5 Steps Towards Sustainable Gardening

Sustainable gardening is a powerful way to help our environment but it’s often difficult to know where to start. That’s why we have put together 5 simple ways you can introduce sustainable practices into your everyday gardening routine.

1. Recycle Rainwater

Did you know that your tap water contains many chemicals, fluorides and salts which can be harmful to the plants? Collecting and reusing rainwater is a much safer and sustainable option. Water Butts are the most effective way of gathering rainwater for watering plants. Simply dunk your watering can into the water butt to fill it. If you don’t have a water butt available to you, why not recycle an old barrel or even a bathtub – they can be just as effective!

---

2. Grow your own

Growing your own fruit and veg in the garden is a great way to become more sustainable. Home grown food reduces the need for transportation and plastic packaging which often leads to air pollution and waste. What’s more is that you do not need a large space in order to grow your own produce. We have some great solutions suitable for gardens of all shapes and sizes:

---

---

---

3. Make your own compost

Home composting has countless benefits, for both your garden, and the environment. By making your own compost as opposed to using potting compost which often contains moss peat, you can help to protect Ireland’s biodiversity. Besides, homemade compost is fantastic for your soil’s texture, structure and moisture, creating much healthier plants.

Composting also prevents food waste from sitting and rotting in landfills, which produces harmful liquids, odours, and worse again, methane. This can go a long way in fighting against climate change.

Read our full blog on Home Composting here!

---

4. Use Organic Pest Control Methods

Slugs, snails and other pests can cause big issues in the garden for many people.

While unwanted pests can cause damage to your plants, they are also scavengers and eat decaying vegetation so they are also an important part of your garden’s ecosystem.

Protecting your plants from pests without killing them is possible by using barrier products like copper tape, gels or wool pellets. Slug Gone is a natural product made from sheep’s wool that creates a surface mat that slugs don’t like to cross. Similarly, copper irritates slugs and snails when they come in contact with it and therefore they won’t move over it making copper tape a great barrier to prevent them coming into the house or onto your plants.

---

5. Attract & Encourage Pollinators

All gardens have the potential to be pollinator friendly, not only for bees but for other pollinators such as butterflies and moths. A great, simple way to encourage pollinators is by sowing some wildflower seeds. You will benefit from the beautiful displays of colour and your garden will benefit from all of the wildlife and pollinators the flowers will attract – it’s a no brainer! We also stock a variety of bee hives and bug houses which are sure to create a “buzz” around your garden.

You should also try to refrain from cutting your grass until the middle of April. This should give dandelions a chance to flower, which will provide plenty of pollen for the bees. You can, however, continue to mow your lawn as normal after that, so long as you leave it approximately 6 weeks at a time.

Remember, every step towards a more sustainable garden counts! We hope this blog has given you some useful tips to help you on your own sustainability journey.

---

SHOP PRODUCTS

All products mentioned in the above blog can be bought on countrylife.ie or in you local CountryLife branch. To find your nearest store click here.

---

---

---

Follow us on Instagram for more great gardening advice!