Skipping over conventional landscaping practices and moving to sustainable techniques will help the environment, save you money, and still deliver beautiful landscaping results. Try these alternatives for sustainable landscaping methods:
| Power Tool | Sustainable Alternatives |
|---|---|
| Gas lawn mower | Push mower, electric mower, sheep, alternative lawn such as a meadow |
| String weed and grass trimmer | Hand shears, scythe, hoe, goat, mulching, knee-high plants to suppress weeds |
| Gas hedge trimmer | Hand or electric hedge shears, natural unclipped hedges |
| Chain saw | Hand pruning saw, lopping shears |
| Rototiller | None (tilling isn’t recommended; use a spading fork only when starting new beds) |
| Gas blower | Rake, broom, allowing leaves to remain in place as mulch |
| Lawn tractor | Hand cart, wheelbarrow |
| Harsh Chemical | Sustainable Alternatives |
|---|---|
| Fertilizers | Installing low-demand plants, composting, applying green manures, planting cover crops, allowing leaf litter to remain in place, practicing chop and drop pruning, applying organic fertilizers |
| Pesticides | Selecting pest-resistant plants, improving growing conditions to make plants less susceptible, washing the pests off with a jet of water, releasing beneficial insects that feed on harmful insects, using the least-toxic pesticides such as insecticidal soaps and oil sprays |
| Herbicides | Blocking out weeds with tall dense plantings, sheet mulching, applying organic herbicides such as corn gluten meal or vinegar, using a drip system to reduce wetting of soil, pulling weeds before they set seed |
