Zero Waste Gardening

Who’s afraid of Virginia Woolf? This absurd title for a dark drama probably eludes most people, only resonating with certain literary types. Now, let’s change it up a little. Who’s afraid of zero-waste gardening? This might incur more show of hands than the former. 

With the increasing need for sustainable practices, zero-waste is no longer thought of as a hippy dippy buzzword for sustainability, but rather, a vital component in the fight against climate change. Especially when the raging wildfires and bone-dry reservoirs plaguing the southwestern states, amounting to an entrenched megadrought – the worst in 1200 years – is not an apocalyptic one-liner, but reality. 

At its most basic level, a zero-waste lifestyle entails limiting the amount of waste (namely plastics) that goes to landfills. It also aims to push the economy towards a less wasteful model. The best part is, you’ll definitely save money. And no, you don’t need to live on a sprawling homestead to try it – a garden will do. Zero-waste can be difficult to accomplish in the age of consumption, but with these few steps, it can be as easy as picking flowers in the garden. 

1. Try No-Stress Composting Methods 

A few have suggested handing leftovers to the local homeless population, but if you’re more on the introverted side, then there’s a more mellow lot you can donate your kitchen scraps – earthworms, who are more than happy to accept your leftovers. After you have disposed of your kitchen waste in a vermicomposting bin nestled within your Vego garden bed, earthworms synthesize the organic waste to produce rich soil amendments in the form of worm castings. 

These days, you can even compost in your own kitchen using the Vego kitchen composter, an innovative at-home composter that emits no stench and lets you compost additional scraps anytime. Available in annual and quarterly subscriptions, each shipment contains a starter pack of carbon filter refills and VegoTabs (tabs specially formulated with beneficial microbes and enzymes). Toss in your pita chips, lettuce, and potatoes, and watch it turn into Vego-meal in no-time – the nutrient rich output that closes the loop from garden to table and back again. 

2. Stop Digging and Use the Hugelkultur Method  

The earth after tiling can appear bald – a leveled area devoid of life. Raised garden beds are considered a quick way to spruce up a barren spot even when flowers haven’t started to bloom yet. With metal raised garden beds, you not only circumvent the arduous process of removing troublesome turf grass and make your garden prettier, but also save money on soil. Cut down on plastic soil bags with the hugelkultur method, which consists of layering logs, dead branches, and other woody detritus that can be salvaged from your yard during the prolific fall months. Over time, the yard waste breaks down into a lasagna-layer of nutrient-rich soil for your plants. 

3. Purchase Quality Equipment  

Many gardeners are put off by the initial price and tend to go straight for the cheapest solution when it’s more important to buy quality tools that last a long time. Empty egg cartons can be used for one or two plantings, but not indefinitely. For a heavy-duty seedling tray that can be used for multiple plantings for years to come, try Vego’s seedlings tray, equipped with 8 growing cells. Avoid flimsy plastic trays that can only be used for several seasons at max, as they aren’t very durable and will only contribute to more plastic waste in landfills. Ditch your single-use paper plates for these ceramic salad serving bowls – a fitting display for all your harvests. 

4. Use Natural Weed Control 

Natural deterrence such as straw mulch are favored when combating against weeds. Raised beds will also help in keeping meddlesome weed seeds from encroaching upon your garden. Avoidance of pesticides cannot be stressed enough when growing vegetables – it’s best to deal with pests in a holistic manner by attracting beneficial predators. In fact, though weeds have garnered a negative reputation, a few weeds here and there can be left alone. Leave areas of your yard untended and allow leaf litter to accumulate to provide shelters for migrating butterflies, contributing to a teeming woodland ecosystem right in your backyard. 

5. Plant a Native Themed Garden 

Often seen growing rank in derelict parking lots, native plants have a reputation of being less showy than their imported counterparts, but they play a vital role in sustaining local ecosystems. Native shrubs, flowers, and bushes utilize less water and fertilizer, having adapted to the environment they are in. Besides, many native plants can be just as colorful and vibrant as non-native plants, if not more so. The Green Wizard Coneflower is an unusual cultivar of coneflower that attracts pollinators with its prominent black cones and skirt of green sepals at the base. In other cases, more plain natives such as mountain mint will attract far more pollinators than its more flamboyant competitors and can even add rustic appeal to the garden. 

6. Upcycle Old Items 

Creative gardeners have constantly sought to fashion everyday household items and oddities salvaged from second-hand stores into quaint growing materials that add character to the garden. Antique shops are a haven for discarded pottery and that can be repurposed into pots for houseplants while old yogurt containers can be used for propagation. Ice cream sticks can be reused for plant labels, and burlap sacks are great for growing potatoes. 

7. Save Seeds in the Garden 

Many hidden costs are packaged into these cheap plastic containers that are common at the garden center. The black pots that house many seedlings are non-recyclable, and after carbon dioxide emissions from transportation are factored in, the effects of pollution are compounded. Seed saving, a time-honored art that has started to gain traction, can prevent more waste from entering the waste stream while ensuring that treasured heirlooms are passed on to posterity. Make sure to only save heirlooms; there is no point in saving hybrids that are meant to only be grown once.