Sustainable gardening tips shared

The role of individual gardeners in creating and sustaining a healthy community was discussed during a presentation by Paula Kovecses at EAC on February 15. Kovecses is the owner of The Way It Grows [TWIG], a landscaping company that specializes in organic and sustainable designs.

Kovecses started her career as a conventional landscaper but pivoted to organic methods after a five-day intensive course. “Compost is what I’ve come back to,” she says, emphasizing the role of mindfully creating nutritious additives rather than adding harmful chemicals in terms of enabling the plant to thrive.

Compost (University of Maine photo)

Learning how to compost isn’t a luxury, Kovecses says – it’s a necessity, with 95% of the world’s soils on track to be depleted by 2050. Keeping in mind that it takes seven years for soils to recover from items added to it, making your own compost is “the best thing you can do,” she says. “If you make it yourself, you know what’s going in it.”

As an organic, biosphere-sensitive gardener, Kovecses says she has learned to approach “problems” differently. If there is an abundance of aphids, she doesn’t spray chemicals, she plants a perennial that attracts ladybugs, being the natural predators of the pest. “People say organic gardening is more expensive. It’s not. Especially if you compost.”

Making compost is easy, Kovecses says. “Take your own food scraps, take leaves. One bucket of scraps, five buckets of leaves. You don’t need to buy anything.” Achillea and yarrow are both accelerators for compost and can be added as leaves or planted nearby, she says. “There are so many things you can do with plants that you don’t need to buy a product for.”

When you order compost, even if it is said to be organic, you don’t really know what you’re getting. Kovecses had one client who had ordered “organic compost” and received sewer sludge – which was then spread over their multiple acres before it was tested.

In the same vein, Kovecses recommends testing your soil, which typically costs $30. “There are toxic apple trees here,” she says, adding lead is commonly found. “They were sprayed in the 1950s and the chemicals are still there. It can get kicked up when you go walking.”

Planting a mindful garden

Apart from the importance of compost, Kovecses impressed the need to “plan ahead when you are planting your garden.” Most importantly, gardeners should be mindful to avoid planting any invasive species as they can aggressively spread and take over habitats of native species – thereby removing food and shelter sources for native insects and animals.

It’s important to preserve native biodiversity, Kovecses says, especially with the changing climate. “There are species upon species upon species going away. Plants, gone. Insects. How will we eat?” Some experts says birch trees won’t be in the state by 2050 due to their ongoing northern migration due to the warming climate, she adds.

Common yarrow (University of Maine photo)

While individual and community gardeners can’t realistically “fix the world,” they can fix Eastport, Kovecses says, or wherever they call home. “Think about it before you import a product.”

When planning a garden, “include yarrow” as it is “one of the most beneficial attractors” of native pollinators, Kovecses says. She has planted yarrow in every garden she has made in Maine. Joe Pye weed is another native plant that attracts beneficial insects. Some nativars are “absolutely beautiful” along with being beneficial.

Maine frequently updates its invasive species list and Kovecses highly recommends referring to <Maine.gov> for the new list before ordering any products. Additionally, she recommends learning the Latin name for a plant before ordering from a greenhouse to ensure the correct species is obtained.

With questions, or to join a monthly online group discussing permaculture methods in the local community, please contact Paula Kovecses at <twigeastport@gmail.com>.