Since Earth Day is April 22, the landscaping experts at RubberMulch.com have put together a list of ten things you can easily do to help save the planet while also caring for your garden. Check it out:
Collect rainwater to help keep the garden green, even during a drought
Use a rain barrel to collect excess rainwater. It will help prevent flooding in low lying parts of the garden while at the same time allowing you to water your plants and flowers guilt-free, and with no impact to your water bill. Even during a drought, you can maintain your garden’s fresh and beautiful look. Tip? Install a screen on the top of the barrel to keep pests and bugs out.
Bring on the Good Bugs!
There are several varieties of insects that are good for your garden and you can encourage them to pay your plants and flowers a visit. Example? Ladybugs and lacewing flies love two things: brightly colored flowers such as sunflowers and marigolds, and plant-destroying aphids. The former attracts the ladybugs and flies and the latter becomes their lunch.
How do you encourage the good bugs to fly on over to your garden? Plant colourful flowers. They’ll see them like a botanical drive-thru window.
Do you like a little Irish Spring?
Buy a bar of Irish Spring soap. When you’re in the garden, shave a little of the bar around your perennial plants and flowers: small, furry critters don’t care for it. It’s an inexpensive deterrent that smells a whole lot better than many of the products sold at the garden center.
Cornbread anyone?
Weeds are the bane of any gardener’s existence but if you’re partial to using corn meal gluten in your kitchen, you might want to use some in your garden too. To keep weed seeds from germinating and growing into full-fledged plants, sprinkle some corn meal around your flowers. The gluten will prevent any seed from germinating – so avoid it in your vegetable patch or nary a tomato will you grow this year.
Do you already have some weeds growing? A pinch of salt at the base of weed will kill it naturally.
Snails and slugs are slimy but, oddly, they don’t care for man-made slime
Spread some petroleum jelly on the edges of your pots and planters and save your plants from becoming an all-a-snail-can-eat buffet of green goodness.
Get to reusing those milk jugs and plastic bottles
We all have too many of them in the house, what with growing kids and thirsty parents, and most can be recycled but you can also put a few of them to good use in the garden. You can keep your early spring seedlings safe from sudden frosts or other harsh weather elements by cutting off the bottom from the jug or bottles and placing them over top of the seedling. This will protect them from threats of spring frost or hail. Just don’t forget to remove them when the good weather is here for good, so the plants can benefit from the full and healthful effects of sun and rain.
Mulch much?
Mulching is important for your garden. It protects plants from pests and weeds and helps the plants retain moisture and the necessary minerals from the earth that they feed on. As if those weren’t good enough reasons, mulch helps to cut down on the time and energy you need to spend maintaining the garden and plant beds. You can take it up another level in environmental protection by using sustainable and long-lasting rubber mulch. It’s made from recycled rubber tires: you can’t get more friendly to your garden and the earth than that.
Epsom salts for you… and for the garden?
Did you know that Epsom salts are a perfect natural fertilizer? They will help keep your garden plants green, your flowers growing in abundance and balance the levels of magnesium in your soil, an important mineral for your garden’s happiness. And then you can put some in your hot bath and relax after a lovely day of tending your garden.
Coffee grounds and eggshells are compost gold!
Who knew being addicted to coffee could end up being good for the garden? Coffee grounds that are placed in the earth or the compost, to a depth of 6 to 8 inches, can do a lot of good. The grounds provide phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and copper, all of which your soil needs. While the grounds degrade in the earth, they will also release nitrogen into the soil, which is another essential compound for a healthy garden. Fun tip? Sprinkle some as mulch at the base of your hydrangea plants and your pink flowers will turn blue as the grounds alter the pH levels of the soil.
Eggshells provide two-pronged goodness for your garden:
1 – They are composed of 96 per cent calcium carbonate so they provide compost with a hit of calcium it needs to nourish your soil. Pepper and tomato plants in particular love calcium.
2 – Since crushed eggshells are sharp, you can sprinkle some around your plants to deter pests like slugs and snails from munching on your garden.
Rubber Mulch, available at RubberMulch.com, is the original and environmentally responsible mulch made from 100% recycled rubber used in gardens, playgrounds and sustainable landscaping. Rubber Mulch is weather resistant, durable, and the most cost effective mulch around. It is specifically designed to protect children from falls on the playground. Rubber Mulch helps homeowners increase the curb appeal of their house and create the home and garden they have always wanted.
