Tips for a Healthier more Environmentally Friendly Lawn & Garden- Green living information & advice for a greener lifestyle

green housewife - a helpful guide to living greener
 
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Tips for a Greener More Environmentally Friendly Lawn & Garden


Every little bit of greenery on our planet helps clean the air, contributes to our oxygen supply, helps prevent soil erosion and improves our quality of life. Whether you have a few square feet or a forest behind your home, preserving and promoting the diversity of the area and maintaining it chemical-free will enhance your life and keep you, your family and the animals in the area safe from harmful toxins. Here are a few tips to go by:


 

Environmentally Friendly Lawn Watering & Irrigation
1. Harvest rain to water your plants.

2. If you must water your lawn and garden, water in the morning or at night to prevent evaporation. One inch of water a week is better than several short showers.

3. Don't over water your lawn. Most people do!

4. Use efficient irrigation (such as drip irrigation) where possible. Buy an irrigation controller that reads the weather and adjusts water according to the conditions.

5. Put a container under your eaves trough downspout to catch water when it rains. You can use this to water indoor plants, your garden and wash your car.

6. In a drought, don’t waste water on a lawn beginning to turn brown, it will revive after normal rainfall resumes.

7. Attune your plants and water-consumption to your region’s natural cycles. Plant low water-use plants.

8. Reuse water from your house in your yard. If possible, install a gray water system to irrigate your plants with water from your sinks, laundry machine, and showers.

Environmentally Friendly Lawn Grass & Planting
1. Plant native plants in your garden - they need a lot less water and maintenance than introduced species.

2. Choose well adapted and disease resistant varieties of grass such as ryegrasses and bluegrasses.

3. Compost your yard waste.

4. Plant flowers, trees, ground cover and vegetables instead of grass. A lawn is an unnatural ecosystem. Planting one plant species over a large area encourages weeds, insects and other plant and animal life.

5. Spend an evening outdoors weeding your lawn by hand early in the season.

6. Grow ground cover or use mulch in your garden to cut down on water use (it also helps control weeds).

7. Fight outdoor pests the natural environmentally friendly way.

Environmentally Friendly Lawn Mower & Lighting Ideas
1. Set your mower blades to high. The minimum height for grass is two and a half inches. Anything shorter is hard to maintain, encourages weeds and disease and requires more intervention. Longer grass also protects the roots, offering more shade and preventing water evaporation.

2. Keep your lawn mover blades sharp. Dull blades will tear the grass, damaging the plant, making it require more water than healthy plants.

3. Take the grass catcher off the lawn mower. The sun and rain will break down the grass clippings and reward you with instant compost or use the clippings in your compost.

4. Use solar lights to light your garden, lawn, or walkways.


Greener Environmentally Friendly Lawn Care Ideas

Organic Gardening Tips & Ideas

Natural Safe Organic Pesticide Recipes

Environmentally Friendly ways to deal with Weeds
Environmentally Friendly ways to deal with Outdoor Pests