Formula for Sustainability

I watched an interesting video a few weeks ago..... it was one of our optional learning activities, and for me, a real gem.   The topic was sustainable gardening and one part of the presentation really stuck with me that I thought I'd share with you. 

Imagine a 3-legged stool.....

........  as you know, if you take one of the legs away the stool falls over.
Now imagine each one of those legs is part of a three-part formula necessary for a gardening decision to be considered sustainable.

1. The first leg requires your gardening decision to be gainful to our LOCAL economy.
2. The second leg requires your gardening decision to be ecologically possible for OUR AREA.
3. The third leg requires your gardening decision to be culturally acceptable.

Now bump each decision you make about your garden up against each of those three legs and see if it stays standing...... if it does, you've made a sustainable gardening decision - well done!  Let's try some examples:

1.  You're at your local nursery and see a gorgeous herbaceous perennial that's native to Spain, and want to buy it for your garden.

• Gainful to the local economy:   Depends... as long as the plant was seeded/propogated and grown locally.... OK / DING!
• Ecologically possible in our area:  No. The plant is native to Spain, so will probably require extra care/attention/resources for long term survival.  DING!
• Culturally acceptable:  Yes.  People won't beat you up over your gorgeous plant.  OK.
• 1 leg definitely not standing..... not sustainable.

2.  You want to fertilize your lawn with a synthetic fertilizer manufactured in Ohio.

• Gainful to the local economy:  No.  The product was manufactured in Ohio and had to be shipped a few thousand miles.  DING!
• Ecologically possible in our area:  Sort of.... if used properly, but in reality, all synthetic fertilizers come with some sort of ecological risk/issue. OK / DING!
• Culturally acceptable:  Sort of.... while many people readily use synthetic fertilizers, more and more people recognize their inherent hazards and fossil-based dependencies...the scales are starting to tip.  OK/ DING!
• 1 leg definitely not standing.... not sustainable.

3.   A local winery is turning old wine barrels into rain barrels.  You decide to buy one to catch rain run-off from your garage roof  for watering your container plants.

• Gainful to the local economy:  yes, by recycling/re-using a locally sourced product.  OK
• Ecologically possible in our area:  yes, saving water is always a good thing.  OK
• Culturally acceptable:  yes, rain barrels are well accepted as a way to conserve water.  OK.
• All three legs standing..... sustainable.

So..... each time you need to make a gardening decision, think of the three-legged stool.....

..... and if it falls over, try to reconsider your choice/action and seek a more sustainable option. If you need help figuring out an alternative.... reach out and I'll see if I can help you.