Sustainable Gardening

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What is Sustainable Gardening?

In an ideal world, all the inputs, or whatever you put into your garden would equal the outputs, or whatever it produces. This is sustainable gardening. It’s hard work to be completely sustainable, but here are some things we can do to help even the balance.

• Compost like crazy to add humus to the soil using locally sourced, collected or grown materials, or materials otherwise classed as waste.

• Grow green manure cover crops to build up the organic material in your soil. The few grams of seeds that you may have to initially buy will pay back in a big way.

• Plant a mulch bed. Greywater redirected out of the waste stream from laundry and showers can be used for this safely.

• Raise chickens, ducks, rabbits or other animals to provide mulching and composting materials, as well as fertilizer.

• Save seeds from heirloom stock.

  Did You Know?

  By saving your garlic to plant again next year you will eventually end up with a variety perfectly adapted to your conditions? Garlic is one of the few types of plants that have this adaptive ability.
• Capture rainfall from your roof that otherwise would create runoff and potential pollution.

• Salvage the moisture from snow by creating swales to direct the water as it melts. The swales can either lead into a pond or other water storage or right to plantings that need more moisture such as a reed or willow bed.

• Mulch with locally sourced materials to minimize your carbon footprint.

• Use soilless mixes that don’t come from across the globe or destroy ecosystems in their harvesting. Make your own special mix consisting of sieved compost and other locally obtainable materials.

• Grow willows, hazels or other pole producing plants in hedgerows to make into gates, fences, hurdles or bean poles.

• Plant windbreaks or shelterbelts to help retain moisture, reduce wind erosion and provide habitat for wildlife.

• Use soil conservation techniques wherever possible in your garden.

These are just a few ideas of how to make your garden a more sustainable place. Can you think of more ideas? Upload up to four pictures of your idea or tip and share with other visitors to this site.

Sustainability in your Garden

How do you garden sustainably? Share your tip or hint here.

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go to Drought Smart Plants home page

go to Composting page

go to Vermicomposting page

go to Green Manure Cover Crops page

go to Chickens page