Have you decided to plant a garden and intend to use natural gardening techniques? It takes a bit of planning and careful choices, but it can be done. The traditional choice would be an all purpose topsoil to help your plants establish longer roots. However, with extra effort, you can find versions of organic plant soil that have the benefits of topsoil and the organic elements your plants need.
When it comes to natural gardening, avoiding pesticides is a crucial step. If you look online, you will find plants that attract pests away from your protected crops. The pest-attracting plants won’t hurt your garden or the soil. The problem with pesticides or chemicals is the potential damage to your soil or nearby waterways.
If you don’t know how to find the garden soil mix you’re looking for, ask someone at a gardening supply store for some advice. Many companies sell organic potting soil for vegetables. Many novice gardeners find working with quality raised garden beds easier. These wooden structures are more accessible and allow the gardener to plant more crops since you won’t need aisle space between garden rows. Adding a garden bed to your home can dramatically change the way your home looks, while also providing you with an aesthetically pleasing outdoor space.
It’s a great idea to have a lawn. The grass and the plants and the trees contribute to the clean air in such a fantastic way. However, sometimes people counteract that by using chemicals and non eco friendly products to take care of their lawns. It kind of defeats the purpose of having a lawn in the first place. Participating in safe lawn care is not only good for you and for the planet but it is good for your lawn and will help to look better and last longer. Here are a few tips for eco friendly lawn care.
Forego the Fertilizer
You don’t have to use artificial fertilizers in order to feed your lawn. You can use compost. Compost provides natural nutrients that your lawn will love. That’s all it need to grow and stay healthy. You can even make your own from kitchen and yard waste. If you are still unsure about it after making it then feel free to test it to make sure it’s up to standard and has everything that it needs. Just make sure that you aren’t including any sewage or grass that has herbicides in to the compost mixture.
Don’t Whack the Weeds
Weeds actually tell us something about the soil. It does’t matter how we do it but if we remove the weeds, they’re still going to come back again. However, if you learn about weeds and what kinds grow depending on the conditions of the soil, you can figure out how to update your soil in order to stop weed growth and then you won’t have to worry about using chemicals to snuff them out. For example, if you are noticing a lot of dandelions then you probably should add calcium to your soil and cut down on the magnesium. Or plantains will tell you that you have clay soil that is heavily compacted.
Cancel the Chemicals
Your lawn doesn’t need nearly as many chemicals as you think it might to live. The main problem with using chemicals is that they seep in to the soil which then drains further down and ends up combining with the water supply and causing contamination to drinking waters. Not using eco friendly lawn care techniques could actually cause us and other around us to get sick. Natural lawn care will ensure that you are protecting everyone around you.
Plot Against Pesticides
Pesticides are an extremely strong chemical that do wonders to keep out critters and pests from destroying your garden. At what cost, however? Your garden may be beautiful but those pesticides are destroying our ground water and the world around us. A safer lawn care alternative would be to research which plants deter pests and grow those and use other natural methods to get rid of pests. Or you can also grow plants which attract predators to these pests but that don’t harm your landscape.
The fact is, chemicals are more convenient and they work faster. But, they don’t always work better. You may feel like you are fighting a losing battle trying to keep to natural lawncare and it may be difficult at first. However, like with many things, eventually your garden will start to run itself and you’ll see the great effect that natural decisions are making. Your plants will be healthier and more vibrant, your grass will be luscious and your flowers will bloom appropriately. At the end of it all, just one eco friendly lawn care decision makes more of a difference than it’s hazardous counter choice.
If you are just starting out with an eco friendly lawn care system, then it would do you good to really look into the type of grass, foliage and vegetation that would work well with a natural garden. This will eliminate the frustrations that can come from failed planting. Many people feel like they have a ‘black thumb’ but the truth is just that they aren’t matching what they are growing with how they are growing it. A little research, a little time and a little effort are all that is needed to build and grow a great garden that is not only beautiful but is contributing the clearing of the world’s air that is around us.
