Greening Your Garden
Greening your garden will be beneficial to not just you, but your lovely Mother Nature too! Collecting rain water eases our demand for “drinking quality” water. Why not save some rain that doesn’t land on your garden and redirect it for better better use than just going into the storm drains or the low spot of your lawn? Some of the most nutrient rich soil is produced from waste from your garden and kitchen. This will help with future production of more nutritious fruits and vegetables for consumption by you and your family.
- RAIN WATER BARRELS
Rain barrels are water tanks which collect and store rain water runoff for later use. More info
- COMPOSTING
For the best results, we suggest using 75% dry ingredients (leaves, grass clippings, shredded newspaper) and 25% moist waste (vegetable scraps, dead flowers, egg shells, vegetables, left over fruit grinds, coffee grinds, etc). Mixed in the composter these will decompose (they do not smell!), and in as few as 21 days you may have rich soil to fertilize your garden. Because rodents can be a problem in New Orleans, we suggest using a contained composting bin that tumbles. More info
- KITCHEN GARDENING
The idea behind a kitchen garden is that you can use your garden to produce food to eat on a daily basis. Growing your own fruits and vegetables allows you to have convenient fresh produce at a cheaper cost. It is often recommended to put your kitchen garden in a raised planting bed for ease of maintenance. More info
The New Orleans Food and Farm Network is a very good resource to learn more about growing a productive garden. They offer classes and you may go to the office at 4840 Banks Street anytime during the week for FREE seeds and advice. Contact them at (504) 864-2009 for more information.