If you like gardening, nature is usually very important to you. We give tips on how you can make your hobby as sustainable and environmentally friendly as possible.
For many, gardening is one of the most environmentally friendly hobbies of all, after all, you spend a lot of time in nature and make sure that everything grows and thrives. Unfortunately, the reality is often different: plastic pots, mineral fertilizers and even potting soil are often anything but sustainable and even damage our environment in the long run. Luckily, there are some ideas how we can banish our environmental sins from the garden - you can find the best tips for sustainable gardening here.
You want to do something for the environment? Start in your own garden - we'll show you how to become a sustainable gardener quickly and easily.
1. Biodiversity instead of gravel bed
Gravel beds and English lawns are still found in many gardens - easy to maintain and yet always clean and tidy, they are perfect for gardeners who don't have a lot of time. However, such gardens are a nightmare for nature, because beneficial insects such as bees or bumblebees in particular do not find enough food here. Fortunately, there are great alternatives that can compete with gravel beds and the like not only in terms of appearance, but also in terms of time: how about a beautiful wildflower meadow, for example? Once sown, it hardly needs any care and is not only insect-friendly, but also inspires people with its blooms. Heaps of leaves, old wood or wild hedges not only have their very own charm, but also ensure biodiversity in the garden.
2. Save water cleverlyTo keep the garden nice and green in summer and not dry out in the blazing sun, many gardeners turn on the lawn sprinkler or lug heavy watering cans through the beds. Often more of the water, which is precious in periods of drought, is wasted than many people think. Instead of drinking or well water, it is therefore advisable to collect rainwater and use it for watering. This not only protects nature and the wallet,but is also better for the plants, as it usually contains much less lime. But watering sparingly is also important - the right time in particular makes a big difference in water consumption: In the early morning hours, the plants can absorb the water best - in the blazing midday sun, on the other hand, a large part of the precious moisture evaporates before it even gets to the plant comes into contact. The lawn sprinkler should also be avoided if possible, because in extreme cases only about a third of the water reaches the ground while the rest evaporates - instead, the well-known watering with a watering can has proven to be much more effective.
3. Plant protection with plant power
If you grow your own vegetables in the garden instead of buying them in the supermarket, you have already taken the first step towards sustainability. It is all the more annoying when weeds, pests or even diseases destroy all the work. The reach for chemical agents is not far away. But if you take precautions early enough, you can effectively drive away all sorts of culprits in the so-called mixed culture simply by selecting the right bed partners. Basil (Ocimum basilicum) protects tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) against powdery mildew, lavender (Lavandula) protects Roses (Rosa) precede aphids and marigolds (Calendula officinalis) repel nematodes that otherwise kill potato (Solanum tuberosum ) and Cabbage (Brassica). So-called ground covers, on the other hand, suppress weeds perfectly with their creeping growth and can even blossom into decorative eye-catchers. And the green manure by growing bee friend (Phacelia) or legumes (Fabacae) also helps us to no longer rely on chemicals for soil improvement have to resort to.
4. Fertilize without chemicalsTo ensure that the vegetables grow really well and the roses bloom in all their glory, many gardeners quickly resort to mineral fertilizers. Unfortunately, these are not particularly environmentally friendly: a large amount of energy is required to produce them and fossil resources are often mined. In addition, many mineral fertilizers have the disadvantage that they are quickly washed out of the soil, so that they not only do not provide the plants with sufficient nutrients, but can also pollute the groundwater. In fact, there are good organic alternatives that are not only environmentally friendly, but are also easy to use. Of theCompost is probably the best example here: leftover kitchen scraps and garden waste can be turned into a high-quality fertilizer by composting. Due to its long-term effect, this compost fertilizer not only nourishes the plant, but also improves the soil. But also horse manure, ash fertilizer, egg shells and even fertilizing with coffee grounds are environmentally friendly household remedies that strengthen your plants. When buying fertilizers, you should primarily opt for organic fertilizers, such as our Plantura organic fertilizers, which provide your plants with optimal care, strengthen the soil and protect the environment.
5. Green roofs against heat stress
When it gets really hot in summer, many flee from the garden into the house and hope for a cool breeze there. But often you don't even find the cooling you long for here, unless you reach for a fan or waste a lot of electricity on an air conditioner. On the other hand, it is easier and more sustainable to lower the temperature with the help of plants: Hardy climbing plants such as winter jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum) on the south side of the house wall can reduce the temperature inside the house by several degrees in summer lower. This phenomenon is even more extreme in houses with a flat roof - up to 5 °C less are measured here. The combination of green roof and solar system is also optimal, because these often lose their efficiency from an operating temperature of 25 °C. Since roofs that are covered with gravel, for example, heat up extremely in summer, the effectiveness suffers. So it happens that a solar system on a green roof provides up to a fifth more energy than a comparable area without greenery.
6. Creative PlantersAnyone who grows their own plants knows them: the small red or black plastic pots that you can find in every garden center for sowing new plants. Unfortunately, the pots are not particularly environmentally friendly and are not a real eye-catcher either. Also, the small pots often cannot be reused because they break easily. But instead of buying new ones every year, you can find things in almost every household that are suitable as sustainable seed containers. How about eggshells, a lemon (Citrus x limon) or a coconut shell? These special seed pots are not only a real eye-catcher on the windowsill, but can also cover the bed with the seedling anddecompose there naturally.
7. Sustainable Potting Soil
Especially balcony gardeners are dependent on buying potting soil. But the purchased soil is also used in the garden, for example to help with growing the seedlings. What few people know: Many potting soils are often real climate killers. And that's not (as one might assume) because of the plastic packaging, but because of the content. In fact, a large part of the commercially available potting soil contains peat, which is mined from raised bogs. This not only destroys the sensitive ecosystem of the high moors, which is home to numerous endangered animal and plant species, but also releases large amounts of CO2, which was previously naturally stored in the moor. When buying potting soil, you should always use peat-reduced variants. The organic soils in our Plantura shop are all peat-free or peat-reduced. They are also produced sustainably and are harmless to humans and animals.
8. Regional building material
Furniture made of wood and paths made of natural stone - pretty sustainable, isn't it? Unfortunately, this widespread opinion is an insidious fallacy: Many products first have to travel a long way to be sold in Germany. Tropical wood in particular, which is often used for garden furniture because of its robustness, has not only come a long way, but is also obtained directly from the rainforest, which has fatal consequences for the sensitive ecosystem. It is better to use local woods such as beech or ash - these are in no way inferior to tropical wood in terms of robustness thanks to new treatment methods during processing. When it comes to natural stone, you should also pay close attention to the country of origin: Since natural stone quarried in Germany is often quite expensive, many markets offer cheap imported stone from the Far East - mostly from China or India. Due to the long transport routes from the quarry to Germany, the stones unfortunately leave a very large ecological footprint and the purchase of the stones is usually not justifiable from an ethical point of view, since children often have to work in the quarries under inadequate safety precautions.
9. Native Plants
Tropical plants in the garden are becoming increasingly popular. But also classic cultivated flowers such as roses (Rosa) are still on the rise -no wonder, after all, these plants often captivate with an impressive appearance. But many gardeners quickly notice that the exotic beauties are very susceptible to disease and require intensive care, and beneficial insects don't enjoy the pretty plants either, as they don't find enough food, especially in flowers with double blossoms. It is therefore advisable to use local residents. Old fruit varieties, for example, are often very robust and highly sought-after by insects because of their blooms. Also native plants such as the sunflower (Helianthus annuus), evening primrose (Oenothera) or mallow (Malva) can not only score with their appearance, but also serve as a source of food for many animals.
Would you like to know more about species diversity and biodiversity or even transform your garden into a bee paradise? Then you will find everything you need to know about this topic here.