Eco-friendly spring gardening tips

Whether it’s your first time planting a garden, or you have two green thumbs, we can all do our part to make sure our gardens are environmentally friendly.

[Music] EC 9 is sponsored by your Washington area Toyota dealers it is almost planting season here in the DMV so in tonight’s ec9 report we’re talking about ways to make your outdoor space Green in more ways than one meteorologist Michaela Lucero is here with tips to help you create an econscious Garden your backyard can be an envir mentally friendly Oasis this spring and to help you get there I spoke with two Master Gardeners Alyssa Ford Morell and Joanne Hutton share five things you need to know this spring to work with Mother Nature to have a healthy growing season first observe your space notice how much sun your garden gets whether or not it will need drainage in case water pulls up around it and test your soil you’ll find out by doing a soil test the pH of your soil whether it’s acid or alkaline and and you’ll find out what nutrients are present or not present so that you know if you need to amend that soil second plant natives we want to use plants that are native to our area if at all possible we want to make sure that if it’s ornamental that we’re having more native plants fewer non-native plants and especially no plants that have been deemed invasive an environmental problem third once you’ve planted keep your garden maintenance eco-friendly by watering deeply and infrequently this helps Roots grow deep and conserves water bonus points if you use collected rainwater fourth when those pesky weeds pop up avoid using herbicides and pull them instead the Zen of weeding is not to be underrated I completely agree hand pulling weeds is very satisfying yes it takes some time but it helps you get to know your soil what’s living in the soil what’s coming up it’s a great way to really be a good Gardener and fifth when the season’s over and the leaves start to Fall leave them those leaves are what nature gives our insects and other animals as the place to to live during winter they hide under the leaves either as larvae as eggs or as an adult and if we rake away the leaves we’re raking away their home so whether it’s your first time planting or you have two green thumbs we can all do our part to make sure our Gardens are environmentally friendly I’m meteorologist Michaela Lucero wusa9