Eco Friendly Gardens: 8 Tips for Sustainable Urban Living

Eco friendly gardens add beautiful green scenery to the usual concrete landscape in New York. Even if you think that you don’t have enough space for your garden, there are many options such as an indoor vertical garden or container garden.

Plants not only provide a fresh source of vegetables and herbs they also improve air quality in your home and give a sense of peace and wellbeing.

This article shares how to create eco friendly gardens when you have limited space and shares eight tips on how to maintain your garden.

3 Benefits of Eco Friendly Gardens

Let’s first look at why you should consider having eco friendly gardens.

1. Source of fresh produce

Imagine you’ve just gotten home after a long day of work. Then as you settle down you decide to head to the fridge and get something to cook or warm up. Then, reality hits you, you forgot to buy some vegetables at the grocery store on your way back home.

Now imagine if you had a few vegetables grown in your balcony or backyard garden. You just need to pick a few and make your fresh salad in a jiffy.

Eco friendly gardens ensure that you have a reliable source of fresh food whenever you need it. Community gardening also improves food security for people living there.

2. It is good for the environment

Eco friendly gardens are a boost to the environment because they improve air quality and help us deal with the toxic gases around us.

They also reduce the carbon footprint as there is less need for the transport of food from other areas. Thus, mitigating the ever increasing emission of greenhouse gases. It also improves biodiversity and protects pollinator species such as bees which are great for urban beekeeping.

3. Good for social interaction and the health of the community

Urban ecofriendly gardens bring together people from the community with different cultures and backgrounds together for a common goal.

The gardens provide food for the local community and can be a way to improve a source of income by selling fresh produce at the local grocery stores. Working in the gardens is also a good way to improve the levels of physical activity for the people which has a positive effect on mental health. It is also a good way to teach your kids about healthy eating, physical activity and social interaction.

8 Tips to Improve Eco Friendly Gardens

It is easy to transform your balcony or rooftop to an eco friendly garden whether you are a beginner or expert in gardening. Here are helpful tips to ensure the success of eco friendly gardens.

1. Choose the right plants

What are the best plants for an eco friendly garden? You need to choose native plants that can survive in the local environmental conditions such as soil and temperature. The plants you chose improve the ecosystem, provide fresh produce or add beauty to your space.

For example consider vegetables such as spinach, Swiss chard, and herbs such as basil thyme, and mint. You can also consider flowers such as purple coneflowers, or Ivy and California Poppies if you want a vertical garden.

2. Consider composting

Eco friendly gardening goes beyond the type of plants you choose. It also means ensuring an ecological balance of the soil. Thus, composting is a game changer for urban gardening. It enables you to use kitchen scraps and waste as nutrition for the plants.

This goes a long way to reduce the landfills and boost the nutrition profile of the soil. Set up a composting system in your home with a simple compost bin and a few worms to get started.

3. Conserve water

Gardening needs a constant supply of water to ensure the plants grow well. But it can also lead to misuse of the scarce natural resource. Thus, water conversation is key for ecofriendly gardens.

One of the best ways to make better use of water is by rainwater harvesting. Using the water to water the garden not only reduces your water bills but is also good for your plants. Set up a drip irrigation system from the rainwater storage to save time and reduce wastage.

4. Use organic pest control methods

Pest management is critical for eco friendly gardens. To protect the ecosystem avid synthetic chemicals and sprays which also wipe out beneficial bugs.

For example, use neem oil to keep pests away or plant companion plants such as marigolds and garlic that repel unwanted pests.

5. Maximize the space with vertical gardening

The design of an eco friendly garden is key because every space counts particularly if you are living in an apartment. Creating a vertical garden is a good way to maximize limited space. You can hang containers or pots and allow plants to climb upwards.

If you are short on horizontal space you can also use stackable planters that allow you to stack as many pots and containers as possible. Ensure to choose containers that are plastic free and long lasting to reduce the carbon footprint caused by the use of plastic materials.

6. Embrace community gardening

If you are out of space in your window sills or indoor garden consider joining community garden initiatives in our local area. Collective gardening can be a good way to foster social relationships and convert unused land into thriving sources of fresh produce and a source of livelihood.

Participate in community gardening to increase the produce you get access to and make new friends. The extra produce can be sold in the local market and be a source of employment for the youth.

7. Create a rooftop garden

Convert your rooftop into a thriving eco friendly garden. Choose eco friendly containers and the right plants to add greenery to your roof. If you are living in an apartment, you can collaborate with your flatmates and turn the concrete into a communal garden.

Rooftop gardens not only provide a healthy source of vegetables but also reduce heat and help the building stay cool. You also get a place to cool down, get fresh air and boost your mental health.

8. Eco friendly harvesting

Harvest the plants at the right time to reduce produce going bad. Ensure to also use the right tools such as kitchen scissors or shears that would not damage the remaining stems.

Preserve the harvested produce in air tight containers or in the fried or freezer to prevent food wastage. Label the dates and use the first food first.

FAQs

What is the meaning of eco-friendly?

Eco friendly means something that has little or no harmful effect on the environment.

Which plants are eco-friendly?

Some of the best eco friendly plants include Lilies, snake plants, and Pothos and Bamboo palms. These plants add greenery to your space and also improve air quality.

How do you make an eco friendly garden?

You can make an eco friendly garden by choosing organic seeds, adopting composting, conserving water and using organic pest control methods.

Final Thoughts

Eco friendly gardens are a must have in urban spaces because they are good for our environment and future generations. They are essential to improve the air quality, provide fresh produce and provide a calming effect to everyone who walks through them. And it doesn’t have to be an individual effort. Join communal gardening initiatives to foster social interaction and boost the health of the community.

Eco Friendly Gardens: 8 Tips for Sustainable Urban Living