• Mowing � Consider using a manual push reel mover instead of gas or electric mower. Manual push powers don’t pollute the air with carbon emissions and don’t contribute to noise pollution. Also, there is less need for watering because of the grass clippings that are left behind help retain moisture in the lawn.
  If you are unable to use a manual push mower due to physical limitations or the immense size of your lawn, you can still be environmentally friendly with a motorized mower by mowing less frequently and setting the height of your mower higher. When your grass is a little higher, it shades out some of the weeds and less watering is needed as the roots grow deeper.
• Healthy Soil � If starting your lawn anew, you can prepare the soil by mixing in 1 to 3 inches of compost. You can buy it at stores in bulk or make it at home from kitchen scraps, leaves, plant material, and lawn clippings. Also, once the grass is growing you can add mulch from grass clippings or shredded leaves to keep the lawn growing strong. Use slow release organic fertilizers as needed.
• Seeds � Choose the grass seed that is best suited for your region, taking into account sun, water and soil conditions. Check with your local grow center or the Internet for advice.
• Pesticides � Think twice about using pesticides for killing weeds. There are many beneficial insects that are killed by pesticides and the runoff is damaging to waterways. As stated earlier, grow your grass longer to shade out weeds. If weeds do become a problem, pull them out manually or use a less toxic solution made of soap or horticultural oils.
• Watering � If your lawn does need moisture, water deeply but infrequently. This strengthens the root zone of the grass. As stated earlier, retain moisture in your lawn with the use of mulch.

For learning more about pursuing a career in landscape design, click here.

Sources

Permaculture Articles (2012)

King County: Department of Natural Resources and Parks: Solid Waste Division (2012)

Yahoo (2009)

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And the good news is that no matter where you live, you can probably grow more than herbs. Using vertical space as well as horizontal space can open up a whole raft of options for growing plants.

The term vertical garden can mean several things. It could mean a garden of plants that grow up a wall, or a garden of plants that hangs down from the top of a wall, or a garden of plants that’s grown on a trellis. It could mean using the vertical space in a small garden, or using a balcony or even window space most efficiently. Whatever picture the phrase may conjure up in your mind, the main idea is build a garden that stands above the ground and occupies vertical space rather than horizontal space. Building a vegetable garden in the air is a great idea if you don’t have space on the ground. In addition to supplementing your vegetable needs, it also adds aesthetic appeal to your home if done properly.

If you sit down and research the internet for just a few minutes, you will be astounded by the number of vertical garden ideas on offer. Many of them are based on patented systems that will cost you money. Other’s are DIY systems made from recycled rain gutters or plastic bottles.  No matter what or whose idea you decide to adopt, always make sure that it will work for you and that you can actually implement it; otherwise it will just be a waste of time and money.

Hydroponic garden and other ideas

Below is an idea for a simple vertical wall garden that you can build. Some of the other methods of growing a vertical garden include a hydroponic garden, Grow Wall, Zipgrow towers and Arista Case, to name a few. Hydroponics is a method in which plants are grown in a container using only water and mineral nutrients. This method of growing plants without soil has been in use for over a hundred years. Other traditional methods include growing plants on an arched trellis, on windows sill and balconies and even on rooftops.

Building a vertical wall garden

This idea is one of the easiest to implement. The usual method is to fix several rows of planters against the wall with nails or screws. You may also use rain gutters or open-top fixtures that are 8 to 12 inches deep instead of planters. Another idea would be to fix several rows of wooden planks or metal racks against the wall and place planters on them. Just make sure that the lowest row is at least 3 feet above the ground, so you can also place pots or planters directly on the ground under it, and all the successive rows are 3 feet apart so as allow enough vertical space for the plants to grow.

Don’t forget to drill drainage holes at the bottom of planters or whatever you have used in their place, if they don’t have them. Stagger the placement of the holes in each row, so that the planters will drip water down to the next row, without it going straight through. Fill them up with good garden soil, add compost or organic fertilizers as required, and sow the seeds or transplant saplings. Don’t forget to water the plants regularly. In no time at all, you will have a beautiful and healthy garden in the air.

There are lots of other ways to build a vertical garden, and lots of different plants to grow. Try trailing cucumbers or vining tomatoes. Try herbs or salad vegies in pots on your window sill or fixed to the wall. For more ideas, see the new website, AContainerGarden.com, or do a google image search on ‘vertical gardens’.

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One of the best advantages of hydroponics gardening is the lack of need for fertilizers. Soil naturally contains nutrients, yes. However, the nutrients found in them are usually imbalanced and not enough to sustain healthy crops. Because of this, farmers are forced to buy fertilizers to ensure that their crops are healthy and more resistant to diseases. A major drawback of this is that fertilizers are expensive and they can also drain off into the local areas drinking water, if overused, leaving agricultural and commercial industries with less revenue. With hydroponics, fertilizer costs are history. A complete set of nutrients are directly infused in water and crops directly absorb them from then on.

There is no need for cultivation with hydroponics gardening, yet another convenience that this plant-growing strategy entails. After all, it is a soil-free. Crops no longer need to be rotated too. The same crops can be grown at the same place since the availability of nutrients in water are consistent unlike in geoponics. In addition, growing a new set of crops is easier with hydroponics, mainly because of the absence of cultivation. Plus, there’s no need to worry about weeds as well.

Hydroponics gardening can benefit agricultural companies in a number of ways. It promises better yield than geoponics, not to mention uniform results as well. Otherwise, if you grow crops in soil you can expect factors like climate change and pests to affect the amount of successful yields with each season. Not only can they earn more but companies can also cut back on costs. Less labor is required with hydroponics.

On the other end of the market, consumers can benefit from cleaner produce. Geoponic produce have greater risks of being infected with waste material since they are grown in soil. Consumers can also benefit from the organic nature of crops grown with hydroponics gardening. Organic crops are healthier and pose no risks on human health.

Without a doubt, hydroponics gardening fares better than growing plants in soil. Even though geoponic agriculture is more widely accepted, that doesn’t make it a better method. Hydroponics is not only convenient but it is economical too. More agricultural industries should embrace it and utilize it in the mass production of crops.

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It Looks Horrible – a lot of people forget about the emotional factors related to renovations and home improvement. It’s essential to remember these types of jobs can take a LONG time. It’s unlikely you’ll be done in just a few weeks and you’ll need to stay motivated for the entire job. By stripping every element from your backyard you’ll be left with a pit of dirt that looks horrible. Are you prepared to spend the next few months staring at this type of mess? It can seem like there’s no progress being made and after a while, that big pile of dirt in your backyard can lead to a lot of stress.

Hidden Treasures – it doesn’t matter what type of backyard you have now, there are undoubtedly hidden treasures contained all over the place. If you want about everything and throw away your entire backyard, you’ll be depriving yourself a chance to utilize of these elements. For example, old patio furniture can be turned new again with the simple addition of new fabric. Or you might have a garden area that can be effectively turned into a rabbit hutch. Don’t count your eggs before they’re hatched and don’t give up on old backyard features before you have a chance to take another look.

No Road Ahead – it might seem like clearing your backyard will set everything to a baseline of zero so that you can get a fresh start. But in most cases, you’re actually starting from less than zero. It’s also harder to get a general idea of your future plans if you have nothing to work with. Unless you have some kind of architectural degree or background in home renovation, you’ll likely make things a lot harder for the future.

Spending Too Much – let’s face it, gutting your entire backyard and starting from scratch costs a lot of money. Do you really have the amount of cash it takes to pull off a job like this? Some people even take out big loans in order to finance huge products, but they end up paying way too much in the long run. Quite simply, you should never take on any renovation job if you can’t afford it without taking out a loan. When you add in factors like outdoor lighting, patio furniture, gas grills, irrigation, and alarm systems like ADT (to name just a few), you can bet your job can get out of control pretty quickly. Make sure that you look at various places to buy your new backyard additions cheaply. For example, if you’re placing new lighting attached to your home to show off your new yard at night shop online at various places such as Kichler outdoor lighting where you can find various products yet not spend all your money on one element.

Hire A Good Crew – depending on how big your backyard renovation is, you might want to hire some professionals. This is definitely applicable if the job involves things like electronics and irrigation. It’s important to recognize when you don’t have enough knowledge about a particular area, and that’s where a good crew comes in handy. It’s important to be involved in the hiring process and make sure that you only pick people you’re comfortable with. Don’t get talked into further repairs of renovations, and stay on course to get the backyard you really want.

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It is a common misconception to think that the Japanese grow organic food. Although they are obsessed (who isn’t) with the cleanliness of food products and with food that is grown by local farmers, they have generally turned a blind eye to the practice of using chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Japan is a contradictory country in that they revere tradition and yet embrace modernity. While many of the dishes they make in the home remain rooted in the past, they are keen to use modern means to maximize production and thus profits.

Tokai University started an experiment in 1998 with 8 farming plots. One plot was left free of all fertilizers and used as a control. The other 7 plots were fertilized with varying amounts of crushed bamboo charcoal.

Three years after the study was started a research paper was published. It stated that using bamboo charcoal as a fertilizer for green tea production was a great success. The most successful plot had 100g of crushed bamboo charcoal applied in 5 mm particulates applied per square meter per year. This plot saw tea trees that were 20% taller and 40% more voluminous than the control plot. The paper said this was due to the fact that the bamboo charcoal helped to maintain PH soil levels.

This is great news for those concerned about organic farming. It clearly shows that there are alternatives to chemical fertilizers that poison the soil and water supplies.

Bamboo is high in potassium and because of its high growth rate is capable of improving the gas circulation in soil and removing excess nitrogen. It also helps to improve soil water retention levels. You can plant bamboo next to a field you want to cultivate food and it works as a fertilizer. Another alternative is to use bamboo shoots in the soil as a fertilizer.

Moreover, bamboo contains a substance called ‘kun’ that makes it naturally repellent to pests. It is thus very possible that bamboo shoots and bamboo charcoal could be used as both an organic fertilizer and pesticide. Another possibility is to use bamboo vinegar as a natural pesticide since it is both anti fungal, antimicrobial and acidic. Normal vinegar is used as a pesticide; I wouldn’t be surprised if bamboo vinegar worked even better.

Using bamboo as a fertilizer would come, I’m sure, as no surprise to Asian farmers a hundred years ago who had to use what nature gave them to improve crop yields rather than relying on petroleum based fertilizer inputs.

Green Living

• Green interior design – Use bamboo products!

Tree planting has so many advantages, not only does it offer increased privacy for residential properties but can also enhance beautiful views or masque less than picture perfect ones while reducing the amount of glare and sound.  Planting trees is also a great property investment as it raises the value of your home especially with landscaped grounds.

These advantages extend far beyond the aesthetic, well positioned trees can actually lead to lower energy usage due to the increased shading reducing the need for additional cooling from air conditioners with the greatest benefits arising from their positive effects on the environment.  Not only do they absorb harmful carbon dioxide from the air enabling us to offset some of our environmental impact through our carbon producing activities but they also produce oxygen and water, two very important by-products from photosynthesis that we need to survive.

Tree planting also helps to recover from the devastating effects of deforestation all over the globe.  The resulting environmental impact from the loss of trees has caused several of the problems that our planet faces today including climate change and extreme weather conditions that with the proper ground cover would normally insulate us from.

Another benefit of tree planting is the conservation of rainwater and the reduction of water pollution.  By lessening the amount of paved surfaces in favor of trees and ground vegetation, the amount of excess groundwater runoff is decreased.  This means that we can effectively reduce what ends up going into our drains and consequently our ocean simply through the process of tree planting.  With the greater volume of trees the more ground water runoff can be absorbed back to the earth before it has a chance to reach the storm water drains. Pollutants are also absorbed into the ground with the trees root system removing harmful toxins as it percolates down through the top soil layer.

Tree planting is one the most selfless things a person can contribute to their environment because it’s a long term solution for future generations to benefit from, consider your tree planting a gift to the world and your legacy to leave behind.  Speaking of legacy, you can have a wonderful time teaching your children about the environment with a tree planting which shows them one of the best ways to give back to their environment.  There are many things that you can teach your children about energy consumption and finding alternative ways to supply their energy needs, however tree planting can be a great solution to repair some of the damage done to the planet.

Being more conscious of the way that we use our resources and finding ways to replace them is something that we as human beings owe our planet.  Plant a tree in your yard or join a tree planting movement to become involved in this very worthwhile pursuit.  Your planet will thank you for your efforts.

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So what do you add to your compost bin?  Well, it comes down to 2 colors (green and brown) and 2 places (your kitchen and your yard).

Kitchen and yard Greens include-houseplant cuttings, fruit & veggie scraps (chop small to induce quicker breakdown in the bin), coffee grounds (these are in abundance if you work in an office), tea bags, egg shells, rice & pasta (no sauce or butter), grass clippings (no weeds), garden waste (veggies and flowers)-no diseased plants.

Kitchen and yard Browns include- coffee filters, stale breads, paper products, straw, dried leaves, small twigs

DO NOT COMPOST- meat, dairy, fats, oils, pet waste or weeds.

Composting begins in the kitchen.  Find a bucket or jug with a wide lid for kitchen scraps.  We use a recycled 5 gallon ice cream bucket with a lid.  Leave your kitchen bucket in a convenient place, so you will remember to use it.  Add your house/kitchen wastes until the bucket is full.  Empty your bucket into the compost bin, adding some soil, shredded newspapers or dried leaves to the top (this prevents fruit flies and gnats).

You can expect to harvest your Black Gold in as little as 8 weeks, if you properly “cook” your compost, or as long as 6 months.  If you find that your bin isn’t breaking down fast enough, there are a few things you can do to kick start your compost.  My favorite remedy is to buy a dozen night crawlers from our local bait shop, and dump the worms AND their dirt into the bin.  Another quick remedy is to turn your bin contents completely.

To make composting as convenient as possible, keep your bin as close to your kitchen as possible.  This is especially important if you have harsh winters like we do.  Your compost will decompose slower in the winter months, but don’t stop.  Spring will come and kick start your winter efforts.

Quick facts about composting

• Composting, combined with recycling eliminates up to 65% of your household waste
• Healthy compost will make your garden bloom better, grow faster, and even taste better.
• composting eliminates your need for chemical fertilizers, thus making your yard, garden, and water table less toxic.
• IT’S FREE!!!!
• Composting is the simplest cradle to cradle activity a family can do to help our environment.

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