Home : Easy to be Green

Is your garden green enough? I’m not asking if there’s enough plants, but if you are clever with water, recycle and avoid chemicals in your garden?

Since moving into our new house we’ve become a lot more aware of how we coexist with the environment around us. We’ve also been keen to save money and become more efficient. We’ve been trying to get greener inside the house as well. Slowly, we’ve been introducing new gardening techniques to help with water conservation and ensure we can eat a lot more of what we grow. We also enjoy looking at pretty flowers and green grass, but in South Australia there’s been a lot of pressure on water supplies so we wanted to ensure we reused water where we could. It’s been a lot simpler than I thought and hasn’t cost much money. In the long run, it helps save on water and fruit and vegetable bills. The kids love watching the plants grow and I love eating fresh food straight out of our backyard.

Do you know there are a few simple things you can do to help you be greener. And your garden will love you for it.

1) Get yourself a worm farm. You can put your fresh scraps in it, like you do when you have chickens, but unlike chickens they don’t attract rats. The kids will love lifting the lid and searching for worms. The worms eat the organic matter and turn it into liquid fertiliser which you can dilute with water and put on your plants. And you can also use the worm castings to add to your soil when planting new seedlings. The system is so simple and doesn’t take up too much room in your garden.

2) Set-up a dripper system when planting your garden and be sure to use organic mulch to help keep the soil wet. It takes time to set it all up, but if you attach it to an electric timer you wont need to stand out in the heat and water your garden – it does it all for you.

3) The stainless steel garden beds in the top photograph are from our garden. We have drippers running to them and because they are compact in size we can really keep on top of the growing process. We spray the garden with soapy water to get rid of bugs.

4) Use your washing machine water to water the garden – it’s one of the best water recycling methods around. That and getting a rain water tank. We’ve hooked the washing machine up to a big storage bin and then to our garden drippers/hose and a moveable sprinkler. By using the greywater we are saving so much water. With a family of five we have the washing machine going most days, now I don’t feel so guilty. Just make sure you use environmentally friendly washing powder.

Just hook the washing machine up to your hoses. Photo: Martha Stewart

5) There’s a great website you can go to here to find out all about natural pesticides.

6) If you have birds or possums eating your new seedlings try putting netting over them or invest in a eagle or owl statue to help scare them away.

7) Look around your house and garden and recycle things for seedling pots, planter boxes and watering cans. If you can use something again, rather than throwing it away it will help reduce landfill.

Do you run a green garden at home? Do you recycle your water? Do you grow your own fresh vegetables, herbs and fruit? 

Do you have any handy green gardening tips to share?

Have a fab day,

Bianca xx

Main photo: Bianca Wordley