May Flowers Thrive With Green Gardening

Gardeners will want to take advantage of mild May days before the weather heats up during the summer. Lower temps, longer days and the occasional rain make for a productive season for planting flowers and vegetables in your backyard garden. Here are some best practices for sustainable gardening to make your green thumb even greener.

  • Compost: Collect kitchen waste like used tea bags and coffee grounds (even the filter!), vegetable scraps and expired produce to provide your garden with a healthy boost of nutrients. This will not only give you a healthier garden, but will also help decrease the amount of food that ends up in a landfill. Riverside County Department of Waste Resources offers free composting classes and low cost bins to Riverside County residents.
  • Avoid Pesticides: Pesticides are full of toxic chemicals that can pollute your soil and harm our watersheds. Use alternatives such as cayenne pepper and vegetable oil spray and scatter diatomaceous earth.
  • Be Water-Wise: Watering in the morning helps reduce evaporation. Avoid overwatering your plants to prevent run-off. Add composted material to the soil to help plants retain water.
  • Dig, Don’t Spray: Pull out weeds by hand, or clip close to ground and cover with grass clippings. Use mulch around flowers and vegetables to avoid weeds.
  • Share: Participate in a community garden to split the work, divide resources and share the bounty.

With these sustainable practices, your garden will be as green as your plants!

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