Sustainability in Your Garden

The idea of sustainability has been around since the 1960s, but it hasn't been until recently that a big hype has come up about this idea.

With all of the recent talk of possible climate change, shortages in clean air, water and crude oil... humans are realizing that it's time to start respecting the planet and all the gifts we have been given. Today, we call it "reducing your carbon footprint" and it's all about living with the intention to reduce, reuse and recycle in an effort to preserve our natural resources - so that we may sustain life here for future generations.

Sustainability, as defined by the dictionary, is the capacity to endure. It can be applied to almost every aspect of one's life, including gardening. Sure, many of us know how to create a beautiful garden - but what about respecting mother nature? The Yard Fairy is experienced at using organic gardening and low water landscaping methods for a truly "green" way of cultivating your land.

Don't do what large-scale farmers do

Farming in Northern America has largely been used for growing huge amounts of a single crop. That single crop is grown again and again on a single plot of land without long intervals between the growing seasons. Mass amounts of pesticides and insecticides are sprayed to ensure that the fruits bore are pest-free and aesthetically pleasing. As one large crop farmer put it, "Soil is only to keep plants up, I’ll contribute the rest." This view of soil in American culture is surely not the right one.

What many don’t realize is that soil is its own organism with multiple components such as worms and other bacteria, layers of dead matter, and decomposed materials. A healthy soil will allow for wonderful plants to be grown; however, when soil is not properly taken care of (and used for growing the same crops over and over), this results in poor crops and creates imbalance in the ecosystem. To make your soil more green and earth-friendly actually requires the opposite of what large-scale farmers do.

The soil of Southern California is not meant for growing at all. It is dry, light brown, and filled with gravel and rocks, while the best soil for growing is a dark brown, moist, and covered with layers of leaves. However, this does not mean that our soil is impossible to work with. With the right amount of TLC, you can turn any San Diego backyard into lush paradise where all kinds of plants, vegetables and flowers thrive.

Here are some inside tips on methods that The Yard Fairy uses to improve the soil for our landscaping clients:

Small rocks and gravel are good for your soil

First, although it may be tempting, do not remove the gravel and rocks from your soil. While of course a large rock obscuring your potential garden can be relocated, little rocks and gravel should be left alone. Tilling and re-tilling the land over and over again is also not recommended, since this does not allow for natural compost and its nutrients to seep through all the levels of the soil. In fact, tilling can potentially harm the entire ecosystem beneath the soil, causing more damage than good.

Start with low growing plants

You will most likely want to plant vegetables, fruits, or more permanent plants in your yard; however, first start with low growing plants which will serve as a ground cover. Try mustard plants or any other fast growing plants. These plants will cover the entire expanse of land for your garden, protecting it from the elements. Once they fully mature and you wish to plant your desired seeds, simply let the ground cover die on its own and you'll have natural compost ready for your garden. After the plants have had time to die and decompose a little is when the other plants can be planted either as seeds under the compost or as seedlings in and around the composted soil.

The large-scale farms leave their grounds uncovered and uncared for between growing seasons, thus the soil is exposed to the sun, wind, and harsh temperature changes in the region. The soil then becomes rough and dry with no plant life to help the system along.

Make your own organic pesticides

The purpose of pesticides and insecticides is to kill the bacteria and pests in and around soil. However, runoff from pesticides and insecticides returns to both the soil and water system when the plants are irrigated. This kills valuable components of the soil and tampers with clean water. Strawberry farmers tend to spray chemicals such as methyl bromide into the ground to stop crop-destroying bacteria. These chemicals harm the soil and prevent the system from self-cleaning as nature intended. Crops which require such bacteria to grow are then unable to thrive in that land and so the soil becomes usable for only one kind of crop. As mentioned earlier, growing one crop on the same patch of land over and over depletes the soil of certain minerals and elements, and weakens your crop over time.

There are now recipes for organic pesticides which work to control the population of pests and insects that plague your garden. These often incorporate some very basic household ingredients, such as garlic bulbs, borax or alcohol. Neem is also very popular with organic gardeners and you can find neem-based formulas at select garden stores or in online and mail order catalogs. Also look into the use of diatomaceous earth to deter certain pests. With few steps and cheap products, such methods are much safer for the plants in your garden. You'll discover recipes to get rid of every type of pest from slugs to aphids.

Look into companion planting

Another great way to deter certain types of pests and improve the overall health of your plants is by growing certain types of plants together. For example, some people say that planting French marigolds near your tomato plants will ward off attack from certain soil-borne diseases. Beets, garlic and peas all thrive when planted in close proximity. There are even plants which prefer not to be planted together, such as onions and beans or peas.

The people of South America and Central America have long grown the three sister plants together, corn, beans, and squash. These crops support each other through their special contributions. Corn grows tall enough to allow the bean plants to climb upwards, beans create nitrogen through their roots and infuse the ground, and low-laying squash vines become mulch and compost for the other crops. Planting these three crops together ensures that they will survive better than if just grown alone. While pests can still affect these crops, planting this way allows for less land to be used and soil to be nurtured and utilized effectively.

Other types of crops create more suitable soil for other plants. While this idea of planting different crops side by side for benefits hasn't been expanded on, this practice has been researched for strawberries. Large-scale strawberry farmers have found that strawberries are extremely sensitive to soil-borne diseases and tend to wilt with any trace of the disease in the soil. Through research conducted by Krishna Subbarao of UC Davis, a new solution has been found for this problem: broccoli. As it is grown this vegetable manages to kill off 95% of the disease components. Even throwing in the stalks of broccoli into a compost mix for the field was enough to stop the disease in its tracks. Cultivating both broccoli and strawberries together allows for both crops to flourish without the need for any harsh chemicals.

You might try researching the internet for a list of plants that grow best with other plants and/or herbs. Regardless of what you chose, not using chemicals is one of the best things you could do for your garden.

Make your own compost

Other than soil, water, and air, a plant doesn't need much more than what it gets from nature. However, because humans tend to modify their surroundings to such a great extent, grow things where they might not naturally flourish on their own, and use things like pesticides which destroy the soil... it is a pretty good idea to give back where we have taken away. A green gardener can also contribute to help strengthen the plant's ability to fight disease and the elements.

The use of compost, which is the product of decomposition of various organic matters, provides many nutrients needed for proper plant growth. Almost anything that isn't man-made can be composted and used in your garden - from cotton fibers to coffee grounds to certain types of junk mail. By creating your own compost pile to reuse leftovers that would normally have been thrown into a landfill, you're reducing the amount of waste produced by a household.

Of course, if you don't feel like dealing with the maintenance involved in home composting, you can always simply purchase composted soil. This is better than not doing anything at all - however, it does not contribute as many nutrients to your garden soil as a self made compost does.

Producing a compost pile for your garden to thrive on is easy. Depending on where you live, you can either place your compost in a bin or simply store it in an open pile. To start your compost pile, you'll need four basic ingredients: nitrogen, carbon, water, and air. Creating the best mixture requires both wet material to allow for nitrogen release and dry material which is high in carbon. Mix these materials together, then water. Lawn trimmings, garden clippings, scraps from baking cookies, and rotten food all can and should go into a compost pile. You can take up a collection using a "compost pail" in your kitchen and then empty its contents into your backyard compost pile whenever it's convenient. Once all that is done, simply let nature and the critters around your compost take care of the pile.

The compost is ready to use when everything looks uniform and dark brown. If it isn't, then the organic matter has not decomposed enough. If your pile smells bad then you might need to add more dry ingredients and mix a bit more. If your pile isn't heated then it might be too dry or in too small a container. In this case, add more water, more nitrogen based ingredients or move the pile to another container. Rodents and other animals in your compost pile mean there is too much meat in the compost, so try then to add more fruit/vegetable materials or bury the meat into the soil more. Following these steps can result in a gorgeous pile of compost that your garden will love and produce much more yield through.

Useful Sites:

Research on Broccoli/Strawberry Crops
More on Sustainable Agriculture

Three Sister Crops

Compost Site

All pictures belong to their respective owners and are not property of the Yard Fairy.

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