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Photo Credit: Lane Greer

When you lose your lawn, look what wonderful things can happen!

Sustainable farmers and gardeners contribute to the earth rather than take away from it. In sustainable systems, plants are grown without depleting natural resources or contributing to pollution. And, in order for anything to be sustainable, it should continue for a long time. This means that it should sustain itself as much as possible, without constant inputs from you.

So how can you practice sustainable gardening? Here are a few ideas:

• Limit the size of your lawn. Lawns use more water and fossil fuels to maintain them than any other planting. Have a mixed-grass lawn rather than a monoculture. Choose the right type of lawn grasses for your area. Use an electric or human-powered mower. Or remove your lawn altogether and create natural or planted areas with perennials, shrubs and trees instead.

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  Photo Credit: Lane Greer

  Use mulch to avoid weeds and dry soil.

  Contribute to your yard or patch of space in whatever ways you can. Make compost out of vegetable peelings and yard clippings. Shred newspaper to make mulch, and cover weeds with cardboard instead of applying herbicides.
• Take stock of the plants in your yard. Do they contribute to feeding birds and other wildlife? Are any of them native? Are you constantly replacing plants (and if so, why)? Buy plants that are hardy to your area.
• Use natural fertilizers like compost, rock phosphate, kelp or seaweed, fish meal and alfalfa meal. These feed the soil and the microorganisms it contains. They also encourage a natural rate of plant growth, which helps eliminate some pest problems.