In gardening — as with nearly everything else — we have more options than previous generations.
Even so, Susan Tipton has found that asking “What would Grandmother have done?’ ” is often a useful exercise. “It gets me thinking of doing the simplest and least invasive thing, that which interferes with nature least.”
Her green thumb guided by the greenest of principles, the Potomac, Md., resident has served active duty in garden clubs and the Landscape Design Council.
Naturally, it helps to choose plants that do well in your local conditions and then plant them well.
Tipton’s grandmother would bypass the plethora of modern-day garden products, opting for an environmentally friendlier mixture of ground-level know-how and common sense.
Some examples:
» Use nursery-strength vinegar instead of herbicide to rid weeds.
» Control insects by hand. “I just discovered those little worms eating my bladdernut — a fantastic tree loved in Europe but little-known here — are red oak sawflies. I can smush the larvae with my fingers.” If they’re still present when the tree gets too tall, she’ll resort to Safer’s soap. Using natural fatty acids, this insecticide is safe for ornamental, fruit, vegetable and other plants, unlike dishwashing soaps that contain perfumes and dyes.
» Try simpler, gentler solutions first. When stems are weak, people typically reach for the fertilizer. “There’s a simpler solution,” Tipton says: “Epsom salts. Grandmother knew this, but, like many of the old practices, it sort of got lost.” She spent time searching references for the right measure, then found a product from Organic Traditions that combines epsom salts with potash “and does tell how much to use.”
» Look for the root cause. That way, you can treat the problem’s source instead of the symptoms. Tipton deduced why her stems were weak: “I over-enriched the soil when I amended it before planting.” Another lesson that simpler is better.
“Which brings me to the wisdom of doing less,” the garden Svengali says. “I have learned from the president of the Azalea Society not to fertilize azaleas. That just promotes rampant growth” — making the plants more susceptible to insect damage and drought.
Who knew?
“In fact, I haven’t fertilized in years and have all the flowers and tomatoes I want,” she says. Evidently in agreement is the rufous-sided Towhee that sings so sweetly in Tipton’s garden.
More green-minded gardening wisdom:
» Water early in the day.
» Use mulch.
» Repel wild animals with nontoxic products. Never use poison.
» Avoid pesticides and fertilizers. Most home
owners over-apply chemicals, then dump the excess on the ground, in drains, and in the trash rather than proper disposal at hazardous waste collection sites.
» While less than 10 percent of all insects pose any harm to plants, most pesticides are harmful or lethal to all insects.
» Plant flowers that attract beneficial insects to your garden.
Robin Tierney is a freelancer who writes about health and environment issues. She can be reached at [email protected].
