Organic Gardening is Green Gardening!
If you are interested in green living and you are lucky enough to have a garden - or even a back yard - then gardening organically is for you! Click here to go straight to the articles What's here?This section of the Greenfootsteps looks at why organic gardening is so environmentally friendly and explores some methods of "green" gardening. Even if you still use the occasional chemical fertiliser, there are still lots of ways in which you can make your garden greener - both literally and environmentally speaking!AdvertisementsFirst, a little about organic gardening and why it is more environmentally friendly.
Organic gardening is fun and quite easy tooA garden which is eco-friendly is a delight at any time of the year. It is buzzing with life and activity and you know that you are doing a bit towards the health of the planet. If you want to do more "green living", try organic gardening!
Gardening using organic methods is not particularly hard. If you take advantage of well-adapted species and use plenty of good old-fashioned gardening techniques you can have a thriving, lovely garden in a shortish time. Yes, it does take time... but it's enjoyable, relaxing and healthy exercise in the open air. And you may feel inspired to grow some of your own crops and so cut down your food miles! Organic gardening picturesThe pictures of flowers on this page show flowers grown solely with organic methods. No artificial fertilisers or pesticides of any description were used to grow them.
Gardening for wildlifeMany species of birds, animals and insects rely on being able to travel and find suitable habitats as they go. They use places such as gardens as stop-overs on their journeys between their more permanent bases. As humans make it their business to colonise and ‘own’ more and more of the earth’s surface, many species are increasingly being squeezed out. Many creatures find themselves marooned in areas of their natural habitat which are cut off from other such areas - cut off by roads, houses, urban sprawl, building sites or industrial complexes. Communities of wildlife – butterflies for example, get more and more stranded in small communities so finding a mate, or even enough food to live and breed becomes a problem.
By making our gardens and back yards friendly to wildlife we can help struggling populations of birds, insects and small animals. We can provide food and shelter for wildlife which helps them get from one bio-friendly area to another. We can do this wherever we live in the world (well almost!), from temperate and cool climates to tropical zones. If you plan a garden using mainly natural, organic and non-toxic products, you will reap the benefits – and so will your local wildlife. Ok, maybe you don’t much want to help the bears or the rats. (In some parts of Eastern Europe bears regularly raid dustbins!) But you can do a lot to provide a corridor along which butterflies, moths, hoverflies and birds can travel and you can enjoy seeing and hearing them as they use the space you help provide. AdvertisementsSo how do you make your outside spaces more user-friendly to wildlife?Here is a quick get-you-started list of ways to make your garden more wildlife friendly:(There are more details of many of these things in this section of the site.)
For planting, sowing and growing tips for the different vegetables (mainly easy ones!) please see
How to grow a vegetable garden
 Custom Search Organic gardening pages
Identifying weeds - an easy guide to some common ones Growing comfrey for added garden fertility How to grow sunflowers to feed the birds Organic pest control tips for the perennial garden Organic lawn care products and methods for a truly green lawn Garden kitGood garden netting choices for green gardening Water butt choices - what to look for when choosing a water butt for your garden The best buy greenhouse for green gardening - how to choose a good greenhouse Choosing an outdoor shed for your garden - some thoughts on green choices Keeping a Worm Bin - for the very best compost Best Garden Cloches for Crop Protection and Sustainable Living A Garden Sickle for Effective Wilderness Control
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