Climate change and global warming are the major environmental problems threatening life on earth. Despite knowing all the causes and effects of climate change and global warming, we have not taken serious actions to prevent them. Lack of seriousness from our side has made the problems more terrible. One proverb says, ‘as you sow, so shall you reap.’ For our actions, we will reap the adverse effects of climate issues. If we remain silent, nothing can save us from destruction.
Now every one of the world should take climate actions to minimize the effects of global warming and climate crisis. There are multiple ways for one to follow to save the environment, and you can also apply your innovative climate change solutions to increase the earth’s lifespan.
Here we will discuss edible landscaping and become a significant part of your climate actions.
What is edible landscaping?
Edible landscaping is one of the most interesting green practices. Edible landscaping refers to the utilization of crop-yielding plants, vegetable plants, or fruit plants to make a lawn visually appealing and productive at the same time.
A few people in the villages take farming as their occupation, and others are not connected with the soil. Many urban children in this decade are growing up without observing the wonders of nature and the environment. This detachment from nature makes children insensitive towards nature. Here edible landscaping can play the vital role of connecting children with plants and soil, with the source of our food.
Edible landscapes are different from ornamental landscapes. While ornamental landscapes serve only the decorative purpose, edible landscapes are ornamental and, at the same time, high-yielding.
The vegetables and fruits that we buy from the markets are generally weeks or months old when we eat them. The homegrown fruits and vegetables are fresher and more nutritious, and collecting them from your lawn is way more satisfying than purchasing them from a store.
Edible landscaping saves a lot of money to spend on purchasing fruits and vegetables. It also saves us from several harmful chemicals and pesticides commonly used in the fruits and vegetables grown for marketing purposes.
Edible landscaping efficiently improves one’s mental health and reduces stress, loneliness, and other psychological problems.
The best plants for an edible landscape:
Edible landscaping is not a difficult thing. It is the plantation of edible vegetable plants such as tomato, carrot, pepper loose-leaf lettuce, etc., on rooftops, parks, or front yards. Fruit trees like apple, orange, strawberry, pear, sour cherry, plum, blueberry, mulberry, etc., are the most common plants to incorporate into an edible landscape. Other than fruit trees, nut trees like almonds, hazelnut, chestnut, etc., can also be a part of edible landscapes. Nuts are fantastic sources of protein, and like other fruits and vegetable plants, they increase the charm of a lawn. Many people like to plant fragrant edible herbs like basil, thyme, oregano, parsley, coriander, etc., in their lawns.
Benefits of edible landscaping in reducing greenhouse effect:
We all know that our over-reliance on fossil fuels is increasing the earth’s temperature at a massive scale. The burning of fossil fuels emits harmful greenhouse gases that actively destroy the ozone layer and trap the sun’s heat into the atmosphere of our planet. Due to these gases, the solar radiance cannot return to space. This is called the greenhouse effect, making our planet warmer and hindering its overall ecosystem.
We all should work together to become ‘climate neutral’ by reducing greenhouse gas emissions as much as possible. Plantation of trees is one of the easiest and most effective methods to tackle the climate crisis caused by greenhouse gases. Plants and trees absorb carbon dioxide, one of the major greenhouse gases. If we make an edible landscape in our lawn instead of decorating the lawn with different colors or colorful objects, we will limit our carbon footprint.
Climate-friendly edible landscaping combats climate change by reducing CO2 and saving water and helping in soil conservation. Edible landscaping also keeps the environment fresh and free from pollution. Some studies have proved that most gardeners use “less than half of the water than large-scale agricultural production for the same crop in edible landscaping or home gardening.” Gardeners, who use drip irrigation, save water even more!
One more benefit of edible landscaping is that it reduces energy usage. When we grow fruits, vegetables, and herbs on our lawns, we need not store them in a refrigerator, and we can go straight to our garden to collect them right before cooking and eating. Hence it requires no energy. Less utilization of refrigerators means less burning of fossil fuels, less emission of greenhouse gases, and less global warming.
