Walking the Talk

'Every one of us can do something to protect and care for our planet. We should live in such a way that makes a future possible.'

- Thich Nhat Hanh

Everything we do in life leaves some type of an impact on Mother Earth. As gardeners we are likely more aware of environmental issues than others. Still it saddens me when I hear some gardeners wanting the latest and quickest kill quick fix for even the simplest problem. The new buzz word is organic and many gardeners boast they are growing organically yet will resort to inorganic and toxic measures to solve a problem that could easily be solved in a more environmentally friendly way. The question then becomes, do you walk your talk?

We live on the water and as such are privy to wonderful and sometimes not so wonderful sights but for the most part the water provides eye candy uncomparable to anything else. The diversity in wildlife is truly amazing! However, there is an ugly side to living on the water and that is watching others dump just about anything into it. When I first saw sign of dumping, I was upset then angry but because neirth of those emotions get results, I decided to become proactive and do something about the problem. I chose to lead by example and one-on-one education. For the past few years, every time I saw someone dumping, I would stop and chat with them letting them know that we all have a vested interest in the water and what they were doing was harming it. It's funny as many I have spoke to did not even consider their actions were harmful! The end result has been a lot less dumping and word has spred so sometimes one person can make a difference.

Back to walking the talk. Everything we do in life has an effect! I am amongst other things an environmentalist but not professionally. That means that yes I do garden as organically as possible. The strongest chemical you will ever find in my garden is dish soap and even that is used sparingly. This mindset does not stop with the garden. I prefer to use baking soda and vinegar for most cleaning chores in the house. The strongest chemical used indoors for cleaning is Simple Green which is a concentrated non-toxic, non-mutagenic and non-carcinogenic cleaner that can be made in different strengths. I use re-usable spray bottles for the solution so they stay out of the landfill.

I could go on about all the things I do to leave the least impact on Mother Earth, from being energy conscious to home preserving to gardening organically and everything in between. This entry is simply one to get you thinking. Today, could you walk or bike instead of using the car. If you have to use the car, could you combine several errants in the one trip? Could you send an email instead of using paper? Could you eliminate just one toxic cleaner and substitute it for a non-toxic cleaner? What about that jar you were going to toss, could it be recycled or re-used? Does that item you wanted to buy really need all that packaging? Could you convert one person?

One voice does make a difference!

Happy Gardening

Garden Gnome