Did you know that since 2009, the Calgary blue cart program recycled 930 million kilograms of material and since starting the blue cart and green cart programs, black garbage has decreased by 50%. As a gardener I was wondering if the 3Rs of waste management that have helped with the successful reduction of black garbage could be applied to gardening. As a reminder, the 3Rs stand for reduce, reuse, and recycle. However, times have changed since I was taught the 3Rs and now the list has expanded to include refuse, recover, repair, and many more. But it is summer, so let’s keep this simple and focus on the 70s’ 3Rs reduce, reuse, and recycle.
Reduce: This is a tricky sustainability action as one of the goals of gardening is to maximize output of the vegetable/berry harvest or the flower blooms. After considering the many inputs to a successful garden, one input that can be managed is watering. I am by no means a water conservation expert but consider this a friendly reminder that a timer can be used to keep track of how long you have watered your grass and garden. Twenty minutes always seems to fly by for us. Also consider collecting water during a rainy period to use in your container garden and investigating how much water your plants need. I know sometimes I am happily surprised that some plants do not need as much water as I thought and may even prefer a drier soil.
Reuse: Gardeners who keep their soil healthy, can reuse soil year after year. Grass cuttings can be reused as mulch to help keep your soil from drying out and Google says that grass cutting mulch will also suppress weeds and keep the soil warm. Plastic bottles or other plastic containers can be reused, by planting the bottle, with holes cut into it, to allow water to reach the plant’s root level. I have also used plastic water bottles filled with water tipped outside down with the bottle opening buried in the soil to keep my pots from drying out while I am away for a couple of days.
Recycle: Composting. Need I say more. Ever wondered what those wired enclosures are next to the RCG garden shed? That is the RCG compositing site. RCG has a composting committee that takes care of the compost piles for the RCG. So, if you are interested in composting and would like to join the RCG compost committee please send an email to [email protected]. I would also encourage you to check out the City of Calgary Green Cart composting webpage to find out how Calgary residents can get free compost in the spring and please don’t forget that plant containers marked with a recycling symbol of 1 to 7 can be placed in your blue cart or taken to the Renfrew Community Recycling Depot to be recycled.
Smiling Gardeners
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