Step One: Grow Your Own Vitamin C
Believe it or not, you (yes, you!) can grow your own fruits and vegetables – and you don’t even have to major in farming. Most fruits and veggies can be grown in containers on a small balcony or patio that gets a good bit of sunlight. Right now, the time is perfect to start planning a summer full of sun-ripened tastiness. Dig up some gardening info from books and Web sites, or take a class or workshop. If you have a lot of success and produce more rutabaga than you and your buddies can eat, donate your excess to local food reserves.
Step Two: The Deal with Composting
Compost is a garden’s best friend. The idea of decomposed organic matter may not sound all that tasty to you, but your garden dreams about it. If you’ve ever let anything turn moldy in your refrigerator, you’re already well on your way to learning how to make compost. Simply allow yard and kitchen waste to rot in a pile in your backyard, turning it with a pitchfork periodically, or purchase a composting system to keep the yard looking clean. Invite a few worms to help speed up the process in a method called vermiculture. An estimated 30% of an average American’s household waste can be composted. It’s a good way to save landfill space and make your garden happy at the same time.
Step Three: Go Organic or Go Home
To have a beautiful garden, you really don’t need ANY synthetic fertilizers, insecticides and herbicides. Organic gardening is an environmentally friendly version of gardening without synthetics, allowing nature to be an ally to your garden. Fertilize with homemade compost, which builds up the soil rather than depleting it like synthetic fertilizers do. Maintain a healthy balance of insects, and they will create more of a benefit than a burden. Control weeds with mulch, corn gluten meal, hoeing and hand-pulling rather than spraying them with harmful herbicides. Read as much as you can about the effects of organic versus conventional horticulture, and learn as many organic tips as you can to make a healthy garden and keep the ecosystem healthy as well.
By following any or all of these steps, you’ll be on your way to having a beautiful yard and a beautiful planet.
