Building fertile soil is the best investment for garden health. As a food, compost is king; we leave fertilizers to intensive farming. Home-made compost, well-aged manure and our own leaf-mold slowly but surely enriched our poor soil and avoided the costs and pollution of transporting bulk materials. The "no turn" composting method works for us and we don't sweat it trying to create a gourmet product, simply adding layers of green and woody clippings and kitchen scraps as they come along.
2. Lawn Free?
We leave large grassy areas to grow up as "meadows" ripe with common wildflowers. We mow our lawn less and leave the clippings for mulch. A top-dressing with compost in spring and fall, with a dose of wood ash from our fireplaces is sufficient to keep it going. Over-seeding with white clover worked wonders to cover compacted bald-spots and attracted bees and beneficial insects while improving our soil - for free.
3. Reduce Food-Miles
We save money and miles by growing much of your own produce from seed; tomatoes, leeks, spinach, beans and peppers didn't require much maintenance. Many vegetables grow well in containers if you don't have space. Heirloom vegetables blew away the tasteless supermarket offerings and we enjoy our frozen, herbed tomatoes through winter rather than buy from thousands of miles away.
4. Water Rights
My bone-dry, south-facing flower border, that wilted by ten a.m., has given way to culinary herbs that thrive in the heat. We water deeply and less often to encourage root growth. Close-planting, organic matter and mulching are essential in sunny spots. We don't waste water - in summer, the solar-heated water in our out-stretched garden hose is enough to do a small load of laundry!
5. Beneficial Insects Welcome
If you plant it, they will come…bees, lacewings, hoverflies and lady bugs will thrive where there are nectar and pollen plants throughout the season. Early spring bulbs such as snowdrops and crocus and late bloomers such as native asters and goldenrod extend the banquet. Easy annuals in our nectar border include bachelor's buttons and borage. In the fall, we leave plant material standing to shelter over-wintering insects and spiders.
6. Re-Arm your Borders
Research shows that many plants have in-built chemical defenses that attract natural predator insects when they are under attack from pests. We ensure these beneficial predators can find a home in our garden (see 5.) Other organic pest controllers include our free-range hens and hungry frogs in a small pond among the flower beds.
7. To Weed or not to Weed
One man's weed is another man's wildflower, zero tolerance isn't practical. We take pleasure in identifying unfamiliar species. We dig out perennial weeds and pull annuals after rain, little and often is our weeding motto. Inter-planting produce beds with fast growers like radish and spinach takes up the real-estate. We compost weed waste only after we "cook" it on our baking hot driveway and remove seed heads.
8. Plants for the right Places
We use more native plants and shrubs that are adapted to our regional climate and don't require intervention or chemicals. We look for distinct microclimates within our yard and give the plants the conditions they want. We have given up on "must-have" plants in favor of "what must this plant have?" and re-locate plants that appear to be under stress.
9. Get Lazy
For new planting areas without digging, the "no-till" method means less work and less disturbance to the microstructure of the soil. Eight to twelve inches of chopped leaf mold was enough to start our spring bulb border and save our backs. Porous carpet underlay discarded by a neighbor made instant weed-blocking paths between our vegetable beds.
10. Get Certified
The National Wildlife Federation makes it easy to evaluate and register your back yard as a wildlife habitat. The simple online process helped us focus on the elements needed to support a healthy ecosystem and it gave us great satisfaction to ensure our yard met the criteria. Share this with your neighbors and you're helping to knit together a healthy patchwork quilt for local wildlife and ecology.
