As the effects of global warming continue to threaten the world, it’s said that homeowners are now becoming more conscious and concerned about their environmental impact. Thus, they’re now more mindful of their tasks and activities to keep their carbon footprint minimal.
And for homeowners who love gardening, eco-friendly and sustainable gardens have become popular. If you’re looking to transform your garden into a model planet-conscious space, check out these valuable tips:
1. Start Composting
If there’s one tip commonly suggested to homeowners looking to create a greener garden, it’s to start composting. Composting can help reduce your overall waste generation. It allows you to use garden waste and food scraps and turn them into a nutrient-rich fertilizer.
Depending on the size of your garden, you can create a DIY bin or buy home garden composters that can store and keep your compost neat. Compost can be quite smelly and messy, it’s best to place your composting bins in a hidden corner of your garden, preferably far from your home.
With composting, you need to collect waste and place them in your compost bin. The waste you can collect include:
- Vegetable and fruit scraps;
- Eggshells;
- Coffee grounds;
- Leftover foods, except bones, meat scraps, and hard items;
- Dry, dead leaves;
- Plant and grass clippings;
- Shredded newspaper; and so on.
Sprinkle water over the pile to keep it damp. Then, mix and stir the pile regularly with a garden fork. In about 6-12 months, you’ll have a natural black fertilizer ready to nurture your plants.
2. Carefully Choose Your Plants
If you’re starting with gardening, the plants you choose can significantly impact your garden’s sustainability.
The best way to keep things green and eco-friendly is to choose plants native to your area. Native plants and trees acclimate to local rainfall, sunlight, and climate. What’s more, native plants are naturally resistant to local diseases and plants. Due to their low maintenance needs, you don’t need supplemental watering or use fertilizers and pesticides to keep them alive.
In addition to choosing native plants, consider growing more perennial plants and fewer annuals. Also, opt for water-wise plants and crops to reduce watering needs. Make sure to develop a diverse range of plants to establish a balanced ecosystem that can effectively support itself.
3. Conserve Water
Homeowners know how much water is needed to maintain their gardens and keep them flourishing. Nonetheless, since droughts and water shortages are becoming more common, conserving water is critical to keeping your garden sustainable.
Generally, you can help conserve water in your garden with several methods. For one, you should stop using lawn sprinklers. While they may offer convenience, they’re the biggest water-wasting culprits in your garden. Instead, opt for a manual watering routine utilizing a hose to control water. Make sure to use a trigger on the hose to help control water flow.
When watering plants, do so late at night or early in the morning. This ensures that water reaches the roots and prevents evaporation in the day’s heat. And prioritize watering young plants and seedlings more frequently. Bigger plants are more established and can survive for days without water.
If you have the time and budget, consider adding a rainwater barrel or a specialized harvesting system. When it rains, this system can help collect free water from the sky that you can use for watering during dry days instead of wasting clean drinking water.
4. Avoid Chemicals
Designing a sustainable and green garden is one that uses no chemicals. Committing to a no-chemical garden can ensure a healthy environment for your plants and your health.
Chemicals can damage the environment and have harmful consequences for your health. Pesticides can kill pests, herbicides can eliminate annoying weeds, and chemical fertilizers can create lush gardens, but they can pollute and contaminate underground water and soil. Plus, inhaling any of their toxic fumes can cause serious health problems, from worsening respiratory conditions to chronic conditions like developmental toxicity, reproductive issues, and even cancer.
Generally, there are simpler and safer alternatives to fight against pests that won’t harm you, your family, or Mother Earth. For instance, if you want to eliminate pests, you can add flowering plants that attract predatory pollinators.
For those aiming for a farm-based lifestyle, chickens are natural predators. If left free to roam, they’ll spend most of their days gobbling up lawn grubs while fertilizing and aerating your lawn. You can make your own pesticides using natural ingredients as well such as peppers and neem plants.
5. Reuse And Recycle
Some gardeners are guilty of purchasing pots and decorative accessories for their gardens. However, to create an eco-friendly garden, you should focus on reusing and recycling materials instead of buying new ones.
In this case, your imagination and creativity are the limits. A simple web search can give you an endless list of DIY recycling gardening decorations. You can use large plastic bottles and metal cans as pots. Cardboard tubes and egg crates can be reused to grow seedlings. Also, you can find recycled concrete aggregate you can use for paving and eco-landscaping ideas.
6. Take Advantage Of Solar Lights
Outdoor lighting is essential to showcase your beautiful garden after sundown. Yet consider using solar lights for an eco-friendly garden instead of depending on electricity.
These lighting fixtures can collect solar energy during the day and light up your garden at night without relying on traditional electricity. Numerous options are available to help illuminate your garden, including string lights, pathway lights, and even spotlights powered with solar panels.
With the right solar lights, you can create a whimsical garden at night while saving money on electric bills and reducing your carbon footprint.
Takeaway
Creating a greener and more sustainable garden may seem daunting, but it’s a lot easier than you think. Having a garden in the first place already makes your property eco-friendlier than properties that don’t.
That said, you may need to make a few simple changes to ensure that your garden positively impacts the environment. The tips mentioned above can help you get started toward a more sustainable and greener garden.