How Green is Your Gardening?

Going green in gardening? It seems like someone is purposely trying to be sarcastic when they say this. Sustainable gardening takes care of the environment and reduces your carbon footprint. Remember, gardening is just like farming on a much smaller scale. Garden designers Shrewsbury are being increasingly called in to help with making gardens as green as possible.

Most green gardening depends on the way you behave, though. It relies on making small changes to the way you go about your business.

Switch the Chemicals

Chemical fertilisers are a good way to get your plants growing. You can also find chemical products to kill weeds. These pollute the air and can corrupt local water supplies. There’s nothing you can do about it apart from deciding not to use them.

An alternative is compost. Spread about four inches of compost over your garden before planting anything and it will kill all the weeds by blocking the leaves from sunlight. It also helps your seeds to grow by replenishing the nutrients in the garden.

Stop Buying Store Goods

This is less about making your gardening green and more about making your lifestyle green through gardening. Even if a product says it’s organic it doesn’t mean it’s completely organic. It can still contain chemicals and substances like fish oil in small quantities. The only way to ensure you’re eating fully organic is by growing everything yourself.

Dealing with Garden Pests

Chemicals find use again with destroying garden pests which like to munch on your vegetables. Instead of using chemicals, which have the same effects as the fertilisers described above, grow certain plants which act as natural deterrents.

Flowers like marigolds and herbs like mint work as natural deterrents. They also smell very nice and can add a new dimension to your green space. Whilst they deter pests, they don’t cause bees to stay away. There’s a shortage of bees in the UK so you’re doing your part to help them.

Be Green with Water

Wasting water only contributes to the problem of a shortage of water throughout the world. The United States is currently experiencing serious problems with water supplies, and the UK has experienced its own water shortages, such as with the hose pipe bans.

You can still water your flowers using grey water. Grey water is the water you use to wash the dishes and your clothes. Never use grey water with vegetables, though. Since you’re eating these they need to be fresh or some of the chemicals from washing up liquids and detergent could leak into the plants.

You should try watering earlier in the day or during the evening. This way you can get as much out of the water as possible. The sun will increase the rate of evaporation thus wasting more water. Another factor you have to consider is the effect of sun on green leaves. Water at midday and there’s the risk of having the leaves burned.

These are just some of the ways you can go green. Garden designers Shrewsbury also suggests designing your garden so it can attract things like bees and butterflies which help your garden’s ecosystem.

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