Ask the Expert: 10 Tips for a Zero Waste Garden - Gardenista
My neighbor Bea has persuaded her family (including her husband, Scott, her two sons and a tiny dog) to live with less stuff than the average monk–and to produce no garbage. She s a high priestess of garbage free living who owns a single pair of jeans takes meat jars to the butcher to... ...prevent him from wrapping her order in paper and avoids dental floss waste by using a brass gum stimulator with a metal tip Photograph by Michelle Slatalla. On Bea Johnson’s deck, a thriving potted lemon tree fertilized with pee. “All you have to do is pee in the pot two or three times a year,” says Bea. French lavender thrives in the similarly hot, sunny climate of Australia. While natives sound good in theory, your garden has a particular climate all its own. Photograph via Peter Fudge. A potted aloe plant in Bea’s kitchen. The low water plants in Bea s garden include fruitless blackberries Berkeley sedge New Zealand flax we got it... ...because we wanted something really tall to cover the retaining wall behind where it was planted and asparagus ferns A bottle of Castile soap, for washing dishes, laundering clothes, and cleaning the house. If a friend is sprouting seeds, chances are there will be extras. Photograph by John Merkl. One day I asked the friends I walk with on Wednesday mornings, ‘Anybody have a sapling?’ Not longer after, I was having a party and one of my friends brought a sapling to me as a hostess gift.” Give plants away for free. If you dig up something, post a notice on Craigslist–”Free Plants”–and leave it at the curb in a pot. Photograph by Katie Newburn for Gardenista. A vertical wall of plants in Bea’s living room. Keep your garden shears handy so you can harvest whatever is ready to eat. A closeup view of Bea’s indoor vertical garden. For sources, see Natural Jute Garden Bags. If you have a pine tree, sweep up fallen needles and use them as a mulch; sprinkle needles over exposed soil to control weeds. Photograph by Michelle Slatalla. Zero Waste Home by Bea Johnson is $14.50 from Amazon.