MAKE 2023 A SUSTAINABLE YEAR

There are many benefits to organic gardening and landscaping. Eliminating the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers means providing a safe source of food for pollinators and avoiding any potential toxic effects on your own health and that of the wider environment. Plus, switching to organic methods usually makes gardening and lawn/turf management easier and much more enjoyable.

There are millions of insect species in our world, with more than 100,000 found in the United States alone. However, less than one percent of these actually feed on plants in a harmful way. There are many more beneficial insect species than harmful ones. Many of these “good bugs” feed on the pest insects, in fact, and keep them in check naturally. Beneficial insects also pollinate crops; aid in making medicines and pharmaceuticals; produce silk, textiles, honey, and wax; and break down organic matter.

Eliminating pesticides from my diet has morphed from hobby to passion to obsession at this point. In this video you will see lady bugs and praying mantis released into my garden. The adventure turned into a family celebration, as we watched them climb up each plant, looking for aphids, mites, caterpillars and such. These bugs of prey are referred to as Beneficial’s, and have names like assassin bugs.

In this day and age; North American native plants, defined as those that existed here without human introduction, are disappearing at an alarming rate due to human activities, such as urban development, agribusiness and the introduction of invasive species. The loss of native plant communities has reduced wildlife habitat and the genetic diversity necessary for balanced ecosystems. Unlike many non-native plants, native plants introduced into landscape plantings are hardy, less susceptible to pests and diseases and unlikely to escape and become invasive.

Throughout the year we at Lincoln Landscaping promote and utilize compost and our own compost tea within our commercial projects, our playing fields and athletic fields, and within our residential properties with relation to both lawn and gardening and plant growth. We encourage and aid many a client in establishing a home compost pile and the maintenance and upkeep thereof. Finished compost is dark in color. Like earthworm castings, good compost has been called “black gold.” Compost will do much to improve your soil’s structure. The organic matter it contains will of course improve the Earth’s ability to hold water and retain oxygen.

You heard the old saying “money doesn’t grow on trees, well when it comes to water conservation it falls from the sky for the taking. If you install and utilize a rain barrel, you can collect rainwater from your gutter downspout and use it around your home and garden, therein spending less on your water bills. Other benefits of rain barrels include conserving water and preventing runoff pollution from harmful pesticides and fertilizers.