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Using the technique of Smart Gardening is an easy way to get a really great looking yard while using less water, energy and wasting fewer resources. You save yourself time and money all while doing something that helps keep the County of Los Angeles a nicer place to live and work.
Using the technique of Smart Gardening is an easy way to get a really great looking yard while using less water, energy and wasting fewer resources. You save yourself time and money all while doing something that helps keep the County of Los Angeles a nicer place to live and work. Residential yard waste adds up to over 20% of what we send to our landfills in the County of Los Angeles. However, yard trimmings are valuable resources that we can easily reuse in our own backyards by composting and grass recycling.
When you practice the techniques of Smart Gardening, you will conserve water and energy, save time and money, improve your yard and garden, recycle yard waste and kitchen scraps, reduce waste going to our landfills, and help preserve the environment. These simple practices do not take much time, and help you develop healthy and beautiful lawns and gardens to enjoy.
To learn about backyard composting, worm composting, grass recycling, water-wise gardening and fire-wise gardening, you can visit one of our 11 Smart Gardening Learning Centers located throughout the County. To find the center nearest you, click on the Map of Centers. To find out when the next FREE Smart Gardening workshop will be, just click on the Workshops & Schedules or call our toll free hotline at 1(888) CLEAN LA.
The Countywide Smart Gardening Program was started in 1994 by the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Works to help meet the State of California Integrated Waste Management Board's mandated goal of reducing disposal of solid waste in landfills by 50%.
Backyard Composting
Backyard composting is an attractive, simple method of managing organic wastes at home. It has the advantage of being readily adaptable to fit individual lifestyles, income, yard size, and overall ambition. Backyard composting can be performed by a variety of methods. Typically, these include placing materials in open piles, burying materials in pits or trenches and enclosing materials in drums or bins (e.g., holding bins, turning bins, and worm bins. In order to heat up properly, compost piles should be at least one cubic yard in size. This provides the minimal insulation required to sustain the high temperatures in the center of the pile. Composting units or bins can either be commercial units, or can be simply constructed from inexpensive materials with little carpentry or masonry skills. Click here for information on purchasing a backyard composting bin.
The compost produced by backyard composting is an excellent soil conditioner. It enhances the structure of soil by binding soil particles together. This improves aeration and helps soil to retain water and nutrients. Compost also improves drainage in clay soils and water retention in sandy soils. Compost improves the buffering capacity of the soil and minimizes adverse effects to plants due to extreme shifts in soil pH. Adding compost to soil also attracts earthworms, which aerate the soil and add additional nutrients to the soil. Compost can store nutrients and release them slowly for use by surrounding plants. Although highly beneficial for soil, most composts are not considered fertilizers because they lack the amount of nitrogen necessary to be classed a fertilizer.
Worm Composting
Worm composting, also called vermicomposting, is one of the easiest methods for reusing fruit and vegetable scraps from your kitchen and yard. All you need is a container filled with moistened bedding, worms and food scraps.
The worms, with help from micro-organisms, convert the bedding and food waste into compost in only a few weeks. Worm composting is so simple it can be done virtually anywhere: schools, offices or homes. It is a natural method for recycling nutrients in food waste. The resulting compost is an excellent soil amendment that can be used to make potting soil for house plants or as a fertilizer for your garden. Worm compost is also a rich source of nitrogen, making it an excellent organic fertilizer. Finally, the worm tea (the liquid that is produced during the composting process) is also an excellent organic fertilizer and contains many essential minerals and nutrients plants need to grow.
Grass Recycling
Suggested mowing heights: Grass recycling is a simple and natural approach to lawn care. Grass clippings are 75% to 85% water. When you mow regularly, grass clippings quickly decompose and release nutrients to fertilize the lawn. Proper mowing, watering and fertilizing of a lawn results in moderate turf growth, yet still produces a healthy green lawn. Grass recycling helps reduce fertilizer and water usage, which can protect local streams, rivers and the ocean from pollution, since runoff from yards and gardens can contain fertilizers and pesticides. Also, since you don't have to bag your clippings, mowing time is reduced.
California lawns can generate approximately 300 to 400 pounds of grass clippings per 1000 square feet annually, depending on turf variety, environmental conditions, and turf management practices. This can amount to over eight tons per acre per year! Grass recycling reduces the amount of clippings going into landfills by recycling this valuable, nutrient rich material right in your own backyard!
Water-Wise Gardening
With all the trees, shrubs and grass we have growing in Southern California, it's easy to forget we live in a desert. Most years, we import millions of gallons of water from northern and central California, the Owens Valley and the Colorado River, and pump millions more from groundwater wells that draw water out of our regional aquifers. Increasingly, water is in short supply and is becoming more expensive. Additionally, California faces repeating cycles of heavy rains (El Niño) followed by drought (La Niña). In fact, historically, our state has faced prolonged droughts that have lasted over 50 years. Therefore, it is critical that everyone work to conserve as much water as possible. Water-wise gardening involves using various landscaping techniques that help conserve water while maintaining a beautiful and efficient yard.
Fire-Wise Gardening
Los Angeles County is home to some of the most scenic vistas in the world. The natural beauty and mild Mediterranean climate have attracted millions to settle in the mountains, foothills, deserts and coastal valleys of our County. In many areas, fire is a natural part of the ecosystem. Fire cracks seed casings, allowing native plants to reproduce and thrive and it clears out dead brush that can choke living plants and cut off food for wildlife. While fire may be an essential to the natural systems in some areas, fire is usually disastrous for people. Your best defense against fire is learning to develop a fire-wise landscape around your home.
Fire-wise gardening isn't necessarily the same thing as a well-manicured yard. A fire-wise landscape uses careful planning as well as fire resistant plants that are strategically planted to resist the spread of fire to your home, combined with proper maintenance. It also means learning to water, prune and maintain your yard and garden in ways that help reduce your fire danger. The good news is, you don't need a lot of money to practice fire-wise gardening, and you may find that fire-wise gardening can increase your property value and conserve water while beautifying your home and helping reduce it's vulnerability to brush fires.
