Sustainable Gardening
AKA: eco-friendly, environmentally sound, biointensive, low-input, alternative and natural gardening
You know it's good but what exactly does it mean to garden "sustainably?"
Sustainable farmers and gardeners contribute to the earth rather than take away from it.
In sustainable systems, plants are grown without depleting natural resources or contributing to pollution.
Sustainable gardening means gardening with sensitivity toward the environment, which allows the
garden to thrive naturally for years to come.
Easy steps towards sustainable gardening
Start small. Nothing says you have to become the perfect sustainable gardener overnight.
Review this list and pick one thing that you can start doing or planning right away.
Each step you take helps the earth and, more than likely, will improve your life as well.
- Limit the size of your lawn. Lawns use more water and fossil fuels to maintain them than any other planting.
- Plant a vegetable garden.
- Use natural fertilizers like compost, rock phosphate, kelp or seaweed, fish meal and alfalfa meal.
- Buy locally – especially from organic and sustainable growers.
- Make compost out of vegetable peelings, leaves and yard clippings.
- Avoid herbicides. Use mulch instead (plus, mulching saves water).
- Conserve water. Install a rain barrel system to collect the rainwater from your roof's downspouts. Use it to water your garden.
- Plant native species. They require less care and are healthier than exotic species. Plus native birds, insects, and other wildlife benefit from the fruits, nectars and habitat these plants and trees provide.
Learn more
Get more information about
Sustainable Landscaping
and view Demonstration Gardens
at SBwater.org.
The sustainable landscaping brochure
from GreenGardener.org is full of useful sustainability information for Santa Barbara county. This step-by-step how-to takes you from the planning stage, through soil testing and
plant selection and includes troubleshooting hints and, best of all, a long list of local resources.