The sustainable garden is beneficial to the environment.
A sustainable garden conserves and reduces the need for supplies, energy use and water. It also supports the reduction of waste with organic gardening practices. Lawn space may be converted into a growing area as a means to conserve energy. It is important for you to select native plants to grow and nurture in areas around your property for a sustainable garden. Does this Spark an idea?
Native Plants
The most important choice to make when planting a sustainable garden is to use of plants native to your area. The plants have already adapted to the particular environmental, soil and weather conditions that your property offers. A native perennial flower bed will eventually become low maintenance and sustainable when it reaches maturity. Flower beds, trees, shrubs and vegetable garden plants will be more easily sustained in their proper environment. If you live in the Northeast, for instance, exotic fruit, flowers or vegetables are not a sustainable choice for your garden. Exotics are much more sustainable in the warmer climates of the country.
Companion Plants
When planting a vegetable garden, it is best to choose the plants that you and your family will use. Companion planting is a method that sustains and benefits the garden plants. Vegetables that help one another are paired in rows or raised beds. Potatoes benefit from the shade of bush bean plants, while tomatoes do well when planted with basil. Corn is sustained with plantings of pumpkin, cucumber or squash, as the vining plants are a ground cover that keeps pests from entering the corn patch. Moisture is more readily available to the corn, as the thick leaves keep the sun from drying the ground. The garden plants shelter, protect and sustain one another, thereby minimizing the need for water, insecticides and fertilizers.
Pest Control
Spiders, insects, birds and reptiles that help eradicate pests naturally are invited to the sustainable garden when certain plants are incorporated into it. Dill, fennel and fleabane are useful plants that attract the insects that feed on pests. Sunflowers, yarrow, calendula, rudbeckia and cosmos are flowering plants that draw these natural pest control agents to the area. The fruit from the hollyleaf cherry and elderberry bush will draw insect-eating birds to the garden.
Sustainable Impact
Native crops such as potatoes, peas, beans, pumpkin and melons are a small portion of the harvest that can sustain the future garden with seeds. As you become more experienced as a gardener, you will be able to glean seeds to store and plant for the next season's garden. You can compost carrot tops, corn stalks, tree leaves and various greens plants from the garden to add nutrition to the soil to sustain it for the next season's crop.
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