Eco-Friendly Ideas for Your Fall Garden

Earlier this year, Powell River was nominated for the 2020 Climate and Energy Action Award for Climate Action in a Small Coastal Town. We have so much to be proud of for what our city has accomplished! Some of the things that put us at the forefront of climate action include purchasing self-watering planters for Marine Avenue, adopting green vehicle and building policies for corporate operations, and installing the region’s first fast electric vehicle charging station—just to name a few! 

The award winner will be announced at the Union of B.C. Municipalities Convention on September 22 to 24. As we wait to see the results, we thought of some more ideas that we can all do at our own homes so that Powell River can continue to be a role model for other communities!

eco-friendly fall garden solar lights mother nature

Use Solar Lighting

A well-lit yard means you have even more time to enjoy it, especially now that fall is almost here, and the sun is setting earlier. But instead of having to regularly change light bulbs or worry about running electrical wires around your yard, you can turn to solar-powered lights! During the day, while the sun is shining, the battery in a solar light gets charged up by the sun. By dusk, it has enough power to light up your yard before repeating the process all over again the next day. This eco-friendly lighting option cuts down on electricity usage—meaning your electric bill will be lower as well!

When deciding where to put your solar lights, pick a spot that gets plenty of sunshine—in general, eight hours of sun will give you between six and eight hours of solar light at night. The LED bulbs in outdoor solar lights will be good for about 25 years, but the batteries will need to be replaced every couple of years or so.

 

Harvest Rainwater

A rain collection system reduces domestic water use, plus it will cut down on your water bill. You can collect rainwater by placing a rain barrel at a gutter downspout to catch water runoff from your roof. Either purchase one or build one yourself by using a plastic or wooden rain barrel, cutting holes in the barrel so the water can get in and overflow can pour out, installing a spigot, and adding mesh to keep debris and bugs out.

eco-friendly fall garden compost mother nature

Start Composting

Composting is great for not only the soil in our gardens but also for us humans to cut down on food waste! But before you start scraping your plate off into a bin, you need to know a bit about how composting works.

Effective compost has brown matter (carbon), such as dead leaves, branches, twigs, and sawdust; green matter (nitrogen), such as fruit and veggie scraps, tea leaves, coffee grounds, grass clippings, and flowers and leaves from pruning; and water. In general, you’ll need two parts brown matter to one part green matter, plus some water for everything to break down correctly—the content in your composter should be about as damp as a sponge. Once you start adding material to your compost, you’ll have to turn it about every three or four days. The compost will be ready to add to your garden when it looks like rich earth rather than decomposing food.

eco-friendly garden ideas mother nature

Plant a Pollinator-Friendly Garden

Pollinators, like bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and moths, are vital to the survival of all life on Earth. As pollinators fly from one plant to another, they transfer pollen, which is necessary for plant reproduction and for seeds and fruits to grow! Planting pollinator-friendly trees, shrubs, and perennials will attract more of these beneficial insects to your yard, helping crops all around us grow bountiful.

Include flowers with various shapes and staggered bloom times, plus several native plants, so that you attract a variety of pollinators. Here are some pollinator favourites to plant in your yard:

  • Aronia
  • Bee Balm
  • Coneflower
  • Crab Apple
  • Lavender
  • Milkweed
  • Oak
  • Spirea
  • Thyme
  • Viburnum

Avoid Chemicals

When we have problems like pests in our garden, there’s no need to turn to chemicals right away. There are many helpful critters that can help us with common gardening issues. For example, if you have problems with grubs, gnats, or Japanese beetles, you can add beneficial nematodes to the soil to attack the pests. Releasing ladybugs in your yard can also help target pesky garden pests like aphids. And don’t worry, you don’t have to go collecting these beneficial natural predators on your own— we carry both nematodes and ladybugs at our garden centre!

When looking for fertilizers to add to your soil, opt for environmentally-friendly organic ones and avoid over-using synthetic fertilizers.

 

To do our part in taking action against climate change, we can start in our own backyards. Let’s do our part to live alongside nature and help out Mother Nature when we can!