Environmental Practices
Windbreaks for Winter Savings
In a windy site, a windbreak or shelterbelt planting can account for up to 50 percent wind reduction with a 20 to 40 percent reduction in heating fuel consumption. In a calmer spot, wind barriers can still reduce fuel use by 10 percent or more.
A wind barrier that permits 50 to 60 percent wind penetration is more effective than a solid barrier because it provides a larger area of protection on the leeward side. Evergreen conifers (needle-leaf trees) are a perfect barrier to winter winds.
The correct location of a windbreak is essential to its ability to cut fuel consumption. Windbreaks should be placed at right angles to the prevailing winter wind. The windbreak should be longer than the area to be protected. Wherever space permits, an extension on the east side will help, too. Generally, savings from windbreaks increase as the protected perimeter of a house increases; however, even only a few well-placed trees make a difference.
Choose a relatively fast-growing, dense conifer species with stiff branches that will mature at a height about 11/2 times the height of the house. The species should retain branches low to the ground at maturity.
Spacing. The effectiveness of a windbreak generally increases with each added row, up to five rows. With dense trees such as spruce, two rows are usually the most cost-effective. The spacing of trees within a windbreak depends on the species used. Pine and spruce should be placed about 6 feet apart in the rows. Cedar and arborvitae should be 3 to 4 feet apart. The rows should be roughly 10 to 12 feet apart, and should be staggered, not aligned.
Water Wise Landscaping
Prepare Soil Adequately
Good soil is the basis for healthy plants and optimum use of water. The key to good soil is the addition of organic matter, such as compost. Sandy soil will hold water and nutrients better if organic matter is incorporated. Clay will absorb water faster, reducing runoff and erosion, if it is loosened with organic matter. Incorporate approximately 2 to 3 inches of compost, shredded leaves, or other fine organic material into the soil annually.
In locations with established trees and shrubs, it is difficult to incorporate organic matter, but applying and maintaining a 2- to 3-inch layer of an organic mulch (coarse leaves, shredded bark, pine needles, or wood chips) will gradually improve the soil as the humic acid formed by the decomposing material leaches into the ground.
Select Plants Wisely
Decide on the trees, shrubs, and ground covers for your water-wise landscape based on their natural ability to grow well in your area. Select plants that do well with little or no addition of water. Consider native plants as well as introduced species for residential landscapes. Your local Extension agent and nursery personnel can help you identify suitable plants for your location. Limit plants with high water demands to small areas that can be watered efficiently. Grouping plants by water requirements is one way to guard against overwatering some plants and underwatering others.
In general, ground covers require less water than turfgrass, so replacing some of your lawn with a ground cover will conserve water. If you have large deciduous trees in your yard and want to reduce work and water, go natural - allow leaves to accumulate as they would in nature. Plant a few understory shrubs (such as azaleas and rhododendrons), a few understory trees (such as dogwood), and quit raking!
The Compost Bin
A compost pile can be as plain or fancy as you want - you don't even need a bin to make compost. But if you plan to produce compost regularly, consider a permanent compost bin. For convenience and aesthetics, you can choose from numerous commercial composters or construct your own from wooden planks, concrete blocks, used freight pallets, hardware cloth, or chicken-wire.
Before purchasing a commercial composter, determine if it will work effectively in your landscape. It should be well built, economical according to your needs, easy to assemble, and have easy access for turning the compost. It should also be large enough to handle all the leaves in your yard.
Some gardeners build separate bins for each stage of the compost process - one for fresh plant refuse, 'another for the actively composting pile, and a third for the finished compost. When building your own bin, keep one side open for easy access. Also, leave spaces between blocks or planks for aeration - air is essential to the rapid decay of organic materials.
The size of the compost pile determines how effective it will be; piles smaller than 27 cubic feet (3 X 3 X 3) do not hold sufficient heat for the composting to be effective, and piles larger than 125 cubic feet (5 X 5 X 5) do not allow sufficient oxygen to reach the center. Be sure your compost pile is a manageable size.
Benefits of Composting
Compost improves the structure of soil. With the addition of compost, sandy soils hold water better, and clay soils drain faster.
Compost reduces soil erosion and water run-off. Plant roots penetrate compost-rich soil easier and hold the soil in place. Water can run down into lower soil layers, rather than puddle on top of the ground and run off.
Compost provides food for earthworms, soil insects, and beneficial microorganisms.
Compost assists the soil in holding nutrients, thus lessening the need for chemical fertilizers and preventing the leaching of nitrogen into water.
Compost promotes healthy plants which are less susceptible to diseases and insect pests, reducing the need for pesticides.
Composting in your backyard recycles wastes which might otherwise fill up landfills. Leaves, grass, and debris - often raked into the street for collection - tend to clog storm drains and street gutters and are costly to collect, but make excellent compost materials.
Monday, November 26, 2007
More Info.
Sustainable Landscapes
PLAN AND DESIGN: Begin by analyzing the site (sun/shade, slope, soil, wind, available moisture). Consider use and function (child play, vegetable production, wildlife habitat, rest, and meditation). Make a list of materials needed to create the landscape and use recycled materials if they are available locally. Consider climate and order areas for the benefit of sun or shade. Plant trees or vines to assist in temperature control. Take the time to identify problems and search for solutions.
SOILS: Consider soil composition, slope, and need for amendments. These factors help determine choice of plants and irrigation. Increasing humus content will improve most soils. Use recycled materials like redwood compost/city recycled compost, and plan to compost and recycle your own green wastes once the garden is installed. Mulch to slow evaporation and erosion, and to control weed growth. As mulch decomposes, it adds to the nutrient content of the soil.
PLANT SELECTION: When possible, use low water using plants. Group plants together according to water, sun/shade, and soil requirements. Minimize lawn areas as they are the most water intensive of plantings, and require additional fertilization and labor to mow. Leave clippings on the lawn or use as mulch. Choose plants that grow to an appropriate size to decrease need for pruning, and that resist pests and disease so less chemical controls are required. Look for organic methods of pest-disease control if problems develop.
IRRIGATION & WATER EFFICIENCY: Use drip irrigation whenever possible to irrigate individual plants. Use separate irrigation valves for each type of planting so individual scheduling is possible. Check and maintain the system regularly. Find ways to capture natural rainfall and consider use of greywater where allowed by municipality.
MAINTENANCE: Careful planning helps, but all landscapes require some maintenance. Prune carefully (and recycle clippings), mow lawns higher (and compost grass) water wisely and adjust according to weather patterns. Consider using slow release fertilizers (organic if possible) which reduce the possibility of runoff.
PLAN AND DESIGN: Begin by analyzing the site (sun/shade, slope, soil, wind, available moisture). Consider use and function (child play, vegetable production, wildlife habitat, rest, and meditation). Make a list of materials needed to create the landscape and use recycled materials if they are available locally. Consider climate and order areas for the benefit of sun or shade. Plant trees or vines to assist in temperature control. Take the time to identify problems and search for solutions.
SOILS: Consider soil composition, slope, and need for amendments. These factors help determine choice of plants and irrigation. Increasing humus content will improve most soils. Use recycled materials like redwood compost/city recycled compost, and plan to compost and recycle your own green wastes once the garden is installed. Mulch to slow evaporation and erosion, and to control weed growth. As mulch decomposes, it adds to the nutrient content of the soil.
PLANT SELECTION: When possible, use low water using plants. Group plants together according to water, sun/shade, and soil requirements. Minimize lawn areas as they are the most water intensive of plantings, and require additional fertilization and labor to mow. Leave clippings on the lawn or use as mulch. Choose plants that grow to an appropriate size to decrease need for pruning, and that resist pests and disease so less chemical controls are required. Look for organic methods of pest-disease control if problems develop.
IRRIGATION & WATER EFFICIENCY: Use drip irrigation whenever possible to irrigate individual plants. Use separate irrigation valves for each type of planting so individual scheduling is possible. Check and maintain the system regularly. Find ways to capture natural rainfall and consider use of greywater where allowed by municipality.
MAINTENANCE: Careful planning helps, but all landscapes require some maintenance. Prune carefully (and recycle clippings), mow lawns higher (and compost grass) water wisely and adjust according to weather patterns. Consider using slow release fertilizers (organic if possible) which reduce the possibility of runoff.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Brainstorming
Well, I'm doing a research on sustainable garden, sustainable landscape
Here it is,
Native Plants and Trees Planting native plants and trees is one of the best ways to work with, rather than against, nature. By matching plant species to your particular area you will have plants and trees that take less care and energy and will be healthier than exotic species. Another benefit is that native birds, insects, and other wildlife have evolved with native plant species and are able to use the fruits, nectars and habitat these plants and trees provide.
Plants that attract beneficial insects
Aster (Aster) Baby blue eyes (Nemophila) Calendula (Calendula) California Lilac (Ceanothus) California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica) Chervil (Anthriscus cerefolium) Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum) Coriander (Coriander sativum) Cosmos (Cosmos) Coyote bush (Baccharis pilularis) Dill (Anethum graveolens) Elderberry (Sambucus mexicana) Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) Fleabane (Erigeron) Holly–leaved cherry (Prunus ilicifolia) Monkey flower (Mimulus) Native buckwheat (Eriogonum) Queen Anne's lace (Daucus carota) Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) Rudbeckia (Rudbeckia) Sunflower (Helianthus) Sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritime) Tidy–tips (Lobularia maritime) Toyon (Heteromeles) Yarrow (Achillea spp.)
Friends You Should Invite Into Your Garden!
Ladybugs — This aphid loving beetle is worth its weight in gold.
Lizards — Alligator lizards will search dark basements, garages and bushes for their favorite meal – black widow spiders.
Spiders — The average spider eats about 100 insects a year. He's one of the good guys.
Toads — One toad can eat between 10,000 and 20,000 slugs, flies, grubs, cutworms or grasshoppers per year.
Bats — Besides being a valuable pollinator, bats consume large quantities of insects. A single little brown bat can catch 600 mosquitoes in one hour.
Bees — In California alone, forty–two different nut, fruit, vegetable, forage and seed crops rely directly on bee pollination.
Green Lacewings — Green Lacewings will eat mites, mealy bugs and other small insects but their favorite meal is aphids.
Ground Beetles — Ground beetles' favorite insect meals are cutworms, grubs and root maggots. Some even love slugs and snails. To invite them into your garden, place a log or board at one end of your garden.
Hover Flies — These flies look like little flying helicopters. They are some of the garden's greatest allies. They feed on flower nectar, which makes them excellent pollinators. Their favorite meals are aphids and mealy bugs.
Hummingbirds — These small birds consume more than half their total weight in food everyday and a big part of their diet is insects.
ELEMENTS OF SUSTAINABLE LANDSCAPES
Consider your entire site your garden, including your dwelling. Everything on your site is interconnected in the whole of the activities that happen on that site. For practicality, garden placement and activities need to be considered in relation to accessibility from the dwelling. For aesthetics, consider how you can achieve a graceful, gradual transition from house to garden, and then from garden into wild landscape, if you have any, with formal structure becoming less and less as you move toward the periphery of the garden.
Follow the patterns and processes of Nature. Learn about the ecology of the place, how Nature operates there, assist rather than impede natural flows, and design according to natural processes. Work with Nature, rather than against it. Look to Nature, too, for artistic inspiration.
Learn the qualities and characteristics of the resources on your site and use them to their advantage. Everything works both ways — it is only how we see something that determines whether it works for us or against us. Everything is a positive resource, it is only up to us to find out how to use it in a positive way. We could curse the hot sun or use it to grow corn.
Create an "open system". Everything in the garden or house or community should be able to get their needs met from the system and put wastes back into the system. Consider how all parts of the system of your garden — including ourselves as gardener and harvester, plants, animals, water, sunshine, soil — interact and fit into the system itself. Study the structure and processes of local natural systems and imitate them in your garden.
Preserve the natural contours of the land. Choose the site for your garden in a naturally flat area, for example, rather than terracing a hillside that would require excavation. On the other hand, if a hillside is the only available land for food production, go ahead and terrace in a way that flows with the natural contour of the hillside.
Preserve local habitat. Every home and every garden site was once wild habitat. When we claimed this land for our own, we displaced some, if not all, of what previously lived there. So the first priority is to consider how we can live within the existing Nature on the site, or restore habitat if necessary.
Respect the materials, species and traditions of the place. This includes using local stone, native plants, and traditional design styles, which have evolved naturally in their particular areas.
Feed the soil. Creating fertile soil lays the foundation for an abundant garden. Plants that receive nutrients from rich soil are naturally strong, beautiful, productive, and pest-resistant without pesticides and chemical fertilizers.
Landscape with edible plants. Fruit and nut trees, flowers, herbs and other edible plants can be very attractive and provide shade, windbreaks, and food—all at the same time. They are a way to extend your garden and food supply to a larger area.
Plant heirloom varieties. Non-hybrid varieties are more hardy, easier to grow, and are able to reseed on their own.
Allow freedom of growth in plantings. Although there is often structure in sustainable gardens, the plants themselves are allowed to be loose and flow naturally. Plants are allowed to reseed and naturalize, letting the plants themselves decide where they want to grow.
Encourage beneficial wildlife. Your garden can be a virtual haven for all sorts of wild creatures—from butterflies and birds to squirrels and salamanders.
Create windbreaks with trees, bushes, and other plants. This can help protect your garden from harsh winds and improve the yield and quality of your food, as well as attract beneficial birds and insects. You can even create "living fences" instead of wood or metal ones.
Use companion planting methods. Organize your garden to bring together plants that support their neighbors by providing benefits such as shade, insect deterrence, and/or growing support.
Design for abundant yield. If you are using a piece of land to provide for your needs, use it efficiently. A system can always be made more complex, more stable, more abundant.
Consider the natural flows of movement. Where do you naturally want to walk? What places are you drawn to for certain activities? Place things in the garden where they fall and flow naturally.
Incorporate sustainable practices. Within the structure of your garden design, include other sustainable practices such as natural building materials, resource conservation, vernacular design, renewable energy systems, organic gardening methods, and others. Your garden design can bring them all together in a way in which they each are interconnected into a whole.
Others Sites that I think would help us to come up with a concept for sustainable green space:
http://www.ext.colostate.edu/PUBS/GARDEN/07243.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_landscape_architecture
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_urban_drainage_systems
http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/envirohort/vagardlist.html
ttp://www.thefragrantgarden.com/g_sustain.html
See you guys tomorrow!
Here it is,
Native Plants and Trees Planting native plants and trees is one of the best ways to work with, rather than against, nature. By matching plant species to your particular area you will have plants and trees that take less care and energy and will be healthier than exotic species. Another benefit is that native birds, insects, and other wildlife have evolved with native plant species and are able to use the fruits, nectars and habitat these plants and trees provide.
Plants that attract beneficial insects
Aster (Aster) Baby blue eyes (Nemophila) Calendula (Calendula) California Lilac (Ceanothus) California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica) Chervil (Anthriscus cerefolium) Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum) Coriander (Coriander sativum) Cosmos (Cosmos) Coyote bush (Baccharis pilularis) Dill (Anethum graveolens) Elderberry (Sambucus mexicana) Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) Fleabane (Erigeron) Holly–leaved cherry (Prunus ilicifolia) Monkey flower (Mimulus) Native buckwheat (Eriogonum) Queen Anne's lace (Daucus carota) Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) Rudbeckia (Rudbeckia) Sunflower (Helianthus) Sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritime) Tidy–tips (Lobularia maritime) Toyon (Heteromeles) Yarrow (Achillea spp.)
Friends You Should Invite Into Your Garden!
Ladybugs — This aphid loving beetle is worth its weight in gold.
Lizards — Alligator lizards will search dark basements, garages and bushes for their favorite meal – black widow spiders.
Spiders — The average spider eats about 100 insects a year. He's one of the good guys.
Toads — One toad can eat between 10,000 and 20,000 slugs, flies, grubs, cutworms or grasshoppers per year.
Bats — Besides being a valuable pollinator, bats consume large quantities of insects. A single little brown bat can catch 600 mosquitoes in one hour.
Bees — In California alone, forty–two different nut, fruit, vegetable, forage and seed crops rely directly on bee pollination.
Green Lacewings — Green Lacewings will eat mites, mealy bugs and other small insects but their favorite meal is aphids.
Ground Beetles — Ground beetles' favorite insect meals are cutworms, grubs and root maggots. Some even love slugs and snails. To invite them into your garden, place a log or board at one end of your garden.
Hover Flies — These flies look like little flying helicopters. They are some of the garden's greatest allies. They feed on flower nectar, which makes them excellent pollinators. Their favorite meals are aphids and mealy bugs.
Hummingbirds — These small birds consume more than half their total weight in food everyday and a big part of their diet is insects.
ELEMENTS OF SUSTAINABLE LANDSCAPES
Consider your entire site your garden, including your dwelling. Everything on your site is interconnected in the whole of the activities that happen on that site. For practicality, garden placement and activities need to be considered in relation to accessibility from the dwelling. For aesthetics, consider how you can achieve a graceful, gradual transition from house to garden, and then from garden into wild landscape, if you have any, with formal structure becoming less and less as you move toward the periphery of the garden.
Follow the patterns and processes of Nature. Learn about the ecology of the place, how Nature operates there, assist rather than impede natural flows, and design according to natural processes. Work with Nature, rather than against it. Look to Nature, too, for artistic inspiration.
Learn the qualities and characteristics of the resources on your site and use them to their advantage. Everything works both ways — it is only how we see something that determines whether it works for us or against us. Everything is a positive resource, it is only up to us to find out how to use it in a positive way. We could curse the hot sun or use it to grow corn.
Create an "open system". Everything in the garden or house or community should be able to get their needs met from the system and put wastes back into the system. Consider how all parts of the system of your garden — including ourselves as gardener and harvester, plants, animals, water, sunshine, soil — interact and fit into the system itself. Study the structure and processes of local natural systems and imitate them in your garden.
Preserve the natural contours of the land. Choose the site for your garden in a naturally flat area, for example, rather than terracing a hillside that would require excavation. On the other hand, if a hillside is the only available land for food production, go ahead and terrace in a way that flows with the natural contour of the hillside.
Preserve local habitat. Every home and every garden site was once wild habitat. When we claimed this land for our own, we displaced some, if not all, of what previously lived there. So the first priority is to consider how we can live within the existing Nature on the site, or restore habitat if necessary.
Respect the materials, species and traditions of the place. This includes using local stone, native plants, and traditional design styles, which have evolved naturally in their particular areas.
Feed the soil. Creating fertile soil lays the foundation for an abundant garden. Plants that receive nutrients from rich soil are naturally strong, beautiful, productive, and pest-resistant without pesticides and chemical fertilizers.
Landscape with edible plants. Fruit and nut trees, flowers, herbs and other edible plants can be very attractive and provide shade, windbreaks, and food—all at the same time. They are a way to extend your garden and food supply to a larger area.
Plant heirloom varieties. Non-hybrid varieties are more hardy, easier to grow, and are able to reseed on their own.
Allow freedom of growth in plantings. Although there is often structure in sustainable gardens, the plants themselves are allowed to be loose and flow naturally. Plants are allowed to reseed and naturalize, letting the plants themselves decide where they want to grow.
Encourage beneficial wildlife. Your garden can be a virtual haven for all sorts of wild creatures—from butterflies and birds to squirrels and salamanders.
Create windbreaks with trees, bushes, and other plants. This can help protect your garden from harsh winds and improve the yield and quality of your food, as well as attract beneficial birds and insects. You can even create "living fences" instead of wood or metal ones.
Use companion planting methods. Organize your garden to bring together plants that support their neighbors by providing benefits such as shade, insect deterrence, and/or growing support.
Design for abundant yield. If you are using a piece of land to provide for your needs, use it efficiently. A system can always be made more complex, more stable, more abundant.
Consider the natural flows of movement. Where do you naturally want to walk? What places are you drawn to for certain activities? Place things in the garden where they fall and flow naturally.
Incorporate sustainable practices. Within the structure of your garden design, include other sustainable practices such as natural building materials, resource conservation, vernacular design, renewable energy systems, organic gardening methods, and others. Your garden design can bring them all together in a way in which they each are interconnected into a whole.
Others Sites that I think would help us to come up with a concept for sustainable green space:
http://www.ext.colostate.edu/PUBS/GARDEN/07243.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_landscape_architecture
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_urban_drainage_systems
http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/envirohort/vagardlist.html
ttp://www.thefragrantgarden.com/g_sustain.html
See you guys tomorrow!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)