Composting
image courtesy of squawkfox.com
Home composting is a great way to recycle kitchen and garden waste. Compost (also referred to as humus) is the dark, earthy, soil-like material resulting from the natural decomposition of organic matter. It is nutrient rich and great for conditioning the soil for houseplants, container gardens and the landscape, not to mention a fantastic substitute for commercial fertilizers. Composting at home is not only a rewarding landscape asset it is vital to reducing the large amount of waste sent to the dump. Did you know? According to the EPA, kitchen and garden waste makes up about 26% of the total U.S. municipal garbage sent off to the landfills and nearly 1/3 is compostable materials. Unfortunately, the waste does not break down nearly as well as it would in a home compost system. In order to decompose, the correct amount of air circulation, moisture and the proper ratio of “green” vs. “brown” materials are necessary for success. View a more detailed list of compostable materials below and read on to learn more about how and what to compost.
Rain Gardens
Cutting the curb allows more runoff from the street to soak into the rain garden. photo courtesy of thecoves.ca
A rain garden is a depression in the landscape planted with native plantings that allows rainwater to runoff of impervious surfaces such as roofs, driveways, walkways, parking lots and even compacted lawns and gives it an opportunity to soak into the ground rather than into the stormwater systems.
Do areas of your landscape collect water? With spring season rainfall, you may notice the low spots in your landscape where water flows naturally. Turn those undesirable low spaces into functional and beautiful rain gardens. Rain gardens are a great way to beautify an unsightly area and reduce the amount of stormwater runoff. Designed with native plants, these gardens break up soil, filter water from impervious surfaces, and replenish our depleting ground water supply. If a low spot does not occur naturally, create one and place in between areas where run off occurs; eliminating much of the water in its path from reaching the storm water collection systems.
Rain Barrels
image courtesy of Barrel Depot
Spring is finally here! We should expect to see plenty of rain this season. Did you know that you could collect the rainwater falling on your roof and reuse it in your garden? When planning your landscape for this season, considering how installing rain barrels at your home will benefit the environment and your wallet. Rain Barrels are a great way to recycle rainwater. Rainwater is nutrient rich and naturally soft. This is far more beneficial to your landscape and vegetable or herb garden than watering with chemically treated municipal water. Not only will you be saving money by cutting the use on your municipal water to water your garden you will be helping the environment be preventing some of that water from running off your property and into the storm water collection system.
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