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Plant Talk

Inside The New York Botanical Garden

Tip of the Week — 4/20/09

Posted in Gardening Tips on April 20 2009, by Sonia Uyterhoeven

Caring for Mother Earth

Sonia Uyterhoeven is Gardener for Public Education at The New York Botanical Garden.

This week we commemorate Earth Day. Celebrate the life on this planet yourself by spending time in your garden. Forget the heavy chemicals and fertilizers. Sometimes they do have their place, but more often than not a healthy, well-maintained garden is all you need.

Here are some ways to help the planet.

  • Make your own compost. With compost you will be essentially giving your garden all the nutrients it needs. Compost is basically a mix of “browns” and “greens.” Browns are lifeless, carbon-rich materials such as autumn leaves, straw, and wood chips. Greens are fresh, nitrogen-rich materials such as weeds and grass clippings. Pile up your compost so the mound is able to retain heat and moisture, allowing the composting organisms (the critters and microorganisms that break down the material) to thrive. Never place weed seeds in the pile unless you know how to heat up the pile to kill them off, otherwise you may inadvertently end up spreading them in compost around your garden. To speed up the composting process, chop the material into small pieces. Turn the pile occasionally and add water if you are going through a long, dry spell. Never introduce meat scrapes or vegetable oils into the pile; otherwise you will attract unwanted pests.
  • Add aged manure to your garden. Apply it particularly around roses and in your vegetable garden to give plants a nutritional boost. You can buy either bagged manure or  farm manure. If it is straight from the farm, it needs to break down for at least 3-6 months before you can safely add it to your garden. If you buy farm manure in the spring, just keep it in a pile and apply it at the end of the fall season. Many people incorporate manure into their compost to create a hearty mix.
  • Use organic fertilizers. These are better for the plants and for the environment. Don’t be put off by the low numbers on the organic fertilizers—these represent the percentage of nutrients that are initially available to the plant. There are more nutrients in reserve that are bound and will slowly be released, providing a moderate and constant flow of nutrients. Inorganic fertilizers that have high numbers give the plant an abrupt blast and then it goes through withdrawal; you have created a plant junkie that suffers from a feast-or-famine syndrome. Consistency is always best for your little green friends. Take a look at the ingredients to see what is in your fertilizer: seaweed and kelp provide great micronutrients; green sand is rich in potassium; phosphate rock has good mineral content; compost and dried whey are popular organic materials.

To learn more about how you can help the planet…


 

  • Leave some of your seed heads on the plants for the birds. Ornamental seed heads not only add decorative dimension to the garden, they are also an important way to attract wildlife into your garden. This is a good thing as birds and other creatures keep insect populations in balance. I keep the seed heads on my coneflowers (Echinacea) and my sedums (Sedum) to invite the goldfinches into my garden.
  • Plant in groups or clusters of threes and fives. Not only are large drifts in your garden aesthetically attractive, but they also create a suitable environment for wildlife. Viburnum and deciduous hollies that produce berries for late-season birds often produce better fruit when they are planted in groups of three; cross-pollination is advantageous in these circumstances. Drifts of ornamental grasses provide shelter and nesting material for many birds, and if the right plants are chosen, large swaths of perennials mean that nectar and seed will be available for many.
  • Plant herbs that attract beneficial insects. Plants in the Apiaceae family such as parsley (Petroselinum), fennel (Foeniculum), dill (Anethum), and yarrow (Alchemilla) produce tiny flowers that are arranged on umbels, the shape of Queen Anne’s lace (Daucus). These herbs are particularly good at attracting beneficial insects such as ladybugs, lacewings, parasitic wasps, and flies. Many of these plants also feed hungry caterpillars, the larval stage of beautiful butterflies. So don’t be afraid to invite nature into your garden.
  • Leave your garden a bit untidy. Don’t overclean your garden unless you have a disease problem in the area. Nature doesn’t overclean its garden, and neither should you.