The following contribution is from another author.
A sustainable garden is always good to curate as a homeowner. With life getting more expensive, being able to be more self-sufficient and eco-friendly to the environment is helpful. It means that you get greater satisfaction out of your backyard, and the planet benefits from it, too.
If you want a bit more of a sustainable garden this year, then there are some top tips worth knowing to maximize your garden space for this purpose.
1) Go peat-free
Using a peat-free compost is a good way to prevent the destruction of valuable habitats, which store massive amounts of carbon.
With that being said, look out for peat-free compost, which you’ll be able to find in most of your local gardening stores.
2) Build healthy soil and compost
In order to help grow healthy plants and flowers, it’s important to build healthy soil and compost. A good way to do this is to avoid chemical fertilizers, as this can disrupt the soil ecosystem, too.
It’s worth starting a compost bin, using kitchen scraps, cardboard, and leaves. This helps to create nutrient-rich, organic fertilizer.
The more compost you can accrue, the better it’ll be for the benefit of your soil. It’s also good to lay compost during the winter periods to protect the soil from weeds and retain moisture.
3) Conserve your water
It’s good to conserve water where you can because a lot of water can be wasted through the outdoor taps and hoses.
Installing water butts to help collect rain from roofs is helpful, as it’s better for plants than tap water.
Using mulch is a good way to retain soil moisture, as well as reducing the need for watering. That’s great for those who don’t want to deal with the maintenance of the garden.
4) Reduce lawn area
Reducing the lawn area is a good way to help make your garden less maintenance-heavy, but it can also be good to favor wilder areas or edible gardens for increased biodiversity.
When reducing your lawn area, explore different textures from gravel to decorative stones and bark. Assess how much lawn you’d want to get rid of in place of lower-maintenance options.
5) Embrace organic pest control
Organic pest control is a good alternative to the usual methods and materials. Avoiding synthetic pesticides is useful as they would otherwise harm beneficial insects in your garden. It’s good to use companion planting to deter pests naturally.
Pests can be a problem with many gardens, but it’s something that often needs tackling to keep your plants and shrubs healthy.
6) Recycle and repurpose
The use of repurposing and recycling is a great way to benefit the environment. From using egg cartons for seedings to plastic bottles as cloches.
Consider using old wood or furniture for building raised beds for new plants and crops in general.
Creating a sustainable garden is certainly something that can help evolve your garden into an eco-friendly and beneficial element to the household in general. Use these tips to maximize your garden in regard to sustainability this year.
