Houzz Logo Print
buzzy_gw

What can gardeners do to be frugal with earth's resources?

16 years ago

AS gardeners I think we're in a love relationship with plants and dirt! There is nothing that brings a grin like having your hands in gorgeous garden soil or admiring the lush garden beds full of flowers that we're just specks of seed before you grew them.

Those of us on this forum are frugal because we don't like to spend our resources...and that makes good sense. Can we think bigger? What can we do so that we're frugal with our planet's resources? I worry about this a lot.

I heard a scientist on the radio last week who said that we need to reduce greenhouse gases by 80% in the next 12 years to contain global warming.

As gardeners, what can we do?

One thought: peat moss is mined from old bogs - it takes millenia to replace these plants, the growing, dying and decomposition of moss takes a long, long time. In the meantime the bogs have been mined, the moss is packaged in plastic bags that are made of oil, take energey to construct and fill, and then this moss is shipped hundreds or thousands of miles by vehicles using oil.

But compost is an excellent replacement for peatmoss. It's made of local materials, and because you do it yourself it doesn't have to be carted off to the dump. It makes a fine potting soil, doesn't need any peat moss to correct it. I've started seeds in nothing but sifted compost for more than 20 years and have never lost one seedling to damping off. It also makes great potting soil for any kind of plant - you don't have to buy anything to grow plants.

Peat pots - get rid of them! Fill your toilet paper tubes with compost tamped down and you don't need to worry about the bottom being open, it will all stay in. Tie them together and put them in a container. Old nursery trays work great - the kind they give you to take several pots home from the nursery. Use them just like peat pots.

Any other ways to save the planet while gardening?

Comments (20)

Sponsored