Breathe Magazine

INSECTS WITH BENEFITS: Lure in the bee-like hoverfly with mint to protect your garden from bad bugs. Photo: Gayla Trail

Whether you’re concerned about what goes on your homegrown vegetables or wish to reduce your carbon footprint, here are some simple, yet meaningful ways you can make your garden greener.

make black gold.

Composting transforms kitchen scraps and garden waste into nutrient-rich fertilizer for your garden and significantly reduces your contribution to the local landfill. Ease yourself into it with a readymade bin or make a cheap DIY version using anything from a garbage pail with lots of drainage holes drilled into the bottom and sides, to a box built from a broken futon frame. Even apartment dwellers without a scrap of outdoor space to their name can get in on the action by keeping a small farm of composting worms underneath the sink. Ask for special “red wigglers” since regular ol’ earthworms and night crawlers aren’t up to the task.

turn off the tap.

Help ease the burden on a dwindling water supply by adopting efficient watering habits. Water your plants early in the day to avoid losing a large percentage to evaporation. Collect rainwater runoff from your home’s downspout using a rain barrel and irrigate plants with grey water. Toss out the sprinkler and water the soil directly, right where the plants need it most, using a watering can or soaker hose hooked up to your rain barrel. Water less often, but when you do, give the soil a good, long soak.

ditch the chemical cocktail.

Using toxic brews such as insecticides, weed killers, chemical fertilizers, and fungicides to reign in blight and plight in your garden creates more problems than it prevents. Building a healthy disease- and pest-resistant garden is the best way to stay off the spray. Natural fertilizers such as compost, vermicompost, and sea kelp have everything your plants need and won’t add damaging salts to the soil or burn sensitive plants. Welcome beneficial insects that are known predators of bad bugs to the fray by growing the flowers they love. Mint, tansy, yarrow, dill, chamomile, calendula, and basil are all good choices. Control an outbreak of weeds by applying a layer of mulch at least two inches deep.

choose plants wisely.

Grow plants that are right for your climate and space. Research plants that are native to your region since they will be well-suited to the growing conditions, and have acquired a natural resistance to diseases and insect pests in your area. Alternatively, conserve water by adding drought tolerant plants to the garden bed.

mulch.

Do your garden good and add a thick layer of mulch made of wood chips, straw, cocoa shells, or grass clippings to any bare, uncovered soil in your garden. Mulch prevents soil erosion, and locks moisture into the soil, reducing the need to water as often. It improves the soil effortlessly over time as the organic matter slowly decomposes on the spot; it also acts like a warm winter coat yet cools the soil and keeps the hot summer sun from overheating plant roots. As an added bonus, mulch can also attract slug-eating beetles and spiders to your garden, and control weeds.

Gayla Trail is the creator of YouGrowGirl.com and the author of the popular gardening book, You Grow Girl: The Groundbreaking Guide to Gardening. She is a frequent speaker and spokesperson on the topics of urban agriculture, ecology, and community.