Gardening for a Sustainable Lifestyle

What makes a home garden more sustainable?

Gardening can go a long way toward helping you cut down on food waste and bringing you closer to nature on an everyday basis. Here are some of the ways that planting a garden can help you live more sustainably.

Growing instead of buying

Organic food you grow yourself will almost always be the most sustainable option because it hasn’t had to travel to get to you, using resources like fuel during distribution or being kept fresh on the journey from farm to supermarket shelves.

Cherry tomatoes, leafy greens like spinach or lettuce, herbs, zucchini, beets, and squash are some easy things you can grow at home. Potatoes and beans are also hearty options that can help you make a complete meal.

Growing instead of throwing

Many scraps can also easily be regrown to help you salvage food scraps while getting your money’s worth. Green onions, romaine lettuce heads, and celery are common examples of scraps that can be regrown. Stick them in a few inches of water, changing out the water every few days, and then plant in your garden once roots develop.

Green onions, romaine lettuce heads, and celery are common examples of scraps that can be regrown

Using only what you need

When a recipe calls for only a tablespoon of a fresh herb, but you have to buy the bundle, that’s a common example of an opportunity for food to get wasted. But if you grow your own herbs, you can simply snip them off in small amounts as needed. It’s not only greener, it’s also cheaper, since potted herbs are about the same price as cut herbs that only get used once.

Growing native plants

When you choose native plants, you can reduce the amount of watering, fertilizer, and maintenance that’s to produce the food you eat or the flowers you cut.

Planting for the ecosystem

Planting native varieties also helps your ecosystem thrive. While a traditional grass lawn is a monoculture that doesn’t do much for the wildlife around you, sewing wildflowers and native plants is a great way to help provide vital food and habitat for birds and pollinators that help your environment flourish.

Composting your scraps

If you’re already into a sustainable lifestyle, you likely already save your scraps in some fashion to be collected for compost. But if you get into home gardening, creating your own compost bin will help you save your food waste and nourish the soil your produce grows in.

Fill in the gaps with farmers market produce.

Seed saving

Unlike conventional farming and supermarket groceries, home gardening allows you to save and cultivate precious heirloom seeds. Not only does saving seeds from your best performers save you money, but it also helps ensure that your next plants will be suited to your local pests and microclimate. Heirloom and open-pollinated seeds are vital for climate resilience and biodiversity in a Big Ag world.

Sustainable Gardening Tips

Now that you’re excited to start your own garden, here are some ways to make this practice even more sustainable.

Use secondhand gardening tools

There are already so many flower pots and gardening tools in existence—there’s really no need to buy new equipment. Check out your local thrift store or Buy Nothing group to see what’s already out there.

Essentials for beginners include a hand trowel (or multi-use hori hori knife), hose/watering can, and gloves, but a bow rake or hoe and pruning shears would also come in handy.

Upcycle materials

If you’re growing plants from seeds, you can use your empty toilet paper rolls or egg cartons as seed starters. Salvaged wood pallets can be used to create vertical gardens or compost bins, while glass water bottles can be used to create self-watering systems.

Keep a gardener’s pantry

Once you have fresh produce ready to harvest, having a few things on hand in your pantry will help turn your food into a complete meal. Keep onions, beans, and grains on hand to cook up with your veggies and herbs.

Essentials for beginners include a hand trowel, hose/watering can, and gloves

We’re loving our organic Red Rice, Black Lentils, or Kimchi Sesame Navy Beans for chef-worthy meals in a pinch.

For a grounding earth bowl, we love our organic Farro with edamame, greens, and an herb-lemon blended sauce made with our Tahini.

Fill in gaps with farm-fresh produce

You’re likely not going to grow all the produce you need at home. At re_ grocery, we source the best fresh, organic food from the farmers market and sell it in our stores for a one-stop zero waste shopping experience.

Use refillable gardening care products

There’s nothing like getting your hands dirty in the garden, but every home gardener should have something good to take the dirt off, too.

For after-gardening care, we recommend refillable picks like our Turmeric & Neem Body Scrub to slough away soil and our Carina Organics Sweat Pea Lotion to lock in moisture. Don’t forget hydrating Utu Sunscreen and a cap or wide-brimmed hat for your outdoor suncare.

Happy gardening! For more sustainable spring tips, check out our food waste reduction strategies and no-waste cleaning hacks for spring.