10 Ideas for Sustainable Gardening

At-home composting recycles plant material and non-meat food scraps into a nutrient-rich soil amendment for your garden. When you practice composting at home, you can divert otherwise usable materials from the waste stream.

You need four basic elements to make your own compost: the right organic material, water, air and microorganisms that break down waste. You need a collection system in your house, and a bin outside.

In your home, keep a compost pail in your kitchen and fill with vegetable scraps, coffee filters with used grounds, and eggshells. If your municipality has a compost system, add the scraps to your community bin. If you're composting on your own, purchase a composter or create your own bin.

If you have a large yard or garden, consider a three-bin system for breaking down plant material into gardener's gold. These can be created from lumber or pallets. The first bin is for raw materials. The second bin receives the turned material from the first bin, and further deteriorates before being turned into the third bin, where the mature compost can be accessed for your garden applications.

Tip: When saving scraps for composting, don't add fats, oils or meats. These products don't break down at the temperatures of a standard home compost unit and when taken outside, will attract animals.

Growing an organic garden means having your own crop of healthy, nutritious vegetables and fruits at hand. With all the organic products available in Garden Centers and online, growing organic has never been easier, but it can be intimidating to get started.

The best first place to start in organic practice is to build up your soil. Healthy soil helps plants resist disease and recover more readily from damage from pests. Begin with a soil test from your local Extension Service (or Garden Center) and amend your soil based on the recommendations. Apply compost, either purchased or from your own compost pile, to build up the soil over time.

When you start your garden from seeds, you control the process from beginning to end, and save money along the way.

Additionally, starting a garden with seeds gives you a greater range of plants to grow, like heirloom varieties that exist because of seed saving. When you start your edible garden with seeds, you can eat local from your own garden.

When you're ready to start growing, follow these tips:

• Start with what you enjoy eating.
• Pick a handful of favorites and learn the growing process in your first year.
• Starting small is a good idea for beginners. You can grow salad greens in an elevated garden bed on your patio, for instance.
• Most vegetables need full sun for the best harvest. If you don’t have room for a garden bed, consider growing in containers.
• If you’re starting seeds indoors, consider adding a grow light set up for the best light source for your seeds.
• Learn how to save seeds from year to year to save money and increase sustainability.

Tip: You may be concerned about GMO (genetically modified) seeds. All seeds sold at The Home Depot are non-GMO.

Place the right plant in the right place for a truly sustainable garden. When you know your soil, site, light and climate, you can make the most sustainable choices for your landscape.

Begin by looking up your hardiness zone. This will tell you the plants that perform best in your zone. You also need to understand the first and last frost dates in spring and fall.

"Right plant, right place" also refers to selecting the plants that perform best in your area. If you live and garden in the northeast, it's difficult to grow tropical plants sustainably, for example. Each area of the country has native plants that support the local ecosystem. Select these plants for your sustainable garden.

In your garden, plant for beneficial insects like bees and butterflies, and wildlife like hummingbirds that play a vital part in your local ecosystem. More pollinators include moths, flies, wasps, bats and even ants.

Pollinating insects help carry pollen from one plant to another and ensure harvests of countless fruits, vegetables and nuts. When you plant for pollinators, you increase the yields in your vegetable and flower gardens.

Tip: Savvy gardeners with extra space plant insectaries on the perimeters of their landscapes. These insectaries feature native perennials like mountain mint, coreopsis, bee balm and rudbeckia that attract and support beneficial insects.

Although some birds can be a nuisance in the garden, like crows that snatch seed from the ground, many are a vital part of sustainable gardening. Create a bird-friendly garden by providing the essentials that birds need: food, water, shelter and nesting sites.

• For food, plant native trees, shrubs and flowers to provide berries, seeds and nectar.
• Supplement plants with bird feeders. Bird favorites include black oil sunflower seeds and nyjer seeds.
• Bird baths make excellent water sources for your favorite birds. Place bird baths in a safe place, away from predators like cats.
• Create shelter and nesting sites by planting dense shrubs and trees that protect birds in harsh weather.
• Install birdhouses for the birds you want to attract. Keep them clean to prevent the spread of diseases.
• Consider the chemicals you use in your garden and how they might affect birds. Learn about natural pest control methods for your garden.

Learning how to reduce water consumption in your garden helps you garden sustainably and directly affects your budget. Look for opportunities in your garden to save water. First, by selecting plants that don't need a lot of water. That's not always easy to do if you have your heart set on a vegetable garden. In that case, opt for drip irrigation that will reduce evaporation and more efficiently water your plants.

Another step to reduce water use in your garden is to mulch your plants. In extremely hot weather, a layer of mulch helps to safeguard plants from blistering summer heat. Mulch helps plants retain moisture, protects from pests and diseases and helps control weed growth.

The cordless outdoor power category continues to improve, making these tools increasingly more sustainable. Choosing cordless outdoor power tools contributes to cleaner air and reduces your carbon footprint when compared to gas-powered tools.

Reasons to purchase cordless outdoor power tools like mowers:

• Electric power eliminates the need for gasoline and reduces harmful emissions.
• Electric mowers reduce noise polluation. They're significantly quieter than gas mowers.
• Electric mowers require less maintenance than gas-powered mowers.

Planting trees in your landscape and in your community is a way to build sustainability into your local ecosystem. When you plant trees, especially oak trees, you support biodiversity. Oak trees, and many others, support wildlife, including insects, birds and small mammals. Trees provide habitat, food sources like acorns, and nesting sites.

• Additionally, trees can provide shade that can cool your home and reduce energy consumption.
• When trees drop their leaves, the material decomposes and enriches the soil with organic matter.
• Trees aid in stormwater management by abosrbing rainwater and reducing runoff and soil erosion.

Tip: It's true, the best time to plant a tree was in the past. The next best time to plant a tree is today.

There are many ways to garden sustainably no matter where you live. One key component is to meet like-minded gardeners. Throughout the country, you can meet gardeners through organizations like Master Gardener volunteer groups affiliated with the Extension Service in your county.

If you don't have a garden space where you live, look for community gardens that typically offer raised garden beds or rows where you can plant your favorite vegetables and flowers alongside fellow gardening enthusiasts.

More ideas for gardening in community:

• Look for seed-swapping groups.
• Native plant societies.
• Local plant sales in spring and fall.
• Volunteer at school gardens.

Tip: Make your community garden more sustainble when you recycle plastic by returning nursery pots to your local Garden Center. Look for the rack for pots to be recycled.