Garden in an Environmentally Friendly Way. How you maintain your garden or landscape can have important positive or negative effects on the health of the soil, air, water and vegetation that we all use! Here are some sustainable gardening techniques that you will help you conserve and protect our natural resources. Mulching Mulch helps keep water in the soil and available to the plant, rather than evaporating into the air. This can help reduce water consumption. As mulch breaks down, it provides nutrients to the soil, which can help reduce or eliminate the need for additional fertilizers. Be sure to use mulches that are from sustainable forestry practices (not Cypress tree mulch), and that are free from pests and diseases. Reducing Lawn Areas Grass lawns often require chemicals and frequent maintenance. Xeriscaping Xeriscaping is an approach to landscaping that minimizes outdoor water use while maintaining soil integrity through the use of native, drought-tolerant plants.
Removing Invasives and Restoring Native Plant Communities. How to Maintain a Chemical Free Lawn. Before using chemicals on your lawn, try out these natural steps to make your property inhospitable to pests. A great deal can be done to deter pests, much of it going back to the elemental roots of gardening. Tips for Providing Healthy Soil A nutrient-rich layer of topsoil, 5-6 inches deep, is a critical first step. If your yard has less than this, considering adding composted manure (free of weed seeds) across an existing lawn, but not so much as to smother it. In addition to organic compost, the Environmental Protection Agency suggests grass clippings, bone meal, cottonseed meal or dried blood, which release vital nutrients into the soil without destroying natural microorganisms and earthworms vital to its well-being. Warns the EPA: "Quick-release chemical fertilizers can brown the grass, induce pest infestations, increase thatch buildup and promote leaf growth at the expense of healthy root growth, leaving the grass susceptible to summer heat, drought, disease and compaction.
" Wildlife-Friendly Fertilizers. If you're looking to grow the perfect garden but your soil could use a bit of work, you can buy any number of fertilizers that promise to provide your soil with the nutrients it needs. But not all fertilizers are alike when it comes to environmental impact. Many commercial fertilizers are made from ammonia, which is extracted from natural gas using a complex chemical process. This process also releases carbon dioxide—the heat-trapping gas primarily responsible for global warming—into the atmosphere. Nitrates in the resulting fertilizers can harm both humans and marine mammals by seeping into groundwater or drinking water supplies. And, in the ultimate irony, because these fertilizers are generally very acidic, they eventually have the opposite effect of the one intended, depleting the soil of nutrients and killing healthy bacteria and other essential organisms.
Fortunately, there are environmentally friendly alternatives to chemical fertilizers you can buy in a store or make yourself. Composting with Worms. Composting food and lawn waste has many benefits over sending it to a landfill. Landfills are often so large and compacted that decomposers, air or sunlight cannot reach the waste, so it will often remain unchanged for many years after it was deposited.
Thus landfills grow to massive proportions. Composting can actually reduce a considerable amount of waste in a relatively short amount of time; it also cuts garbage bills and creates a nutrient-rich, moisture laden soil for gardening. There are a number of ways to compost food scraps and lawn waste. Materials Needed: A bin, 16" X 24" X 8" (about the size of an apple crate), or 10 gallons (or the materials to make such a bin) For wooden bins: a plastic garbage bag or other liner About 50 sheets of newspaper 2-4 cups of soil 1 pound of red worms (about two generous handfuls) Enough food each week to keep worms happy (worms eat three times their weight each week) Spray water bottle, to keep bedding moist (but not soaking) Small shovel.
Save Water - Drip, Soak, and Mulch. Water is a precious commodity. Humans extract it from the ground and as a result, the water table may drop, damaging habitats miles away. We divert water from rivers and lakes which reduces flow rate, possibly impacting fish, herons, otters, mussels, and thousands of other kinds of wildlife. Ways to Conserve Water in Your Garden: Mulch planting beds with newspaper, leaves, bark, or wood chips. Mulches retain soil moisture and improve soil quality. Water your plantings with a soaker hose or a drip irrigation system. Give Wildlife a Place to Raise Their Young. Wildlife need places to reproduce, bear and raise their young, and see their young survive to adulthood, all safe from predators, bad weather and human intervention. Creating a wildlife habitat is about creating a place for the entire life-cycle of a species to occur, from tadpole to frog, from caterpillar to butterfly. Many habitat features that serve as cover can double as locations where wildlife can raise their young: from wildflower patches where butterflies and moths lay their eggs and small mammals burrow into the undergrowth, to constructed birdhouses, ponds for amphibians and fish, or caves where bats roost and form colonies.
How can I give wildlife a place to raise their young? You need at least two places for wildlife to engage in courtship behavior, mate, and then bear and raise their young: Mature Trees • Meadow or Prairie • Nesting Box • Wetland • Cave • Host Plants for Caterpillars • Dead Trees or Snags • Dense Shrubs or a Thicket • Water Garden or Pond • Burrow. Wildlife Brush Shelters. Content from "Wildlife Brush Shelters - The Missing Piece of the Habitat Puzzle" by Kevin Munroe, Reston Association Imagine if you could attract chipmunks and weasels, turtles and lizards, towhees and wrens all with one simple structure that fits in the corner of your yard.
You can! It's called a wildlife brush shelter and you probably already have the materials necessary to build one. Placing a wildlife brush shelter on your property can add an interesting and important element to your backyard habitat, attracting a wide variety of wildlife that may have been missing. Providing dense, heavy and secure shelter close to the ground can attract many animals that may not feel comfortable in even the most colorful butterfly garden or thoroughly landscaped yard.
Wildlife Attracted By Brush Shelters The variety of wildlife you may see using your brush shelter over the years is long and impressive: Flycatchers and dragonflies perch on the tips of branches "hawking" for flying insects. Attract Purple Martins with Gourd Birdhouses. Here is a fun habitat project for those who have already made traditional nesting boxes and are looking for a challenge. People have been making gourd birdhouses to attract purple martins for a long time.
According to eNature.com, "the custom of erecting a martin house to attract these beneficial birds was practiced by the early settlers, and by the southern Indian tribes, who hung clusters of hollow gourds in trees near their gardens. " These birds eat lots of mosquitoes. Gourd birdhouses are best for only one species, the purple martin. "As houses for birds other than martins, they cannot be adequately predator-proofed," says NWF Naturalist Craig Tufts.
Do Purple Martins Live Near Me? Before you make a gourd birdhouse, you need to know if purple martins live in your area. Where Should I Put Them? You'll need a lot of space to make your gourd colony. Growing Gourds The gourds can be challenging to grow. Making a Gourd Birdhouse Pick a gourd that is at least 10 inches wide.
How to Set Up a Nesting Box. Setting up a nesting box in your yard can provide an essential nesting area for the members of many species of birds. It is also a great way to provide wildlife a place to raise young, one of the four things you need for your outdoor area to qualify as a National Wildlife Federation Certified Wildlife Habitat. While many species are able to hide their nests in dense foliage or grassy meadow areas, many others require holes for nesting. Some birds, such as woodpeckers, can excavate their own nesting cavities in dead or decaying trees. Others depend on the abandoned nesting holes or natural cavities formed from fallen branches for places to build nests.
Recently, however, an increase in development and removal of damaged and dead trees has left many cavity-nesting birds with fewer natural places to raise their young. In addition, invasive birds, such as the European starling and the house sparrow, compete with native bird species for the use of the remaining cavities. Related Links. Supply Water for Wildlife. Wildlife need sources of clean water for many purposes, including drinking, bathing, and reproduction. Water sources may include natural features such as ponds, lakes, rivers, springs, oceans and wetlands; or human-made features such as bird baths, puddling areas for butterflies, installed ponds or rain gardens.
The easiest water source to install in your garden is a bird bath. Be sure to change the water 2-3 times per week during warm weather when mosquitoes are breeding, so that any eggs laid in the water don't have time to hatch. If you live in a climate with cold winters, consider buying a small heater available at wild bird feeding stores to keep the water from freezing. Climate change is threatening our sources of clean water by increasing temperatures and reducing rainfall in some areas, causing drought conditions and lower water tables.
What water sources do I need to certify? NEXT STEP >> Create Cover for Wildlife. Provide Food for Wildlife. Everyone needs to eat! Planting native plants or hanging feeders in safe places are two easy ways to make your habitat the latest and greatest five-star restaurant for wildlife of all shapes and sizes. Native forbs, shrubs and trees provide the foliage, nectar, pollen, berries, seeds and nuts that many species of wildlife require to survive and thrive. Natives are well adapted to survive in a particular geographic area according to the climate, soils, rainfall and availability of pollinators and seed dispersers. And because they are indigenous to a specific region, native plants usually require little maintenance and are welcomed by wildlife, serving an important role in the local ecosystem. In times when natural food sources are not as available, it is important to also provide bird feeders, hummingbird feeders, squirrel feeders and butterfly feeders to add to the native food sources for resident and migrating wildlife.
What food sources do I need to certify? Attracting Butterflies. Brightly colored butterflies can be a welcome addition to your wildlife garden, not only because of their beauty, but also because of their usefulness in pollinating flowers. Attracting butterflies involves incorporating plants that serve the needs of all life stages of the butterfly. The insects need places to lay eggs, food plants for their larvae (caterpillars), places to form chrysalides and nectar sources for adults. Butterfly Garden Necessities Plant native flowering plants - Because many butterflies and native flowering plants have co-evolved over time and depend on each other for survival and reproduction, it is particularly important to install native flowering plants local to your geographic area.
Native plants provide butterflies with the nectar or foliage they need as adults and caterpillars. The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center has lists of recommended native plants by region and state. Common Butterflies and the Plants Their Caterpillars Eat. Bird Feeding 101. Bird feeders offer a fun and entertaining way to observe birds up close and connect with nature. They also supplement the natural food sources available for birds in your yard or garden. Different species of birds prefer varying types of feeder foods.
Nourishment for wildlife should come primarily from natural food sources such as native plants. Feeders should only be supplied to complement birds' natural diets. Bird Feeding Tips Provide multiple feeding stations in different areas of your yard to disperse bird activity. Feed in moderation, with only a few feeders per acre. Create Cover for Wildlife. Wildlife need places to hide to feel safe from people, predators, and inclement weather. Native vegetation is a perfect cover for terrestrial wildlife. Shrubs, thickets and brush piles provide great hiding places within their bushy leaves and thorns. Even dead trees work, as they are home to lots of different animals, including some that use tree cavities and branches for nesting and perching.
If natural options aren't available for you, consider constructing a birdhouse specifically for the types of birds you would like to attract to your habitat. Providing these places of cover not only helps wildlife, it can also help your overall garden if you "branch out" to attract other helpful pollinators, such as bats or bees. Ponds provide cover for aquatic wildlife, such as fish and amphibians. A "toad abode" can be constructed to provide shelter for amphibians on land. What kind of cover should I provide?
NEXT STEP >> Give Wildlife a Place to Raise Their Young. Planting Trees. Trees can be a wonderful addition to your garden. They provide wildlife habitat, create shady areas, increase property values and can also be a fun place for a child to play! According to the U.S. Department of Energy, a carefully positioned tree can save up to 25 percent of a household's energy consumption for heating and cooling. Selecting a Site There are several things to consider when selecting the place that your new tree will call home. As with any kind of plant selection, the soil type, sun and shade conditions, and moisture level of the planting area should be evaluated so that you can match the growing requirements of the tree to its new site. This will ensure its survival and consistent growth. Survey for overhead and underground utilities that can be problematic during the planting phase and as the tree reaches its full height and root depth.
Picking a Tree What should you be looking for in a suitable tree for your wildlife habitat? How to Plant the Tree Dig a shallow hole. Attracting Wildlife With Dead Trees. Build a Bat House. How to Build a Bee House.