4 Huge Factors Driving The Eco-Friendly Gardening Movement

Are you a gardener that is concerned about protecting the environment? You need to make sure that you take all reasonable precautions to make your garden as eco-friendly as possible. Unfortunately, this can be easier said than done.

Gardeners are becoming increasingly interested in gardening in a way that is more eco-friendly. As younger people become more interested in gardening, the popularity of eco-friendly gardening will grow too. This is encouraging, since 43% of people under 40 grow their own food. They love nature and their planet, so want to play as big a role as possible in protecting it. This is a very good thing. An approach that, as you will see, provides benefits for everyone.

Green gardening practices keep gardeners safe

As you can see from this roundup settlement information, gardeners that use chemical-based products may unwittingly be putting themselves, and their families, at a higher risk of illness. When Monsanto bought Roundup to market, in 1973, it was welcomed by most farmers and gardeners. This glyphosate-based herbicide was extremely effective at killing off all kinds of weeds. So, understandably it was widely used and was believed to be very safe to use.

Unfortunately, it now looks like this is not the case. In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) released a report showing that glyphosate was a major carcinogenic. Since then their research, which you can read here, has been used in many of the lawsuits that are being brought by around 42,000 plaintiffs who believe that their using this chemical product has contributed to their illness.

As you can see, it took close to 40 years for the risk posed by this herbicide to be understood. Gardeners who use natural products are never exposed to this type of risk.

Working with nature makes things easier

However, gardening without the use of chemicals does have its downside. It makes it harder to grow plants in environments to which they are not naturally suited. So, it can limit what you can plant. But, on the flipside, when you work with nature instead of fighting it, things become easier for you. What you plant typically grows well. That means less time spent fighting bugs, protecting plants from the weather and moving them inside to keep them alive at certain times of the year.

It is good for local wildlife

There is no doubt that organic and nature-friendly gardening practices help your local wildlife. Take for example compost heaps, which are essential if you want to garden in an eco-friendly way. Most people know that they provide a great home for all kinds of insects. But they can also be a refuge for other creatures. For example, toads and slow worms love them. Plus, of course, it means that none of your food waste ends up in landfill. They are very easy to create and maintain.

Eco-friendly gardening typically costs less

The fact that you are no longer having to buy expensive pesticides and chemical fertilizers typically means that you can save yourself a lot of money. That is money that can potentially be used to buy more plants. This improves the biodiversity of your garden, which, in turn, makes it an even more environmentally friendly space.

If you have not yet tried gardening in this way, it really is worth doing so. You can slowly change your approach to see what works for you and what doesn´t. When you do, the chances are you will be amazed by how much you like gardening in this way.

Eco-Friendly Gardening is the Future

There are a lot of reasons that eco-friendly gardening is taking off. Young people are driving the trend. If you are serious about protecting the environment, then you will want to make this a priority in the future.