5 Easy Steps to Sustainable Gardening:

1) Observe your space…

• Where is the sun / shade? (watch the patterns during the growing season throughout the day)
• How is the land sloped? (south faces warmer & sunnier than north - use to your advantage!)
• Is it windy? (plant some trees or shrubs to act as a windbreak!)

2) Think about what you like to eat and see…

• plant some of your favorites!
• choose varieties that are suited for your climate (local garden stores usually specialize in these!)
• plan plantings that compliment each other (grow sunflowers as a trellis for pole beans!)

3) Soil is the start…

• work soil in spring only when it begins to dry (not when soggy—you’ll lose important soil structure!)
• add Organic Matter!
• add Organic Matter!
• add Organic Matter!
  (…in the form of COMPOST—from kitchen scraps!…in the form of manure—complete the cycle!)
• do not forget…your soil is LIVING!

4) Water is essential…

• overhead sprinklers work, but…can encourage some plant diseases…can be wasteful of water resources!
• try “drip-irrigation” (an easy way is in the form of “soaker hoses”…cheap, yet effective!)

5) Plant wisely…

• rotate the place where you plant things each year (discourages some plant diseases!)
• use mulches (leaves, straw, clippings…) or plant cover crops between rows (will discourage weeds!)
• plant cover crops in winter (crimson clover is nice—adds Nitrogen, can buy seed in bulk for cheap!) to protect soil from erosion…to add nutrients back to the soil!

Sustainable Gardening!
Go for it…for the Earth and you!