I had the pleasure of manning the Master Gardener booth at the Lyons Earth Day celebration this weekend and wanted to share a few pointers on sustainable gardening from my handout.
What is Sustainable?
Like zero-emissions, “green,” and zero-footprint, this is yet another term that, while an excellent goal, is not truly attainable on a large scale in Western society. Sustainable means living (and gardening) in a way that does not use more resources than are available per capita. Sure, we may have enough water, oil, and land now, but if we keep consuming at the rate we are at present, our children will not.
So sustainability takes into account environmental impact, as well as social and economic equity (it is not sustainable, for example, to rely on cheap labor coming up from Mexico to keep food prices down!). Water-wise irrigation, natural soil amendments, well-chosen plant varieties, Integrative Pest Management, and reducing inputs (chemical fertilizers, pesticides, trucked-in soil amendments, water, energy), are all a part of sustainable gardening.
Find Local Resources
The best people to talk to about sustainable gardening are other people who are gardening in your particular climate. What is sustainable here in Colorado may not be in Florida, Canada, or England, and the reverse is certainly true! We are truly blessed to live in a place where the environment is a part of the public dialog, but even if you’re in a place where that’s not the case, you can still find information from the local Sierra Club chapter, Cooperative Extension, or garden center to help you on your way.
I’d like to give a special shout-out to some of the folks who also had booths or information at our Earth Day Celebration. You all truly inspired me to do more!
- Urban Oasis Design - This family-run landscaping business does more than add beauty to your landscape. They really think about issues around water-wise gardening, sustainable landscape, and sustainable maintenance. If you need some help transferring a giant blue grass lawn to something a bit more manageable, give David & Lina a call (and tell them I sent you!).
- Boulder County Going Local - These folks might appreciate a little linky love to make up for the emails I keep peppering them with about getting the blogosphere more involved in the local food movement. This organization is a treasure-trove for people who want to grow local, buy local, and eat local!
- Green Heart Institute - After a delightful conversation about the challenges of choosing a greener car, I was able to discuss energy audits and improving home energy efficiency with the people from this organization that can help you live greener! Think about getting that energy audit and supporting this fantastic grass-roots organization.
- Will Shafroth - OK, I know it’s early to jump into the election fray, especially at the Congressional level (Colorado’s primary for this race isn’t even until August, so people are still getting signatures to get on the ballot), but I met a truly remarkable man who is running to fill Mark Udall’s seat in the House of Representatives: Will Shafroth. This is a man who has dedicated his life to conservation, a normal guy from Boulder with two kids and a dream of making the world a cleaner, greener place for his children. He has an uphill battle against some pretty well established career politicians, but I think he can do it!
And of course, I’ve plugged them before and I will plug them again: Colorado State’s Cooperative Extension information is truly amazing.
What else can I do?
The Earth Day committee specifically asked for someone with knowledge of xeriscaping, sustainable landscaping, and composting. This gives you a pretty good idea of some things to consider to make your garden a little more green 
I’ve already blogged with a good step-by-step on composting–the fine art of turning food scraps and yard waste into soil–so please take a look. And there is some more technical information available in Fact Sheets 7.212 and 7.007 on the Cooperative Extension web site.
And Xeriscaping is something hugely popular here in Colorado, where the term originated. This is a proven technique for making your yard more water & maintenance efficient using the following seven principles:
- Planning & Design
- Soil Improvements (see composting above!)
- Efficient Irrigation
- Zoning of Plants
- Mulches
- Turf Alternatives
- Appropriate Maintenance
Denver Water’s page on Xeriscaping is an excellent resource if you’d like to learn more. Also check back here for my adventures in starting seeds of quite a few native (and therefore, by nature, drought tolerant) plants.
Happy Earth Day. Now quit surfing the web and get outside!
