Awapuni gardening guru, Tod Palenski, has come up with a revelation that will shock gardeners out of their wits. Every time you are lovingly tending to your garden, you are actually causing irreparable damage to the environment! Don’t believe me? Read on.
The watering, the chemical fertilizers and the lawn-mowing, which are considered vital for a garden are actually harming the environment in a big way. However, that doesn’t in anyway mean that you should give up your beloved garden. There are ec-friendly ways of maintaining a beautiful garden.
The first step would be to choose plants that thrive on moderate maintenance, thus saving natural resources. Alyssum, Portulaca and Petunias satisfy the bill pretty well, requiring minimum watering and tending. Portulaca is particularly at home at batch and beach environments. With succulent stems and leaves and small, bright rose-like flowers blossoming right through Autumn, Portulaca thrives in dry or rocky areas, in cracks and gravel.
Style, led by the need to save the environment, is shifting from perfectly groomed and manicured lawns to wilder, natural greenery. However, if you want to keep your lawn looking green over the summer without too much watering, Tod suggests taking the catcher off your mower.
Tod recommends mulching (using pea straw with roses, vegetables and fruit trees) preceded by drenching, in place of chemical fertilizers to moisture the plants. According to him, grass clippings make good mulch for the lawn and act as a good fertilizer too. You’ll also find that the longer you have them the less watering they’ll need. He is also against cutting them too short. The expert opinion is that pea straw will help retain moisture in your soil and avoid overhead watering which can cause fungus such as rust and black spot from forming. A good covering will also help prevent weeds. Mulching reduces the need for water.
Tod advises gardeners to water the plants late at night or first thing in the morning for best results. Installing rain gutters and collecting water from downspouts also helps reduce water use. Water crystals, available at all good gardening stores, are also great for reducing water use and keeping your garden colorful, because they can hold up to 400 times their weight in water and many contain water-soluble nutrients and fertilizers.
This way, you can make your garden beautiful and eco-friendly too.
Via: Scoop
