Spring is finally here, which means it’s time to roll up your sleeves and get to gardening! Not only is gardening relaxing and therapeutic, it’s a great way to learn about the environment, grow your own crops, and reduce your packaging, water, and food waste. Whether you’re a complete novice or a season expert, there is always more to learn about creating your own backyard biome. We’ve assembled some easy tips & tricks to help your garden thrive and grow, all in a sustainable & zero-waste fashion!

Garden Planning and Research

The first step to starting your zero-waste garden is to get the right plants. In order to give your garden the best chance at thriving, you’ll first have to do a bit of research (ugh, yes really). While it may seem tedious, doing this research is one of the most important steps to prepare your garden, and it’ll save you a ton of time and money in the long run. Look up what plants are able to grow in your climate, while considering other factors like sunlight, water usage, and growing season. Finding a planting guide for your location can be a good place to start. This Interactive Planting-Zone Map from Gilmour is a great resource to use, as it gives average seasonal temperatures, planting recommendations, and more for every zone across the US. For a more region specific or international map, try searching “plant hardiness zone map” for your area.

Some plants can even grow better when accompanied by other plants. These companion plants can nourish the soil, keep away pests, provide cover (shade), and more when planted in the same gardening bed. Check out this list of common companion plants for home gardening, it even points out crops to avoid planting near one another, as it’s possible for plants to inhibit the growth of one another too.

If you’re still not sure what plants to try out, ask gardening friends and neighbors for suggestions, or head to your local community garden for advice. They’re likely to know the local climate and understand from experience what does & doesn’t grow well, and they might even have some tips & tricks of their own to share. Not to mention, they may have spare seeds or clippings to help kickstart your garden.

Some plants are easier to grow than others, so here are some beginner-friendly plants that we’ve found to be almost foolproof in any climate:

• Mint •Carrots •Rosemary •Peppers •Green Onions

Starting the Plants 

When you're ready to begin, try starting seeds or planting a propagated starter rather than buying a plant from a nursery or grocery store. Seeds are pretty inexpensive, and you’ll get more than enough in a pack, while propagating & regrowing plants is basically free. Seed Libraries are sprouting up in communities around the globe, offer free seeds of all varieties, and are a great way to encourage local gardening and collaboration. Find a seed library near you with this helpful site, or send in your local spot to be added to their ever-growing list. You can even harvest seeds from store-bought produce or a flowering plant to regrow yourself (more on that later). These methods do take more time and patience than purchasing a pre-started plant, so take that into account when planning your garden.

As starting from a seed will take the longest to grow, be sure that you have enough time to plant your seeds for the correct season. Don’t plant tomato seeds in August expecting to have a thriving, producing plant within a few weeks. Plan a few months ahead, and check a seed calendar for an idea of when to get started. And don’t be discouraged if you’re a month or so behind the calendar, it’s meant to be an informative tool, not a barrier for discouraging beginners. 

With seeds, it’s always a good idea to plant a few more than what you think you’ll need. You’re likely to have a higher success rate, and sharing any extra popped seeds with friends, neighbors, and fellow gardeners is always encouraged! Try repurposing an empty egg carton for starting seeds, just filling it with soil and plant your seeds in each of the pockets. This will make keeping track of the seeds simple, as well as pre-separating them for easy transfer later. If it’s a paper-based egg carton, you can simply cut off each pocket and replant the sprout (egg carton & all) into a larger container when they’re ready to be repotted.

Propagating plants can be easier than starting from seed, and can produce more, faster. Some plants like strawberries will self propagate, while many herbs, houseplants, and even some trees can be propagated from a clipping. Look for a healthy limb with lots of leaves and make a clean cut an inch below a node (the segment where new leaves are sprouting). Then pop it into a glass of water with a fair amount of indirect sunlight, and after a week or two (or more, depending on the plant) you may notice some roots starting to grow. Once these are a healthy length, the starter can be planted into soil like any other crop. Similar to starting seeds, not all attempted propagations will successfully grow, so try starting a few plants at a time.

Other plants can be somewhat or entirely regrown from a scrap. Green onions are the perfect example, as the same plant can be pulled up and regrown countless times, as long as the roots remain intact. Potatoes, ginger, and garlic all sprout when left in the kitchen too long, and are perfect for regrowing in the garden. Mint tends to spread and grow like a weed, making it easy to (gently) dig up part of the plant and repot without harming the original.

Where to Plant

Another great way to help your garden thrive is to be mindful of where you’re placing your plants! There are tons of pros and cons for planting your garden in the ground vs in containers, all of which should be considered before transplanting. 

Using pots and containers are a great way to try out varying locations for your garden, as they’re easily movable. Potted plants can be moved into the sun or to a sheltered location depending on their individual needs and your climate. However, potted plants will have to be watered more often than in-ground plants, as the pots themselves can heat up in the sun and increase evaporation. These potted plants also don’t have access to the same nutrients that in-ground plants do, and will need to be fertilized with rich compost or vitamin boosts a few times a season.

In-ground plants typically don’t require as much watering, as the abundant soils and dirt can retain moisture better, as well as help regulate the heat on hot days. However, once they’re planted in the ground, it’s much more difficult to move to another location, so plan carefully. Similarly, be aware of other ground plants in the area, as large trees can hog all of the water in region, leaving little to none available for smaller plants. Similarly, in-ground plants can be targets for gophers and moles that like to snack on crops, so watch out for any signs of underground activity.

We always start our plants off in pots and containers, as it’s easier to monitor and nurture them when they’re still fragile. By growing a garden in pots, this means that you’ll need a lot of containers to get them started. For a low-waste and low-cost alternative to buying ceramic and terracotta pots from a nursery, upcycle some containers from your own home! Egg cartons are great for starting seeds, while plastic food tubs and steel cans can easily be turned into small and mid-sized pots. Just (carefully) poke 5-10 holes in the bottom of each container with a nail to allow for water drainage, and you’ve got a free, zero-waste planter! 

Using plant saucers is a great way to retain nutrients and prevent over watering for these potted plants. When water drains out the bottom of pots, a lot of the nutrients from the soil is washed out with it. By placing a saucer underneath, it’ll catch this nutrient-rich water, allowing it to be reabsorbed into the soil later. When gardening, it’s easy to get carried away and overwater your plants, which can lead to root rot and actually drowning the plants. If the saucer underneath still has water inside, there’s no need to water the plant again, and if it doesn’t evaporate or reabsorb in a day, use it to water another plant. You can easily upcycle yogurt and jar lids, empty takeout containers, shallow plastic tubs, or chipped bowls into zero-waste plant saucers. 

Maintaining Your Garden

Once all your seeds, starters, and plants are potted or in the ground, it’s time to start with regular garden upkeep. One often forgotten step in gardening is mulching, the process of or adding a layer of leaves, wood chips, or other materials over the soil of a plant to protect it. Adding a layer of mulch can help reduce water loss, prevent weed growth, retain moisture, regulate soil temperature, provide nutrients, and prevent fruit rot (Texas A&M). You can easily mulch your home plants with a layer of dried organic material, similar to the brown carbon-based matter used in composting. Shredded cardboard & paper can be mixed with cut grass, dried leaves & plant clippings, or wood chips and layered around the base of the plant. Soon enough, your plants should show signs of improved growth and production!

Gardening is a great way to repurpose collected rainwater and greywater. If you live in a rain-plentiful state that allows the collection of rainwater, you’re in luck! For Californians, there’s little rain to be collected, and actually requires a license to be used for landscaping, so utilizing greywater is your best option. With the help of a few buckets or small storage tubs, you can easily collect water from your shower while it’s heating up, and in the kitchen sink when rinsing dishes or cleaning off produce. Then reuse this collected water for your garden and trees outside! For more tips about collecting greywater, check out our article all about Saving Water & Energy During a Drought.

These plants may need a boost in nutrients once or twice a season, and using homemade compost is a great way to provide it. Composting is an incredibly easy way to reduce food waste and decrease methane gas emissions, not to mention that you can compost anywhere, from dorm rooms & apartments to backyards & balconies! The compost can be mixed in with the soil while planting, or can be added around the base of the plant and watered as normal. Give composting a try this spring and summer, or see if you have any composting neighbors on ShareWaste who’ll share their goods. 

Gardens are incredible communities for wildlife, plants, and microbial organisms, all of which help the others thrive and grow. Pollinators especially are the unsung heroes of the agricultural world, and are responsible for almost 75% of all crops we consume. Lend a helping hand to your local bees, butterflies, and other pollinators by creating a bee-friendly garden! Making simple additions to your garden can make a huge difference for these tiny workers, like creating a bee bath, adding in native plants, or going organic. A little can go a long way, so read up more about How to Help Your Local Bees & Pollinators.

Planning for Next Year

With so much knowledge built throughout your gardening experience, it seems such a waste to forget it all between planting seasons. One of the best tips for routinely improving your garden is to take notes! Write down what plants you grew, what did & didn’t work, notes on sun & shade patterns, when seeds were planted, and when plants started producing. It’ll help you keep everything you learned ready for next year without having to go through the learning process all over again. 

Speaking of planning for next year, the end of the season is the perfect time to start collecting and saving seeds to regrow. Allow your plants to bloom at the end of the season, and harvest the seeds from the flowers or fruits. To preserve them, dry the seeds out on a towel or dish for a few days, then transfer them to a seed pouch (making sure to label it with the plant, variety, and harvest date). Note that some seeds (like fruit trees) may not produce in the future or can take years to bear fruit, or that hybrid species (like tomatoes) can revert back to the parent plant. 

If some plants didn’t thrive as much as you hoped, don’t give up on them! Gardening is a combination of skill and luck, so even with all that careful planning, not every plant will be perfect every season. Each year is better for some crops than others, so don’t be discouraged and try growing them again next year!

For even more ways to create a sustainable, zero-waste garden, check out our other articles!