In fact, even when gardening, carbon emissions are released, which might add to the current problem of global warming. However, the good news is gardening can be done properly through various efforts and actions.

Minimizing environmental impacts should be your ultimate goal for a greener garden. If you’re wondering what sustainable practices could eliminate lesser waste in your garden, there are certain changes you can do. No matter how minor they are, these small steps can accumulate. And soon, you’d be able to fully adopt healthier and greener gardening methods. Here are some sustainable options you can explore to turn your garden greener.

sustainable options to turn your garden greener.

1. Reuse Materials That Can Be Used For Gardening

Recycling is a popular effort to make to go green. By incorporating used materials into your garden, you can do impactful initiatives to help save the environment.

For instance, you can declutter your home and find items you can repurpose into garden materials, like pots and plant vases. Whether you need upcycled stuff for your indoor hydroponic vertical farming or outdoor conventional garden beds, there are many recyclable things you might find in your garage or attic. Or you can also check out recycling shops and find materials you can repurpose for your garden needs. Who would have known your stunning flower pots were made out of recycled items?

You can refer to some online sources to learn how to make gardening materials out of buckets, clay pots, used pipes, and worn-out furniture. Just exercise your own creativity when recycling objects. Doing so may even allow you to expand your home’s individuality and explore new styles for your garden. This green trick wouldn’t only help the planet but would also allow you to enhance your creativity and resourcefulness.

2. Incorporate Native Plants

Choosing the right plants is a critical aspect of growing a sustainable garden. It’s therefore essential to incorporate native plants in it. These plants are a part of the balance of nature, which have existed in your region for many years. They’re easy to plant, grow, and maintain.

For example, one of the easiest plants to take care of is perennials that are already adapted to your climate, rainfall, and soil type. These require less maintenance, use less water, and thrive better than other plants. Of course, you can add trees and shrubs into your garden, but perennials are perfect to serve as a permanent garden display since they last all seasons long. You may also use self watering window boxes to conserve water.

3. Attract Wildlife

Attracting wildlife is another helpful strategy to raise a greener garden. Garden animals, such as worms, toads, and bees, could be pretty significant as they serve different roles and purposes. For instance, frogs feed on pests like bugs, beetles, or grasshoppers, which if left lingering in your garden might cause damage to your produce or plants. Another helpful animal is earthworms, which could bring more air and water into your soil. Lastly, bees pollinate flowers, which could add to the overall beauty of your landscape and garden. You can bring more life to your garden by making it bee-friendly.

bee-friendly garden

To have a healthy garden, you need more living organisms, especially in your soil. A healthy ecosystem is formed by hundreds of thousands of microbes interacting with each other and with plant roots. One way to encourage healthy microbes forming in garden beds is to use compost and organic mulch as fertilizers.

For a garden ecosystem to be resilient, the soil ecosystem must be healthy. In the plant roots, bacteria and fungi release nutrients that are carried by worms deep into the soil. These rich nutrients would make your produce fresher and more nourished, too. When you generate more living things, it would create rich biodiversity in your garden, which would, in turn, make your garden greener.

4. Shift To Organic Gardening

Organic gardening, a method of growing fruits and vegetables without using synthetic fertilizers, is an essential part of sustainability. Using fewer chemicals in your garden is not only ecologically sound but also more cost-effective. An added benefit is that organic produce would be healthy for you and your family.

You can do small baby steps by simply adding organic compost to your soil to make it healthy and rich in nutrients. And when you need to handle pests, there are natural and organic matters you can use to help you get rid of them. In fact, there are homemade pest control remedies that could work wonders in your garden.

Conclusion

Making your garden more organic and greener is enough effort to help save the environment. In addition to being beautiful and sustainable, stewarding nature enhances the garden as a whole. Hopefully, with the tips mentioned in this article, you’d be able to grow a fruitful and biodiverse garden.

Save Money with Sustainable Gardening

If you’re looking for ways to create a sustainable and energy-efficient home, make sure to consider your gardening practices. Gardening is a great way to produce your own fruits and vegetables. If you’re gardening, you’re already helping to reduce plastic waste because your food is coming right from your backyard rather than from the store.

You can become even more green by practicing sustainable gardening! Sustainable gardening uses principles and practices that help to protect the environment without doing further harm. It embraces organic gardening methods, conserves resources, and substitutes harmful practices (such as using pesticides) with more eco-friendly practices. And not only is it good for the environment, but it can also help save you money!

Here are 5 ways you can begin using sustainable practices in your own garden.

Reduce energy use

When planting and maintaining your garden, look for ways that you can be more energy efficient and create less pollution. For example, instead of using gas or electric-powered tools, look for tools that you can use by hand. Using a cheap cordless battery powered drill instead of an electric powered drill. Dig with shovels, clip with pruners, weed by hand.

Another way to reduce energy is to consider how you’re protecting your garden. Some people like to put an electric fence around their garden to keep out deer and other animals. Electric fences use painful electric shocks to deter animals from entering; depending on the setting of the fence, these shocks can be harmful to wildlife, pets, and humans. Instead of an electric fence, use a metal fence. A metal critter fence saves energy, is more cost-efficient, and does not harm animals. Another alternative is to install a wooden fence in order to protect your precious greenery.

Conserve water

Water is a precious, limited resource. Instead of watering your garden from a hose, create a collection system out of rain barrels. A rain barrel system collects runoff from your gutters when it rains. It is advisable to use aluminium guttering as aluminium has very strong rust resistance.

You can empty the water from the container as needed to water your garden and other areas of your lawn. Sometimes we water the plants too much than needed. It also helps a lot in saving water that we know how much or when to water our plants. There are freely given learning materials about this all over the internet. One place in particular, the Occupy The Farm website, gives simple yet detailed guides regarding this.

You should also keep in mind that runoff from your garden makes its way back into the water supply. Herbicides or pesticides contain harmful chemicals that can contaminate our water. Using natural herbicides or pesticides, such as vinegar, can still help kill weeds and prevent pests without harming the environment.

Make your garden a habitat

Sustainable gardening can help you create a backyard wildlife habitat. Even if you’re hoping to keep larger animals out of your veggies, there is a way to open up your garden to smaller critters. There are certain plants you can grow that will help provide food and shelter to animals such as bees, butterflies, and birds. Habitats will vary by area.

Grow native plants

Growing plants that are native to your area means that the plants will naturally thrive in their environment. They’ll do well in the existing light, moisture, and soil conditions so you won’t have to put as much effort into taking care of them. Another reason to grow native plants is that they won’t disrupt the ecosystem. Non-native plants can seed and spread to surrounding areas and prevent native species from growing.

You can save seeds from your plants from season to season. For example, if tomatoes are native to your area and did well in your garden, save the seeds from one of your tomatoes to plant again next year. Some people also like to scout out woods and fields near their home for native plants that they can seed in their own garden.

Start composting

Composting is good for you and for the environment! When you compost waste, there is less material going into the landfill. That waste then creates an organic material that you can use in your garden. Compost helps maintain soil quality and fertility, serves as a natural fertilizer,  increases water retention, and improves plant growth.

benefits-composting

It is easy to start composting. There are a few different types of composters you can buy or create. Enclosed bins are the most practical method for most home gardeners. The type of materials you can compost will vary slightly depending on your composting strategy. In addition to various types of food waste, you can also add yard waste such as leaves or grass clippings.

Conclusion

Sustainable gardening practices don’t just help you save money, they help you protect the environment. Look over your current gardening practices to see if there are ways that you can reduce the amount of energy you’re using, if there are ways for you to produce less waste, and if there are ways you can help your local ecosystem.