Wholesome Gardening
November 3, 2009 · Published in gardening by rachelallen ·
In order to become a lean green environmental machine, one must first fall wholeheartedly in love with Mother Nature and all of her beautiful eminence. Step one—GARDENING! Gardening is a fabulously organic way (no pun intended) to develop a personal relationship with the earth. However, a large amount of gardening techniques condone the use to chemicals that vamp up plant production but hurt the environment itself. The more natural the gardening process is, the more success you will have! Here are a few helpful environmentally sound gardening tips to get your long lasting relationship with Mother Nature up and running.
- 1. Use organic matter (manure, compost, seaweed, peat moss, leaves, grass clippings, etc.) to condition the soil, for this aids in holding water, nutrients and inciting earthworms
- 2. Use mulch! Mulch conserves moisture and controls the production of weeds. It also keeps fruits and veggies clean!
- 3. Don’t overwork the soil, for this may destroy it…and never work wet or frozen soil
- 4. Have a proper pH level in your garden to spread out nutrients (ideally—a pH of 6.5-7.0)
- 5. Avoid using sprinklers as a source of watering, as it wastes water and can cause disease problems
- 6. Keep soil covered to prevent erosion
- 7. Plant on the contour so water will not take away the topsoil. Plant across the incline to catch any soil that may move downhill. You may also plant vegetative buffer strips to capture excessive nutrients and eroding soil
- 8. Avoid the use of fertilizer
- 9. Compost to recycle nutrients
- 10. Know which plants are right for your specific geographical location
- 11. Use plants that naturally repel pests