In today’s world, we often hear the words “organic”, “eco friendly”, and “recycle” in just about every area of our lives. At the same time, the world is seeing the biggest economic meltdown in decades.
With this concern about the economy, more and more people are returning to gardening as a supplement to the grocery store. The need for supplementing our grocery bill is high, but many still maintain the need to be environmentally friendly at the same time.
For some, hearing the term eco gardening may bring visions of expensive organic pesticides, seeds and other ‘natural’ gardening products. For still others, hearing the words eco-gardening bring to mind ways of recycling and doing their part to improve their own little areas of the world.
With a little bit of investigation and attention to master eco-gardeners, anyone can have an eco friendly garden.
There are many products on the market today that are inexpensive, easy to find and sometimes can even be found in your home right now:
Baby shampoo is a good barrier against aphids and breaks down thatch in your lawn.
To use your compost in a more efficient way, create a compost tea and use a hose end sprayer to water your lawn, giving your yard and flower garden continuous feeding. This also helps the soil become more fertile for future plantings.
Other natural products that can be used in your garden for fertilizer include bone meal, blood meal, cottonseed and fish emulsion, to name just a few.
Composting products that can be found in your home include coffee grounds, banana peels, egg shells, bourbon, ammonia and regular soda. Keep in mind that what we throw into the garbage can be used to improve the quality of soil in our gardens with little or no effort.
Plants ties can be made from old socks (!)
Caterpillars can be prevented from chewing on your plants by placing old coffee tubs around your garden
Master gardeners have been eco gardening for years. They consider it good for their gardens and soil and simply because it is easier for them in the long run. By taking a little bit of time to research the products they use up front, those products in the long run have positive pay offs for years later. A by-product of eco-gardening is having less garbage, and saving money in the process.
Eco-gardening has come a long way from the days of the hippie and free love era. Using a simple common sense approach, recycling common products around your home, and using environmentally friendly gardening products, everyone benefits.
From a reduced food bill at the grocery to the amount of waste that your family produces to the fertile ground left for the next generation, eco gardening is good for everyone!
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