Fight Climate Change in Your Own Garden

From: Gardeners Supply - Friday May 21,2021 01:21 pm

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Our in-house gardening experts bring you this series of tips and actions you can take in your own garden, whatever its size, to help combat climate change.

This time, it's all about growing food and flowers at home.

It’s estimated that food production, processing, and transportation are responsible for one-quarter of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. The food we grow at home, however, is much more sustainable since it simply travels from garden to table (if you can make it that far with those juicy tomatoes!).

Consider peppering your garden with perennial vegetables and herbs (which come back year-after-year, as opposed to annuals). Not only will these store more carbon, but no replanting is required. “Most people think of your perennials as fruits, nuts and berries, and there are a few perennial vegetables most people know about like asparagus and artichokes,” says Kim Dostaler, a certified permaculturist and graphic designer at our Burlington headquarters. “But, there are a lot more perennial vegetables and herbs out there.”

More perennial vegetables include: sea kale, some varieties of spinach and broccoli, radicchio, rhubarb and sweet potato, to name a few. For herbs: chives, thyme, lavender, oregano, sage, and lemon verbena are on the list. (Simply read seed and plant labels to check what is considered a perennial in your zone.

Image of woman holding a bouquet of freshly cut dahlias

And while you’re growing your own vegetables, why not grow your own flowers? Out-of-season cut flowers are among the most carbon-heavy items you can buy, pound for pound. Instead of buying cut flowers (we know, we know: the Trader Joe’s bouquet is pretty and cheap) growing your own—especially native, perennial ones to benefit local pollinators—reduces fossil fuel emissions. You can even get creative with what you consider a bouquet. “I make them a lot of times with other things growing in my garden,” Dostaler says. “Chives are really pretty, so are purple mustard greens: think of alternative materials!”

Read more on how to combat climate change in your garden here:

Trees are the most efficient of plants when it comes to draining carbon dioxide from the air, with long-lived shrubs coming in second in their ability to sequester carbon. Long-lived woody perennials, like peonies, and ornamental grasses like pheasant’s tail (with extensive root systems) are also good options. But you can think of every plant— no matter the size — as a tiny carbon sink.

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