9 Gardening Ecotips for you to try out today!

Author: Kristen Koo Kar Wuen

Get ready to spruce up your garden with some new tricks! Read on below.

• Go for eco-friendly gardening materials. Using natural compost as a substitute for chemical fertilizers can effectively prevent the fertility of the soil from being irreversibly damaged and avoid the transfer of harmful effects to the plants and flowers. Vermicompost is one example of a natural fertilizer.

• Water conservation techniques are encouraged to be implemented in the garden. The rainwater tank with strainer is clever cost-cutting irrigation that assists the gardener in water collection. These rains are free of chemicals like chlorine. The tank also helps reduce the overall demand for groundwater, thus preventing erosion and floods.

• Start growing plants or vegetables in recycled packaging. Use egg boxes as the sowing pots. Materials like cardboard help keep the moisture in the soil and disintegrate after a period of time. Make sure to punch a few holes at the bottom of the egg-boxes pot as the porous structure will allow good circulation of air in the soil and provide extension for the roots to grow.

• Installation of solar panels reduces the dependency on electricity and makes the garden eco-friendly by using solar lights. The solar panels will recharge in the day and use the solar energy to keep the garden bright during the night. The solar lights can also provide excellent aesthetic value to the gardening area.

• Opt for vertical gardening to save some space. Choose plants like tomatoes, beans, peas, cucumber and melons as they all grow vertically. These plants require support structure so try using the straightest stick and build the wigwams, tied together with biodegradable twine. Ropes and thread also work well for light plants like peas.

• Regrow your vegetables in water. There are few vegetables which can be regrown such as bok choy, cabbage, carrot greens, celery, lettuce and lemon grass. The steps are easy and mostly the same. Simply cut off the bottom to about 1-2 inches tall. Dip the base of the plant and small roots into a shallow bowl or cups filled with a small amount of water. Wait for a few days and a new small stalk will begin to grow from the centre.

• Use 100% recycled material planters. These planters are made from the waste of artificial grass production. Washed out tins and old wooden wine boxes also make great options. The cardboard tube from toilet rolls or newspaper pots are two eco-friendly options to substitute the single-use plastic seed trays.

• Green up the garden space with trees and hedges. Living hedges improve air quality and provide a habitat for wildlife. A small hole at the bottom can allow small mammals to visit the garden easily. Planting trees in the garden can make a big difference to the environment as trees are the most amazing-air cleaning machines.

• Avoid overwatering the plants. It suffocates the plants leading to stunted growth due to nutrient deficiency, fungus and other issues. It is recommended to water on a fixed schedule and always better to water less, allowing the soil to dry out and the roots to absorb all the nutrients before they are washed away.

Goodluck gardening!! 🌱🌱

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