Top five tips for creating an eco-friendly garden from my new book

Writing, traveling and speaking; since my last blog entry, that’s seems to be about all I’ve been doing. In fact, as I write this, I do so from my room in Orlando, Florida at Disney. Specifically, I'm at Epcot where I'm speaking at their Flower and Garden Festival for three days. It's a wonderful annual event and I hope you find time to visit soon. But finally tonight, I can sit still long enough to make another long overdue entry.

The recent release of my new book, The Green Gardener’s Guide; Simple significant actions to protect and preserve the planet is the biggest news of the year so far. It’s been out for about a month now. The media interest is high and the feedback has been very good. What excites me most about this new book is the opportunity it presents to tell such an important story to gardeners across the country.
Yesterday I was a guest on The Martha Stewart Radio Show and they asked for my list of the top five things to create an eco-friendly garden. I keep having to cull it down. In my book, I gave 10 simple yet significant actions in the first chapter. Then I realized in speaking presentations on the same subject, I only had time to talk about seven of those in an hour. So it only stands to reason, if there’s less time to talk, I need to have a shorter list, hence, the top five. So here they are for you as I presented them yesterday:

Right Plant-Right Place – Putting the right plant in the right place allows plants to thrive in their preferred growing environment. When plants are sited properly, they are naturally healthier and hardier, enabling them to be much more resistant to pests and diseases and reducing or eliminating the need for supplemental pesticides and fertilizers.

Feed the soil, not the plants – Healthy soil is the essence of creating a healthy growing environment that promotes plants not dependant on supplemental fertilizers and chemicals to keep them looking good. The soil has a life of its own, with billions of microorganisms, all working together to support and promote what grows there. By adding soil food, such as compost and organic matter, we enrich the soil, which in-turn, helps plants thrive. Conversely, when we pour on chemicals in the form of synthetic fertilizers, which are largely made of salts, we desiccate soil life and leave behind excess nutrients that can leach into ground water and wash into watersheds.

Make Compost-Use Compost – Compost is the single best amendment we can add to any soil. Even better, we can make it ourselves for free kitchen waste, shredded paper, lawn clippings and yard debris. Compost is not only the best source for creating healthy, living soil; it also keeps a significant amount of waste out of our landfills.

Conserve, retain and use water properly – According to the EPA, we waste about half of all the water we use, and a lot of that applies to outside as we water our lawns and gardens. We tend to over-water and water at the wrong times, losing much of it to evaporation and runoff. As water runs off our properties it carries with it sediments and contaminants which ultimately make their way into nearby watersheds where more problems occur as a result. In a nutshell, fix leaks, water at the right time and at the soil level, capture and retain rainwater and use mulch.

Be Proactive, not reactive - Stay ahead of any developing problems: pay attention to your plants, keeping the garden free of weeds and leaf debris, and if you do see a developing problem, know the most eco-friendly way to deal with it. By catching problems early, you can prevent a larger problem and eliminate the need to take more drastic measures.

Certainly there is much more to the story and you can find plenty of other ideas in the book. But that’s enough for now and certainly plenty to read. I’ll be back in touch soon.
JL

Comments

[Mark McSweeney]

Joe,

I really enjoy reading your "Over the Fence" book. I'm starting my first vegetable garden and I want to use your great idea using raised beds - sounds great. I will buy the Cedar boards 12" tall 3-4 feet wide and about 10 feet long. My question is should I use wood screws or buy some of those special anchors (see on websites) to hold the boxes together? Concerned about the wood screws leaching into the vegetables somehow.

Mark

[Flora]

joe-thanks for the great blog post. good to hear from you. sounds like you are having a blast with educating the masses about green gardening. you go! look for a mention about your book on my blog on monday the 31st. ~flora, nw flower & garden show blogger
p.s. sorry. HAD to mention it because a reader asked specifically about how to make a difference with her garden. :)

[Garden Grow]

Hi,

I was looking for the article on The best gardening products for spring, which I found on Caller.com, and found your blog. I didn't know that PBS had a gardening show but will be sure to look for it in April when it begins.

I just started my Gardening blog... last year I planted tomatoes for the first time and am doing so again. I learned alot last year about tomatoes and am trying this year to grow Heirlooms.

Anywho, I hope that your spring gardening season is a good one! Keep up the good work, Joe!

GG.