Recently in Eco-friendly Category

Yet it doesn’t have to be this way. We can still have beautiful outdoor spaces while being more responsible in our choices of how we make them so. But where do we start? Indeed there are many ways to be greener, but here are five things you can do right now to be more eco-friendly, starting in your own backyard.

1.) Put the right plant in the right place.
In my role as host of Garden Smart on PBS, I have the opportunity to travel around the country touring spectacular gardens. The first question I ask the gardener at each location is, “What’s the one thing you do to keep your plants looking so good all year long?” I always get the same response, “Put the right plant in the right place.”

When plants (including lawns) are growing in their ideal environment, they thrive. And when plants thrive, they are naturally more resistant to pests and diseases. That means fewer chemicals going onto the plants and into the soil.  Conversely, when plants are improperly placed, they become stressed and prone to attack from those same adversaries. We unknowingly respond to these visible signs of trouble by pouring on the fertilizer and chemicals and making our garden even less eco-friendly than before. Growing the right plant in the right place dramatically reduces the amount of chemicals needed to keep plants looking their best.

2.) Use rain barrels.
Many parts of the country are facing a serious water shortage, resulting in restrictions and all out bans on outdoor irrigation. Harvesting and retaining rainwater for later use is like money in the bank. Rain barrels are one of the easiest ways to capture water from gutters and downspouts. Just a tenth of an inch of rain on a 1,000 square foot roof area can fill a 60-gallon barrel.

Keeping plants alive during drought conditions is good for the environment too since living root systems help reduce soil erosion and runoff of potentially harmful chemicals. You can purchase rain barrels today at many mass retail and garden centers or make your own.

3.) Make compost
There is simply no better amendment for your lawn or garden than compost. It is loaded with organic nutrients and it has something no manmade fertilizer can offer; beneficial fungi and bacteria; microorganisms that work wonders to improve the overall health and structure of ordinary garden soil. Compost helps retain moisture in sandy soil and improves drainage in heavy or compact soil. It’s also known to suppress numerous soil born plant diseases and buffer soil pH. The bottom line is, healthier soil leads to healthier plants that don’t require extra chemicals to thrive. An added bonus is that making your own compost reduces waste that could otherwise end up in the landfill.

4.) Get a soil test
A soil test, available from your county extension service or private labs is an easy and inexpensive way to find out about the nutrient quality of your soil. The report will indicate nutrient deficiencies and suggested applications to improve levels. But it will often reveal that nutrient levels are already sufficient, saving you and the environment from adding unnecessary fertilizers. Look for labs that offer organic nutrient options. Find your county extension service at www.csrees.usda.gov/extension.

5.) Use Mulch
Mulch is an important tool in so many ways. It keeps soil temperatures cooler in summer and warmer in winter, retains vital moisture in the ground, suppresses weed growth and prevents many soil-borne diseases from splashing onto leaf surfaces. As mulch breaks down, it adds back valuable organic matter. A three-inch layer around your plants and trees will help reduce the need for water and chemicals.

Just be sure when purchasing mulch that it is free of potentially harmful contaminants such as arsenic from treated wood. The Mulch and Soil Council has a certification seal to identify bagged products that are free of unacceptable materials. To learn more: www.mulchandsoilcouncil.org.

It all adds up.  These five simple yet significant actions are a great place to start. But don’t stop there! Some will do much, others very little, but if we all do something, we’ll be well on our way to creating a more eco-friendly environment, not only in our own tiny plot, but also for the one we all share and cultivate together.  
JL

Worms, birds and bees, these are a few of my favorite things. As a gardener and nature lover, I can’t imagine life without these three creatures. Each plays such an important role in creating healthy ecosystems and biodiversity. Without them, life wouldn’t be the same or possibly even exist. It sounds like a bold statement I know, but take the bee for example. It is single-handedly responsible for one third of the food we eat, including coffee and chocolate. Bees are directly responsible for the pollination of the plants that make them. What would I do without my bees?

Yet honeybees are in grave danger. A yet unexplained phenomenon known as “Colony Collapse Disorder” is decimating honeybee colonies around much of the world. The source of the problem has yet to be determined but it is strongly suspected that pesticides play a significant role.

On a related note, our beloved backyard birds are a welcomed addition to our gardens and landscapes. Their brightly colored plumage and melodic songs are the perfect complement to the plants and flowers we enjoy so much in our gardens. But in addition to the pure pleasure they provide to us personally, birds too play a vital role in maintaining biodiverse habitats. Many of our native plants are propagated each year thanks to seed-eating birds that randomly disperse them through ecosystems across the world. Birds are also a wonderful natural pest control since they eat millions of pest insects each year from our gardens and lawns. Unfortunately, according to the National Audubon Society, about seven million of our feathered friends die annually across America from eating insects poisoned by pesticides.

And then there is the lowly worm. Not so lowly really if you consider all that they do. They provide some of the most essential benefits to what happens below the surface of any garden or lawn. Known as “nature’s plow”, earthworms create a network of tunnels and pockets underground that allow air and water to circulate and roots to grow. Moreover, their castings (manure) are five times higher in nitrogen, seven times higher in phosphorus, and ten times higher in potassium than ordinary garden soil. A single acre of healthy earth may contain over a half million worms. But that number can fall rapidly when salt-based, synthetic fertilizers are added to the soil. Worms are very sensitive to adverse changes in soil chemical or physical makeup and will relocate to more hospitable environments.

All this to say that we gardeners and weekend warriors hold the key to protecting some of the most important guests we can ever have visit our gardens and landscapes. In order to provide the most inviting and sustainable environment for these vital creatures, understanding what attracts, repels and harms them will have a great deal to do, not only with the health and vitality of our own little corner of the world, but collectively, with the health of the planet as well.

A lot of people ask me if I’m strictly an organic gardener. Well, I guess in the strictest sense, I’d have to say no to that. I occasionally have to resort to using glyphosate (better known as Roundup) to knock out stands of poison ivy. Since I’m highly allergic to it, I can’t get near the stuff without breaking out. And sometimes, I’ll even use a little Miracle-gro in my containers when they need a quick shot of soluble fertilizer.

On the other hand, my use of man-made, synthetic chemicals are few and far between. Given the choice I prefer to use fertilizer and pest controls that are organic or natural first. Why do I say this? Because generally, they are kinder to the earth as they are manufactured (if even applicable) and once they are applied to our lawns and gardens.

Synthetic fertilizers are designed to be water-soluble. Contact with water releases the chemical and what isn’t absorbed by the plant (which is most of it), continues to move off target, either as storm water runoff, or through the soil into underground aquifers. Either way, these chemicals can wreak havoc in watersheds, promoting the growth of algae and depriving other amphibious creatures life-giving oxygen and disrupting delicate ecosystems. Organic or natural fertilizers on the other hand must be broken down in the environment first before they are in a form that can be taken up by plant roots. Accordingly, they are slower acting and tend to bind or stay where they’re put, at least much longer than soluble products. And organic / natural products are not manufactured with salts which can really throw off soil pH and disturb the living soil food web.

The very premise of organic gardening is to establish a healthy eco-system, above and below ground. Doing anything to disturb that is counter-productive to organic gardening. So what about tilling? It doesn’t even involve chemicals and would certainly be considered a natural or organic form of cultivation. But it greatly disturbs the soil structure and contrary to popular belief, should be avoided if your goal is to build healthy soil.

Pesticides are the biggest problem in my mind and the major reason why I’m a strong advocate of natural over synthetic choices when it comes to control. But even here, many natural methods are non-selective—my biggest beef with synthetic chemicals. Which is why I don’t spray at all if possible. Instead, I let nature take its course. It does much better than me at dealing with the pests in my garden. Of all the bugs, only about three percent are even considered pests (the ones that actually damage your plants). So why then would you spray any non-selective chemical on your garden when 97 percent are either beneficial or at worst, neutral? You shouldn’t!

But I do like knowing that organic controls are far more susceptible to breaking down quickly in the environment when exposed to sunlight. And I certainly appreciate the biological controls such as B.t and Milky spore that are very pest specific and harmless to other creatures in the garden.

The bottom line though to organic and non-organic, synthetic controls is the fact that no matter what you are using, it should be applied with great restraint, discretion and with the wisdom of knowing how, when and where to apply it. If you have to resort to any chemical, keeping it on target is a major factor in minimizing the environmental impact.

This entry is coming to you on Earth Day. Although it’s not a national holiday, I think it should be. Of all that we have to be thankful for, I’d think the world in which we live would be a good thing to celebrate. And although we have not been very good stewards of the resources Mother Nature has bestowed upon us, I believe many of us are working harder to correct the errors of our previous ways. Indeed, she gives us all we require to meet our needs, but not our greed. And that’s what has put us in a position of now having to make global changes to pull out of this unsustainable rate at which we are consuming those finite resources.

I believe that climate change is real and that we are the reason for it. I also believe that collectively we can do something about it to protect and preserve our planet from greater damage and for the benefit of future generations. But I also know it will take the collective efforts of us all if we are serious about turning the tide. I wear a green wristband on my arm that says, “growing a greener world”. It’s to remind me to make a difference every day in how I live and what I do for environmental stewardship. It’s also the tagline of my company. Because although my staff and I can do everything within our control to live more sustainably on a daily basis, we know it takes the efforts of us all.

As citizens of this earth, we are in this together and I’d like to think we’d all do our part to heal her. I am encouraged by the efforts I see by individuals, businesses, schools and governments to eliminate non-environmentally-friendly practices while implementing eco-friendlier ways. Even President and Mrs. Obama are making some significant waves around environmental preservation and organic gardening. Their latest addition of an organic vegetable garden on the White House Lawn is certainly worthy of great media attention and hopefully an influential message to millions of people around the world.

You and I can and should feel good about what we’re doing for the sake of the planet. And know that in spite of how small our efforts may seem, it is these collective measures that really will make a difference. From eliminating plastic bags when we shop, to switching to rechargeable or electric tools for our lawn and landscaping projects, and simply composting and recycling rather than sending so much to the landfill, it all adds up.  There is much to celebrate. Integrating a sustainable lifestyle into our daily lives is slowly becoming routine for many of us. There is still much to do but for today, let’s recognize that our efforts are making a difference and global momentum is building. Keep up the good work and don’t let up now. We’re just getting started.

Dear Santa,

As you know, I’m really into gardening, especially the ‘green’ kind, like environmentally friendly things such as not using a gas-powered engine for my lawn mower when a rechargeable model would do. I know you get what I’m talking about. You’re one of the original pioneers of eco-travel, circling the world every year on nothing but reindeer power (or is that considered natural gas)? Never mind, the point of my letter is it’s been a good year for me in regards to getting some cool stuff for the lawn and garden that’s eco-friendly too. So this year, you can skip my house, conserve a little energy and cut down on the packaging. But, if any of my friends have listed lawn and garden gear on their wish list, can you make it the green kind too?

Just in case you need a few suggestions, here’s what I’d offer them if I were you. First, it’s going to be cold and not much gardening is really going on after the holidays, so lets get them a good book on the subject. The Green Gardener’s Guide by…uhhh, never mind about the author. But it is the perfect resource to get them in the right frame of mind for spring.

Next, rechargeable lawn and landscape tools are awesome and these days, they’re a lot more powerful and more like the gasoline burning, CO₂ spewing mowers and blowers. Personally, I’ve been using my engineless push reel mower, made by Brill and it works quite well. Those would make great gifts since they’re pretty cheap and don’t take up as much room in your sleigh. By the way, if you run short on product, I found a neat online store that sells a lot of eco-friendly tools. They’re called Clean Air Gardening and you can check them out for yourself online when you get a chance.

And of course, the greenest tools are people powered. I’ve been having great success with all the neat stuff from Fiskars. You probably use their scissors a lot up at the workshop but I’m telling you, if you want to score points with all your gardening buddies, load them up with their pruners and other cutting tools.

Finally, we all need a good pair of gloves. I recently heard about the newest style from West County Gardener that will be out in early 2009. It’s made from recycled plastic water bottles. For every pair that’s made, one less bottle makes it to the landfill. Now that’s very cool, don’t you think Santa? So, that’s it. I know you have a lot more letters to read and work to do.

All the best and safe travels to you, Rudolf and the others.

Thanks Santa. Your friend,
Joe Lamp’l

Remember the old nursery rhyme song…rain, rain go away, come again another day? I get the just of the words, but knowing what I know now, I’m not sure I can ever bring myself to sing that song again. I don’t know about where you live, but for many parts of the county, drought is a serious problem, including my state of North Carolina.

I’m also reminded of the saying we learned in elementary school, “April showers bring May flowers”. Yes, that is true, but where did those April showers go? Is your May flower garden showing the effects of so little rain? Sadly, this global crisis has been building for some time and it’s not getting any better.

I can’t do anything to change if and when it rains, but I have done the next best thing. When if does rain, I’m harvesting as much of it as I can. I do that with rain barrels positioned under my downspouts. Even with a quick shower, my 50-gallon rain barrel can fill to capacity. I especially enjoy the freedom having a harvested source of water provides. In my area, we’re under watering bans and restrictions. So irrigating my garden from a hose or sprinkler is rarely an option these days. With my harvested water, I’m able to use a ready source of fresh pure water on my plants and flowers whenever I need—and it’s legal.

I also collect water from inside the house as I’m waiting for the water to warm up in the sink and shower. Every minute that water runs from the faucet equates to gallons collected for use outside. It’s also a really good feeling to know that I’m not simply wasting that water either. After each bucket is filled I transfer the contents to one of many watering cans I have stored along the back deck. It doesn’t get any easier or more convenient.

So between my rain barrels and harvested water from inside, my May flowers and the rest of my garden for that matter, are doing just fine!

JL

Q: As I begin planning for my spring garden, I am very interested in making a compost bin. Can I make a homemade one, or do you recommend a 3-bin professional model?