Sustainability is something that creates a functional space in our outdoor garden spaces. This includes choosing plants that will live a long time. It could also include creating special habits such as pollinator gardens or native prairie gardens in our spaces. It also creates backyard spaces that take less water or less chemicals. You may even create a space that includes a rainwater garden. These are all some very small steps that a gardener can take for their own gardening spaces.

Sustainable practices in our gardens will lead to less use of water, chemicals and hopefully more time to enjoy the space created. There is a wealth of landscaping ideas out there for small back yard gardens that will be presented at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 7, at the Public Works Building at the Lyon County Fairgrounds. Come join me and a GreenCorp member, in learning more about sustainable practices for backyard gardens. This is free and open to the public. Please kindly RSVP to my email address listed below or call 507- 532-1307, so we know how many people to expect. This is the first of several classes that will be given to the public on sustainable practices for the home. This information can also be used for those gardeners like myself that have large gardens as well.

We are learning more and more everyday about how we can do a better job in taking care of the things around us including how to use less chemicals and still have that good-looking lawn. You may even want to change your whole philosophy on some of your practices. It may also include such things as planting a tree or two; composting what food scraps and garden scraps that you can; trying your hand at less chemicals in the garden or going all out and becoming organic; thinking responsibly for your garden practices; do what you can to be a good neighbor and keep weeds down to a bare minimum; get the kids in the garden and show them how to plant seeds and harvest; and lastly build a garden for the future which means one that can sustain itself on its own.

There are so many ways we can bring sustainability into our gardens. There are many practices that can make having a garden so much easier such as using a raised bed or using enough mulch that you have less weeding and less watering to do. It is good practice to have a compost pile that you can later use as mulch or dig into your garden each fall to keep the soil healthy. By starting sustainable practices in the garden, the next logical step is to bring that into your home and learn how to have a sustainable lifestyle too. This will also help out the environment and your pocketbook!

For more information on gardening or to learn more about becoming a Master Gardener, you can reach me at s.dejaeghere@me.com