So what the hell IS sustainable gardening?

Next up for my column in the local hippie paper is this overview of sustainable gardening - because we're finally catching on to this concept and because gardening sustainably is now a requirement for backyard habitat certifiation by the National Wildlife Federation.  After this, I'll tackle the surprisingly topic of plant choice, which seems to be a controversial one - you know, whether to recommend native plants only or a mix.  But I'm asking all sorts of local gardening authorities about their favorite sustainable plants for this area.  Meanwhile, I'd love your comments on the following topics - organic and water-sensitive practices, plus the often-forgotten issue of conserving the gardener.

Thanks to Pam Penick, the Austin garden designer and photographer, for the use of this photo and others in my town's commmunity wildlife habitat project.

SUSTAINABLE GARDENING (title ideas, anyone?)

"Sustainable" is a word we're seeing everywhere lately - high time. Broadly speaking it applies to activities that can be continued indefinitely - be it energy practices, logging, or agriculture. But let's look specifically at sustainable gardening because A, it's the right way to garden, and B, the National Wildlife Federation requires the backyard habitats they certify to be gardened that way and I hope lots of you will be getting certified.  And kudos to the NWF for adding it to the traditional requirements of food, water and shelter for wildlife.  It's a great opportunity to educate the public, especially nongardeners, about gardening practices that are better for the environment and not coincidentally, easier on the homeowner.

WHAT IS IT?  Most sources define sustainable gardening as the creation of a healthy plant-and-soil system that doesn't need added resources like supplemental watering or toxic inputs like pesticides and herbicides.  Beyond these basic principles there's disagreement among the various sources, so I'll start with the areas of agreement.

Use of Organic Methods:   
    -Mulching all uncovered soil for water retention, weed control, and to improve the soil's structure. (Best are leaf compost, pine bark chips or cocoa hulls.)
    -Composting garden and kitchen waste. If more fertilizer is necessary, using organic sources only (e.g., compost tea or fish- or seaweed-based).
    -Choosing pest- and disease-resistant plants.
  -For pests, using preventive practices first (like ensuring good air circulation) and taking action only when a plant is endangered.  Then using the least invasive or toxic methods first, like horticultural oil for scale and mites, Bt for caterpillars, beetles and mosquitoes, baking soda for black spot and powdery mildew, and SAFER brand soap for many problem insects.
    -For pests, using biological and physical barrier controls like bait traps, hard sprays of water to remove aphids, removal by hand, and diatomaceous earth for slugs.
    - Avoiding the use of pesticides, herbicides, and synthetic fertilizer. If pesticides are used, starting with the least toxic, like insecticidal soap, and steering clear of broad spectrum insecticides like Sevin and Diazinon.
    -Weeding by hand or using a 10 percent vinegar solution.  In lawns, by using a high mower setting, applying an organic fertilizer in the fall, and applying lime, as needed..
    -Always testing the soil before adding amendments like lime.

Water Quality and Conservation
    -Using deciduous trees south of your home to create shade, evergreens on the north to stop winter winds.
  - Watering smart - directly to the root zone by hand or using soaker or drip irrigation, and preferably in the morning.  Avoiding sprinklers. Watering according to plant needs, not a rigid schedule. Watering infrequently but deeply - no fine mists.
    -Grouping plants with similar water needs
  -Keeping rain on your property using rain garden techniques and rain barrels.  (Rain gardens are depressions in the soil that are planted with water-loving plants.  For more how-to help Google "rain garden".)
    -Stabilizing stream banks with the use water-loving plants that reduce soil erosion, like liriope.
    -Minimizing bare soil and stabilizing slopes by planting ground covers.
    -Replacing or eliminating lawns (see last month's column).
    -Minimizing the use of impervious surfaces so rainwater can be filtered before reaching the stormwater system.
    -Keeping trash, yard waste, fertilizers and de-icers off paved surfaces.
    -Growing drought-tolerant plants.
    -Weeding regularly (because they compete for water with the plants you want).
    - Letting lawns go dormant in the summer.

LET'S NOT FORGET TO SUSTAIN THE GARDENER
When gardening authorities or gardeners themselves talk about sustainable gardening they usually add that often-forgotten element, the human being, the species responsible for the care of this most unnatural of spots - the suburban lot.  That means considering the amount of labor the homeowner is willing to undertake to care for the site. Fortunately, the techniques outlined above go hand in hand with reducing the maintenance burden on the homeowner, especially mulching and choosing easy-to-care-for plants.  Further reductions in required maintenance are achieved by relying primarily on trees and shrubs (rather than perennials, annuals, vines), by planting in sweeps and masses (which looks better, too), and using simple curves around lawn or mowing strips. 

Sustaining the gardener also means growing what you like and enjoy so that you'll continue to garden (because today's eco-friendly gardening means more and a better diversity of plants on your property, a win/win for the environment).  Finally, it means growing economically, or at least within your budget, again so you'll keep doing it!

Next month I'll tackle the area of real disagreement between ecological and horticultural sources - over plant choice - and provide plenty of examples of good plants for our area from a variety of local gardening experts.  Coming later, a column about the highs and lows of garden maintenance.

Comments

[firefly]

Thank you for posting this -- I'm going to look into the certification program, because I'm almost there now (I need to add some shelter for wildlife).

I noticed three things I wanted to mention:

1. Cocoa hulls are attractive to dogs (at least until the smell of chocolate diminishes) and poisonous to them.

2. Grow drought-tolerant plants -- does the NWF program actually say this, or is it more like 'grow plants that are appropriate for your rainfall zone'? Anything really drought-tolerant would drown here -- we got 17" of rain in a period of weeks last spring.

3. Plant in masses and drifts -- I've been reading 'Noah's Garden' by Sara Stein, and 'Insects and Gardens' by Eric Grissell, and both say that interplantings are less likely to inspire major insect attacks, which in turn would mean less likelihood of the need for intervention. (I wish I'd heard this advice before I planted this year -- maybe the heliotrope wouldn't look so beat up.)

Is this one of those recommendations that is meant to make it easier on the gardener -- same plants, same culture, easier to tend?

And, last but not least, what is that lovely flowering vine spreading across the fence in the photo?

[Pam/Digging]

Firefly, the vine in my photo is 'Tangerine Beauty' crossvine (Bignonia capreolata). It's a spring-blooming, evergreen vine here in Austin, with very low water needs. My plant book also says it is deer-resistant, although my garden does not put it to the test in that regard.

[The Seasoned Gardener]

I like some of what you are saying especially about keeping plants with similar care characteristics together. Sustainable gardening also recommends (as you said) the wise use of minimally impactful insecticides. The problem I have is the Organic/Synthetic issue. Clearly all pesticides (insecticides, herbicides, fungicides etc.) require care when applying and should not be used if your tolerance for insects and weeds allows. However, organic does not mean safe and synthetic does not mean dangerous if label directions are followed. As for diazinon, it has been off the market for about 3 years. New technology including organic and chemical controls are far better and less invasive to the environment than their predecessors.

SG

[Laurie]

Not all insect damage is bad. Some of my first year swamp milkweeds were eaten almost to the ground by monarch caterpillars, and are now larger and fuller than the ones that weren't munched on.

When something (other than a mammal) is eating plants in the garden, I try to let it go for a little while before deciding whether or not to halt the infestation. The milkweeds evolved along with the monarchs; killing off their only food source would be bad, so maybe the plants receive some benefit from the insects other than just pollination.

I can't find any benefits from the rabbits, though.

[Christopher C]

Title Ideas:

The Healthy Garden

The Healthy Garden for the Laid Back Gardener.

Clean Water Gardens

Economical Gardening

This ties right back in to the thread about being a "Purist" or not. All of the things you mentioned largely reduce the input reguired of the gardener. The less input required, the less likely suburbia as a whole is going to pollute the environment as things move off and downstream.

One of the key elements to having a movement like this spread through suburbia is getting people to realize that bugs belong in the garden and that a certain level of tolerance for their needs and the damage they cause is part of life. The "kill all bugs" mentality needs to be challenged.

The question people need to ask themselves isn't "Is there a bug?", it is "Is the plant in danger of death or major damage?" If the answer to the second question is no, then just move on along and forget about it.

I am not a purist, but largely follow the items you mentioned for a sustainable garden. There are just times when Roundup makes more sense and the slugs need to be hurt in a big way. I am sorry but the rats have just got to be killed in the absence of any predators.

The native flora and fauna of Hawaii below 3000 feet in elevation were annililated to a large extent and the native flora have only recently begun to be introduced into the landscape trade.

I may not qualify for the NWF backyard habitat approval but my garden is a sanctuary for all the non native birds, insects and reptiles that now makeup what constitutes wildlife on these islands. From my garden they can go forth and multiply.

[Kel]

Interestingly, I just received my certificate in the mail today!

Always a work in progress and as I know better I do better -

Thanks for covering the topic!

[firefly]

Thank you, Pam, for letting me know what the vine is!

To answer one of my other questions (since I know Susan is having monitor problems and I don't want her to hurt her neck), the NWF site recommends lowering water use, but doesn't specifically mention drought-tolerant plants (I always think of cactus when I hear that term, since here in Maine a 'drought' is when we don't have rain for 2 weeks).

Their application process is very easy, and thanks to the mature trees and thick hedges in the neighborhood I already have shelter in the yard, so it qualifies as certified backyard habitat.

Yay!

[Susan]

Thanks to you all for your great comments, which I'm researching a bit more and incorporating into the article. On the question of drought-tolerance, I've added the caveat "except in wet spots". And the term drought-tolerant is indeed my own; I use it instead of the NWF's "xeriscape," which they don't define but I'm assuming that's what they mean by it.

[Anne]

I'm looking for these books. Can anyone help?

Permacopia
by D. Hunter Beyer and
Dr. Franklin Martin
D. Hunter Buyer/
3 volumes: $20/$25/$25
The latest edition of Volcano resident D. Hunter Beyer's labor of love: a definitive reference source on sustainable gardening in Hawai'i. Book I covers endemic, indigenous and "canoe" plants. Book II is an encyclopedia of non-native plants for sustainable cultivation. Book III covers weed species and what to do about them.

[ford detroit locker]

We are killing the rainforest