Natural Garden Care

Philosophy
When thinking about gardening, we must understand how we fit into the bigger ecosystem in which we all live. So, the key is “compatibility.” We are partners with nature in the garden, not masters of it. A natural style of gardening emphasizes a look that is not manicured, but full of nature’s shapes and patterns. And a natural garden is welcoming to many kinds of creatures, not just humans.

Design

• Informal design versus formal
• Plants define spaces
• Straight lines and evenly spaced plantings are avoided
• Think in terms of “canopy, under story and groundcover”

Easy Steps to a Beautiful Garden

1. Build healthy soil! The secret of successful gardening, especially “natural” gardening, is in the health of the soil itself. Improve your soil with organic matter (compost or compost tea). And supplement with natural fertilizers, derived from sources such as seaweed, animal bones or kelp. See our web page on compost and soil.

2. Grow plants that are compatible with your climate and growing conditions. Ask your favorite nursery or garden center to show you plants that do well in your area. Choose plants for your particular spot, considering variables such as sun/shade, wet/dry. Think “right plant, right place.” Many native plants make beautiful additions to the garden.

3. A garden with diverse plantings helps create a balanced ecosystem with habitat year round for beneficial insects, birds and other wildlife. Include trees and shrubs with berries in your garden plan. Rotating your annuals helps prevent pest problems and avoids soil borne diseases.

4. Manage plant problems with the least toxic alternative. Some nurseries today are knowledgeable about newer products that help control weeds and bugs without heavy-duty chemicals. Natural solutions exist for all garden problems. It is not necessary, nor is it effective in the long run, to reach for a chemical arsenal when you see a bug or weed. The products listed here show some of the ways in which you can control pests without using highly toxic chemicals:

Product		Effective Against
Neem oil Insecticidal soap Iron phosphate Beneficial nematodes Bacillus thuringiensis (B.t.) (B.t. may cause allergies, pest resistance - especially harmful for organic industry, and it may target beneficial organisms such as monarchs, so use with care)		black spot, powdery mildew, rust leaf spot, other fungal diseases aphids, mealybugs, whiteflies, mites slugs and snails crane fly larvae tent caterpillars, gypsy moths, cabbage loopers, tomato hornworms
Baking soda Sticky traps/barriers Floating row covers   Vinegar products		powdery mildew aphids, whiteflies, tent caterpillars cabbage worms, cabbage loopers, cabbage root maggots, leaf miners, carrot rust flies weeds in sidewalk cracks, invasive weeds

5. Accept minor damage from pests. The goal is to create a healthy, beautiful garden, not a pristine, “perfect” garden. After all, most of us do not have a staff of gardeners to tend to things daily. A mature, natural garden is filled with beautiful plants that just overlap slightly, leaving little room for weeds. A few weeds or bugs are not a problem in a natural garden. When you find that a plant does not do well in a certain spot, just move it to a more suitable location.

6. Practice smart watering. Soaker hoses and drip irrigation systems help you save water – up to 50% compared with sprinklers. By watering more deeply, but less frequently, you let the soil dry out a bit between waterings. This may help prevent weeds from spreading, by keeping the top layer of soil less hospitable, while the deeper layer of soil remains appropriately moist for your desired plants’ roots.

Weed Strategies

Weeds in the Lawn
In turf management, prevention is the key! By promoting healthy turf growth, you can encourage grass to out-compete “weeds” such as dandelions, buttercup or clover. Proper mowing, watering, aerating, thatching and over-seeding practices help in this effort. See our Natural Lawn Care page.

“Weed and feed” products are not the answer, since these products often contain hazardous herbicides which are broadcast over the whole lawn, whether or not it is needed. It is best to remove weeds by hand as much as possible. For success and efficiency, use appropriate tools to do hand weeding.

For persistent lawn weeds, try to design out the problem. Think about drainage issues, for instance, when dealing with buttercups and horsetails. The presence of clover may indicate a need for nitrogen in the lawn. Moss may indicate that attempting to grow grass in that location is just not practical! Try creating a moss garden!

Weeds in the Garden
Regular mulching helps prevent weeds from spreading. It is a simple and effective method for weed control. See our page on compost and soil.

Pull annual weeds early in the season, before they drop seeds. Use appropriate tools. Try the long-handled plucking tools that work well for dandelions. A fid is another useful tool. It is a hand-held tool with a tapering point and concave shape that makes it relatively easy to poke, turn and pop out some kinds of weeds.

In the garden, you can design out weed habitat by planting closer together. When planning your garden, anticipate the size of the mature plant and let plant neighbors just overlap each other, for a cozy but not too compact look. Weeds love to fill in bare earth, so grow ground covers over bare soil. Also use fences to prevent weeds from blowing into the garden.

Invasive Weeds
In the Pacific northwest, some gardeners consider Himalayan blackberries and Scotch broom to be invasive weeds! English ivy is especially problematic, since it can kill trees and is prolific here, an alien invasion. It is best to cut these invasives back repeatedly. Smother mulching (12”-18”) for several months helps to ensure the death of these plants. Some strong vinegar products can be effective against woody weeds if used appropriately (not near streams). Read package directions carefully. These products work by reducing the ph level so that no plants will grow in the treated soil. To bring soil ph back up to growing quality, sweeten the soil with lime.

Weed wrenches may also be helpful in removing perennial woody weeds up to three inches in diameter. They are effective for removing these unwanted plants. You can order one from www.cananbal.org/weed.html.

Japanese knotweed is a threatening, invasive plant on Bainbridge Island. Eradication requires vigilance and lots of effort! If you see this weed in your yard, pull it out, getting as much of the root as possible. Japanese knotweed is so invasive, it can even push up through concrete! There is a need for more research to help us better understand how to control this “knotty” problem.

The Himalayan blackberry bush is considered to be an invasive plant in some areas. To control them, cut them back repeatedly. After the first cutting back, cut again before the emerging shoot develops its leaves. Consider using a vinegar product if it is appropriate (not near a stream and not near a desirable vegetation). Read the label carefully and saturate the soil. Also consider using the smother mulch approach described above.

Plant Pests
Most insects in the garden are beneficial, so broadly applying insecticides is not an advisable solution. You don’t want to destroy the very bugs that are working to keep you’re your garden in balance. Take a look at some of the control suggestions listed here:

Fungal Diseases
The key to solving fungal disease problems is prevention. Remember to choose varieties of plants that are more resistant to fungal diseases. Ask your nursery for advice on which varieties are most suited to the climate in which you live. Many gardeners are experiencing success against fungal diseases with the use of compost tea on plants and soil as a preventative.

Backyard Wildlife Sanctuary
Our homes are our private property, but they are also places we may see bald eagles overhead, red-tailed hawks swooping by, hummingbirds zipping through, and butterflies dancing near flowers and shrubs. The Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife reminds us that over 35,000 acres of wildlife habitat is lost to housing and other development each year in Washington. Our wildlife is losing places to live. You can help by creating an inviting habitat right in your back yard. Contact Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife or the Audubon Society to find out how you can make a wildlife sanctuary right on your own property.

For Further Information

www.seattle.gov/util/Services/Yard/For_Landscape_Professionals/index.asp

www.dnr.metrokc.gov/topics/yard-and-garden (King County, WA)

www.savingwater.org

www.seattle.gov/util/Directory/Conservation_Index/index.asp

Backyard Wildlife Habitat

www.enature.com/backyardwildlife/nwf_bwh_step.asp

www.audubon.org/bird/at_home/ReducePesticideUse.html

www.wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/byw_prog.htm

Native Plants

www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/sea/pugetsound/species/native.html

www.GreatPlantPicks.org

www.gardening.wsu.edu/text/nwnative.htm

www.nwplants.com

www.wnps.org

This project is funded by the City of Bainbridge Island and by Washington State Department of Ecology’s Public Participation Grant.