More food, less lawn - save money with an edible landscaping plan

Tag : Dried Mangoes


Edible Landscape Skills
Who says money doesn’t grow on trees? Homeowners expect theiryards to cost them money. Few ever consider the possibility thatinstead of costing money, a yard actually can help save money.
The average yard in this country consumes money in three majorways. First, hundreds of dollars are wasted because few yards areplanned to take advantage of solar heating or basic coolingtechniques for the house. Second, yards that have large lawns,particularly in the arid West, where constant watering isnecessary, often have high maintenance costs. And, finally, fewyards are designed to cut food and gift-giving expenses.
Heating and cooling experts estimate that up to 20 percent ofair-conditioning bills and 20 to 30 percent of heating bills forresidences can be cut by proper placement of landscaping elements.The larger your yard, the more savings you can realize bystrategically placing trees and shrubs. Well-placed evergreenshrubs and trees help cut down the effects of winter winds againstthe house; by removing evergreen shrubs and trees near thesouth-facing wall, the homeowner allows the winter sun to warm thewall. Conversely, in the summer, deciduous trees, shrubs, and vinescan shade the south and west walls, preventing the heat frombuilding up in the house.


Lawn, the Great Money Sink
I’ve seen it happen time and time again. People who are on atight budget think they cannot afford to spend a lot of money onthe landscaping; so they go to the nursery, buy a package of grassseed, and turn most of their yard into a large lawn. There are fewthings you can do, particularly in the West, that will cost youmore over the long run. A lawn will nickel and dime you to death.Lawn mower, gas for the mower, lawn-mower maintenance, edger,water, sprinkler repairs, fertilizer, herbicides, fungicides,vacation maintenance: all for just a humdrum lawn. And a show-placelawn can cost you many hundreds of dollars a year. Awell-maintained lawn needs to be aerated, thatched, reseeded, andtop dressed every year. All of those expenses are just the tip ofthe iceberg. They don’t even take into account that the lawnarea could be covered with money-saving plants that would providefood for the table.
Lawn maintenance is big money in this country, and our whole systemis set up to perpetuate it. If you have a lawn, use appropriatelawn maintenance techniques to save money and use fewer resources.Here are a few pointers:
1. Plan your lawn area to be as level as possible so that water andnutrients won’t run off. Keep the lawn as small as possible.Don’t plant lawn simply because you don’t know whatelse to do.
2. Plan the area for ease of maintenance. Avoid spotting trees andshrubs in the lawn, and install mow strips (strips of concrete,brick, or wood that border a lawn and keep the wheels of the mowerlevel at the edge, so when you mow, you also trim the edge),thereby cutting down on the amount of machine trimming.Furthermore, without trees the grass will grow thicker so that lessweeding will be necessary.
3. No lawn grass species has low water or fertilizer needs, butsome are a little better than others. Choose bluegrass and rye overbentgrass, which is a heavy feeder and needs lots of water.
4. Do not remove lawn clippings unless they are longer than aninch. Research has shown that turf is healthier and requires lessfertilizer when the clippings are left in place. Grass clippingsare equivalent to a 4-1-3 fertilizer, which means that two poundsof nitrogen per 1,000 square feet are saved on the average lawn.Contrary to popular opinion, thatch buildup is not a problem.
5. Avoid so-called cheap fertilizer. It ain’t! Nitratefertilizers, in particular, are leached from the soil andvolatilize into the air; plants get a quick fix of nitrogen, thensoon need another shot. Except when the weather is cold, useorganic manures or slow-release nitrogen fertilizers.
6. Mow the grass so it is 1-1½ to 2 inches long. Most people cutthe grass too short, causing it to thin out. Grass that is cut tooshort requires more water.


Home-Grown Gifts
A delightful way to save money is to plan your garden with giftgiving in mind. At Christmas or for birthdays, homemade strawberryor kiwi jam, pickles, canned peaches, tomato juice, applesauce,dried fruit for a trail mix, and dried herbs are always a hit. Soare dried-flower bouquets, so in the summer grow statice,strawflowers, yarrow, baby’s breath, and many of the grasseswith beautiful seed heads. Gifts from the yard are unusual andoriginal.
If you occasionally buy flowers for the house, for a friend in thehospital, or if you enjoy taking a house gift when you go to afriend’s house for a visit, consider growing your own cutflowers. If you are short on garden time, plant perennials andshrubs that are easy to grow and that produce flowers you can cut.Another idea for people who are short on time (aren’t weall?) is to convert some of your lawn to a meadow and seed itheavily with wildflowers that are good for cutting. For wintergiving consider growing and collecting some of the flowers and seedpods that dry well. Wreaths made of grapevines or wisteria can bedramatic when festooned with garlic heads and chilies for thekitchen, or with bittersweet and thistles for the front door.
Following is a list of flowers for cutting and for driedarrangements. Find out which ones will do well in your area.
Perennials Bird-of-paradise, black-eyed susan, chrysanthemum, coreopsis,forsythia, iris, lavender, lilac, lily, marguerite, old roses,Shasta daisy, and yarrow.
Annuals Baby’s-breath, bachelor’s button, bells of Ireland,calendula, cosmos, marigold, nasturtium, nicotiana, pincushionflower, snap-dragon, stock, sweet pea and zinnia.
Bulbs Anemone, daffodil, Dutch iris, freesia, narcissus, ranunculus, andtulips.
Wildflowers Black-eyed susan, California poppy (if seared), cattail,coreopsis, daisy, goldenrod, mullein, mustard, penstemon, prairiegrasses, Queen Anne’s lace, tiger lily, wild roses, andyarrow.


Kitchen Gifts
Dried herbs add zest to your cooking. You can change an ordinarysalad, for example, into an interesting, tasty salad simply byadding some freshly dried herbs. A soothing cup of tea can bebrewed from a mixture of several varieties of dried mint. Also,herbs, harvested from your garden and carefully dried, are anespecially welcome gift.
Drying Herbs
Drying herbs is a simple rewarding task. Dried herbs lose theirpotency with age, so you should renew your supply of them annually.It is important when harvesting herbs