Many people hear the word organic and automatically think, "How much more is this going to cost me?" But in the case of gardening, the opposite is true. With a little strategic planning and less intrusion, you can have a healthy, natural, chemical-free yard with less maintenance and money. Here's how:
Planting Strategies:
- Grow native plants: They thrive in familiar soil and weather conditions therefore requiring less attention and watering; they also attract birds that keep bugs at bay and bees and butterflies that help pollinate.
- Location, location, location: Planting grass and plants in a location that will provide proper conditions greatly reduces maintenance, water use, disease and pests.
- Employ an integrated pest management system: Choose plants that attract beneficial bugs such as spiders, bees and beetles that feed on the bad bugs that kill your plants.
- Create an edible landscape of fruit trees, berry bushes, vegetables and herbs: Planting your own food is healthy and saves money on groceries.
- Grow multipurpose plants: They create harmony, diversity and give you more bang for your buck.
- Accept non-invited plants: Just because you didn't plant it, doesn't mean you should pull it. Many beneficial weeds are edible and/or medicinal and provide shelter and food for garden-friendly insects.
Maintenance:
- Stop killing bugs: As mentioned above, predatory bugs play a critical role in the health and maintenance of your yard.
- Water at night or use drip/soaker hoses, especially during hot spells: This reduces evaporation, which means the plants get more water and you aren't throwing money down the drain.
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- Cut your lawn less often: Longer grass needs less water and food.
- Use a push/reel mower instead of gas-powered: Keeps emissions out of the air and doesn't cost anything to operate.
- Wear aerator sandals: Pins on the soles poke holes helping water and nutrients reach grass roots.
- Skip the raking: Lawn clippings and fallen leaves contain nitrogen and soil conditioners.
- Get to work: For invasive weeds that are not beneficial, the best removal method is good ol' fashioned handpicking.
- Compost: The secret to healthy plants is healthy soil, and nothing feeds soil better than compost; healthy soil also requires less watering.
- Use organic fertilizers sparingly: Never resort to chemical fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides. They're expensive, poisonous to all living things, and strip the natural balance of the soil which will create long-term challenges and a vicious cycle of wasted money. (To drive this point home, here is a recent NY Times piece revealing the evolution of Round-Up-resistant weeds.)
Plant the right things in the right place and you'll cut back on chemicals, maintenance, time and expense. Before you know it you'll have created a natural balance between plants, birds, animals, insects and humans and all you'll need to do is sit back, engage all your senses, and enjoy.
PHOTO CREDIT: Alvesgaspar
