Many people may not be aware that gardening can actually harm the environment if done improperly. A large amount of carbon dioxide can be released through tilling the soil. This contributes to global warming. When you cultivate and till the soil, you also destroy good fungi. Fertilizers like nitrogen and manure often leach out of the soil and pollute the water you drink and pesticides and herbicides have been know to cause many health issues.
Global warming
Did you know that the earth’s soil gives out carbon dioxide in the atmosphere 10 times more than all human activity? This comes from the insects, microbes, fungi and worms when they breathe, digest food, and then die as well as the breakdown of organic materials. Although in the past plants have been capable of absorbing carbon dioxide caused by small-scale tillages from natural occurrences (landslides, animals, etc..), this isn’t the case anymore.
The good news is that tilling can be minimized by mulching or sheet composting.
Good Fungi
In untilled soil, there is beneficial fungi known as the vesicular-arbuscular-mycorrhizae or VAM for short. VAM actually forms a symbiotic relationship with plants. Their filaments increase root hairs and provide nutrients to the plant. They give out zinc, copper, potassium and phosphorus. Plants provide carbohydrates for the fungi in return. It is possible to grow a garden without tilling the soil at all by mulching heavily until the soil is soft and friable. This is called no-till gardening.
Surplus Nitrogen
Many gardeners apply larger amounts of fertilizer and manure than farmers for any number of reasons but the ground that they are working will leach extra chemicals into the water and it will run off when it rains. Using extra fertilizer doesn’t do much for the long term benefit of the garden but it does negatively impact the environment.
The best gardening advice that can be given to those concerned is to do all things with moderation. Keep in mind that too little and too much of something is not healthy.
Pesticides and Herbisides
It is possible to garden with almost no pesiticides or herbicides. One of the best arguments in favor of permaculture is that it utilizes natural ecology systems to reduce unwanted plants and insects. Permaculture is based on whole-systems thinking and that means thinking about how the removal or introduction of anything impacts the rest of the garden. “The focus of permaculture, therefore, is not on individual elements, but rather on the relationships among them. Properly done, the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. Permaculture seeks to minimize waste, human labor, and energy input and maximize benefits through synergy” –wikipedia