The Eco Effects of a Home Garden: Grow Green, Live Sustainable

It’s estimated that over half of Americans (55%) participate in gardening in some way. Not all of these gardeners are outside weeding every day, but most are, at a minimum, mowing their lawns or doing some form of regular maintenance.

Those passionate about their gardens, whether as a food garden or something to beautify their property, are likely aware of pollinators’ importance and the benefits their gardening provides to their health and wellness. However, beyond this, how often do gardeners think about the environmental impact of their hobby?

While it would be wonderful to say that our passion for the outdoors right outside our front doors is good for us and the planet, this may not necessarily be the case. Below, we’ll explore the effects of our gardens, good and bad, and most importantly, how we can improve our gardening practices to be kinder to the planet.

The Good & Bad Environmental Effects of Gardens

Our gardens are beneficial for our health and offer many environmental benefits, but there are a few negative impacts we should be aware of. Let’s take a closer look at the effects of home gardens.

Gardens Encourage Biodiversity

The right plants, particularly those native to your area, attract more pollinators to your garden. The pollinators bring birds and other predators, and these, in turn, encourage the presence of more wildlife in your area. In addition, having diverse plants in your garden enriches the soil quality to support more plant and animal life. This all comes together to enrich the biodiversity of your neighborhood ecosystem.

Gardens Reduce Our Food’s Travel Footprint

The produce in our supermarkets travels a long way to be placed on those shelves or arranged in displays. With food gardens, our vegetables or fruit are steps away, shrinking the carbon footprint of transporting the food we eat.

Gardens Foster an Appreciation for Nature

Working in a garden is working with nature, whether navigating the seasons, dealing with pests, optimizing sunlight, or managing the many other nuances of gardening. While all this creates a beautiful or productive garden, it also builds awareness of and a deeper relationship with nature. This relationship helps gardeners further appreciate the environment, encouraging them to become better environmental stewards.

Gardens Produce a Higher Carbon Footprint

In January 2024, a study was released indicating that gardens have a carbon footprint that is six times higher than regular agricultural practices. The study primarily looked at communal urban garden spaces, which vary slightly from what we may have in our front or back yards but share many similarities.

The study linked infrastructure, materials, and tools used in gardening to the higher carbon footprint. These high-carbon-producing items were examined from their entire lifecycle impact, from material extraction to the product’s end of life or use, and not just for any carbon production while in use.

Thankfully, this study didn’t leave us feeling powerless or guilty about the gardens that bring us joy and fresh produce to our dinner plates. It pointed out ways gardeners can improve the environmentally friendly nature of their hobby, such as using reclaimed materials instead of brand-new ones, and we’ll look at some of these and other practices gardeners can implement in the next section.

Eco-Friendly Gardening Best Practices

The existing qualities that make our gardens beneficial for the environment can be enhanced when we approach our entire process around gardening with greater care. Just as gambling through casinos.com is fun but requires following responsible gambling best practices to stay enjoyable in the long run, we should be mindful of the potential environmental consequences of our approach to our gardens.

We can ensure we’re more eco-friendly by implementing one or more of the tips below.

Avoid Chemical Pesticides

Pesticides have long been a gardener’s go-to to ensure a healthy, pest-free crop, but they have negative environmental and health consequences. Instead, we can use natural pest control methods like companion planting. We can also create physical barriers through crop nets to naturally deter pests.

Compost

A compost system is an incredible way to add nutrients to your garden while deterring food and yard waste from entering landfills. There are various composting methods, from small to large-scale operations with different levels of involvement, so you can find an option you have space and time for.

Collect Rainwater

Collecting rainwater effectively reduces your water use while providing the hydration your garden needs to thrive. A rain barrel is relatively simple to set up, and once it’s in place, it doesn’t require much more work from you.

Choose the Right Plants

Some plants can significantly affect your carbon footprint more than others. For instance, the study that revealed the large carbon footprint of gardens showed that plants like tomatoes and asparagus, which are grown in greenhouses or travel longer distances than others, can add up to a more significant carbon footprint reduction.

Opt for Used or Reclaimed Tools & Materials

Another thing that the study punctuated is the importance of the five R’s: refuse, reduce, reuse, repurpose, and recycle. We can keep these things in mind when sourcing materials and tools for our gardens. For instance, rather than heading out to the nearest garden center, you could start “shopping” at home by reviewing what you have or what can be recycled or repurposed for use in the garden. Failing this, you can take to second-hand options or look for more environmentally friendly new tools and materials.

Conclusion

Our gardens, surprisingly, can harm the environment, but they aren’t without some good. If we approach our gardens with the environment in mind, we can make gardening not only better for ourselves but better for the planet, too.