The way we garden can have a huge impact on our environment, both positively and negatively.
The use of pesticides, neatness and tidiness, and growing unsuitable plants are all common gardening practices that many of us use. But they can harm our environment and contribute to biodiversity loss.
However, sustainable practices can help our environment, such as leaving areas wild for wildlife to thrive. Or not using harmful chemicals against pests and weeds.
Eco-friendly gardening is a great way to give nature a helping hand while enjoying our outdoor spaces.
In this article, we look at the best sustainable gardening products in the UK that will help you embrace environmentally friendly gardening.
5 Best Sustainable Gardening Products In The UK
Gardening sustainably often means using less and doing things by hand. However, there are some great products that can help you create an eco-friendly garden.
And here they are…
1. Probiotics For Your Garden
The basis for healthy plant growth is healthy soil, as any gardener will know. And soil health depends on its microbial ecosystem.
This means the microorganisms that live in the soil, such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, and many others. It’s estimated that in one gram of soil there are between 4,000 and 50,000 microbes. (Wentworth and Stevenson, 2019)
The more diverse the soil’s microbiome, the healthier the soil and the better it can support the growth of your plants.
And one thing you can do to ensure you have a good variety of microorganisms in your soil is adding probiotics for the garden. What, like for your gut?
Yes, exactly like for your gut, but for your garden. By adding beneficial bacteria, you can support the health of your soil and that of your plants.
Recommended Soil Probiotics – Microbz
microbz probiotic cleanerWe use and recommend probiotics from Microbz. We came across them when looking for eco-friendly cleaners. What I love about this UK-based small company is that they brew their probiotics right here in the UK, from soil.
So no synthetic, lab-made bacteria, which is great. Their focus is on working with nature and finding ways to cut out harmful chemicals in our lives to make a difference for us humans, but also the environment.
Now that’s an ethos I can get fully behind!
Microbz’ gardening range of probiotics includes a soil conditioner, plant boost, and compost activator, among others.
All of their products will help your garden thrive, but two are especially useful to ensure the health of your soil and plants: the soil conditioner and plant boost.
The soil conditioner you add to bare soil after your plants have finished for the season. So it’s great if you grow veggies or annual flowers.
You dilute the probiotics with water and distribute the mixture over your beds. You do this 4-6 times per year. This will ensure that the soil gets the beneficial microbes it needs.
You will also have to provide food for these microorganisms, which means adding a layer of organic matter once, but don’t dig it in, as this will disturb the microbial ecosystem.
The plant boost you can use once your plants are in the soil, or for your perennials. You can either spray your plants once a week or add the plant boost to the water when watering your plants, also once a week.
Both these products contain not just probiotics, but also natural minerals and nutrients that will enrich the soil so it can better support your plants.
We have started the process by adding the soil conditioner to our empty vegetable beds. And we can’t wait to see what difference it will make.
You can read more about our first impression in our Mircobz for the garden review.
2. Plastic-Free Mulch Bags
Any eco-friendly gardener should make their own mulch from leaf litter. You use the natural resources your garden provides to put nutrients back into your soil. And it’s cheaper, too, because you don’t have to buy mulch.
We have been making our own leaf mulch for years, but there was one thing that always sat wrong with me. We did it the common way of putting the leaves into plastic bin bags and punching holes in them.
I never liked the fact that we used plastic bags, even if we made sure to use ones that were made from recycled plastic. Because once used, the bags are thrown away as they can’t be recycled again.
We know that plastic takes years to break down and, while doing so, releases microplastics and toxic chemicals.
Now I found the perfect solution. Plastic-free mulch bags made from jute that will biodegrade into harmless substances.
Haxnicks are a small UK-based company that have been selling gardening tools and accessories since 1994. More recently, their focus has shifted to providing sustainable gardening products.
They use plastic-free materials whenever possible, and if not, they make sure they only use recycled plastic for their products, which are designed to last a long time to move away from disposable plastic products.
Unfortunately, I discovered them two months after we collected the leaves in our garden. But I have ordered them anyway and can’t wait to try them out next autumn.
What I love the most about them is that you can lay them in your beds after filling them with leaves. There they will decompose over winter and early spring, releasing nutrients into the soil, while at the same time suppressing weeds.
3. Plastic-free Twine And Support Canes
Many plants benefit from support, especially vegetables such as beans, cucumbers, and tomatoes. But also, many flowers and other plants, like sunflowers, foxgloves, or young trees.
The most eco-friendly way to do this is using natural materials, such as bamboo and jute. These won’t release microplastics into your soil, and if you are done with them, they can be composted.
For me, jute twine and bamboo canes are some of the best sustainable gardening products in the UK because they are easy to get, relatively cheap, and very useful.
Bamboo canes can be used in various ways to support plants. You can stick one cane next to a plant, for example, a tomato plant, to ensure the stem grows straight up and won’t fold under the weight of its fruits.
Or you can use three canes to create a wigwam support, which works great for cucumbers or runner beans. For this, you put the canes around the plant and bring them together at the top, and tie them up using jute twine.
It should look like a wigwam tent, hence the name. The plants can then grow up and hold onto the canes. I have used this method for my cucumbers for years and it works great.
Jute twine is also very good for tying plant stems to supports. And you can reuse it, too. All you have to do is not to pull the knots too tight, so you can easily untie them when the plants have finished.
Then dry the twine and store it for next year. You’ll end up with a box full of different-sized twine that you can use again and again. I love it.
And the bamboo canes can also be reused year after year. We inherited a bunch from my husband’s grandad and still use them every year.
4. Plant-Based Protection Netting
In a sustainable garden, you protect your plants from pests without using chemical pesticides, which are very harmful to our environment.
Thankfully, there are many eco-friendly ways for pest control, one of which is creating physical barriers.
Netting and micromesh are tools every vegetable gardener needs to protect their plants from pests, such as caterpillars and pigeons.
But most of the ones you can buy are made of plastic. And we know that the use of plastic is problematic because the vast majority is made from fossil fuels. Then there is the issue of microplastics.
The good news is, there are plant-based alternatives that use natural materials instead. These are perfect for your eco-friendly vegetable garden.
Instead of using insect mesh that’s made of plastic, use InsectoNet, which is made from corn. It will biodegrade into harmless materials that won’t harm our environment.
While it’s advertised as plastic-free, I suspect that it’s actually made from bioplastic. This means that it has the same functionality as plastic, but rather than being made from petroleum, it’s made from a plant-based material, in this case, corn starch.
It will biodegrade, but that’s not the same as compost, so you can’t put it on your compost heap.
This means it has to be disposed of in the general waste bin once it can no longer be used, which isn’t ideal, but at least it won’t release harmful chemicals and microplastics as it breaks down.
If you need to protect your veggies from bigger pests, such as birds, netting works great. And rather than using plastic netting, get netting made from sheep wool.
It’s strong, durable, and can be composted once it’s no longer usable. It’s ideal to cover your plants to protect them from birds, but you can also use it as support for climbing plants, such as peas.
5. Plastic-Free Gardening Tools
There are some hand garden tools that are vital for every gardener. Especially in an eco-friendly garden, where you try to reduce your carbon footprint and only use power tools if absolutely necessary.
The hand tools every sustainable gardener should have include:
Most tools you can buy today have plastic handles, which you don’t want in a sustainable garden. The combination of wood and metal is much more eco-friendly, and if you buy quality tools, they will last you a lifetime or even longer.
We have inherited a plastic-free trowel and Dutch hoe from my husband’s granddad. He used them all his life, and they are still in great condition, so we will continue to use them, probably all our lives.
The reason why many people opt for plastic tools is that they are cheaper. However, a good-quality wood and metal tool will last you forever, while plastic handles will degrade over time.
I’m not saying you should throw your plastic tools and buy plastic-free ones. But if you need a new tool, get one that doesn’t contain plastic.
And if you want to get rid of your plastic tools, give them away to a new gardener who can use them so they don’t end up in landfill when they are still usable.
So here you go, the 5 best sustainable gardening tools every eco-friendly gardener should have. Make the switch and create a sustainable garden.
