MASTER GARDENER: Five ways to move toward a zero-waste garden

By Kayah Swanson
King County Extension Master Gardener

Forget about pristine landscapes and perfect lawns. I’m here to make the case for a messy garden.

Before you panic, I’m not advocating that you let noxious weeds run amok, leave plants to wither, or keep a yard that makes all your neighbors grumble under their breath. 

But I am advocating for using what you already have to work toward a zero-waste garden. It may well result in a mismatched or slightly unpolished look, but I think you should embrace the imperfections.

It doesn’t take an expert to know that the gardening and landscaping industries are overflowing with plastic. Soil comes in plastic bags. Plant starts come in plastic pots. Seed starting trays are almost always plastic. The little plant tags you stick in the ground next to your burgeoning seedlings: plastic. 

And that, my friends, is a big problem. 

The United Nations’ Plastic Programme goes as far as to say that “our planet is choking on plastic” while estimating that between 75 and 199 million tons of plastic are floating around our oceans. You’re eating a credit card’s worth of plastic every week. Even new part-plastic sedimentary rocks (are they really rocks?), dubbed ‘plastistones,’ are forming and have been found all over the world. 

As people who love to see the beauty of our natural world unfold in our own yards, we should care enough about this problem to actively find ways to eliminate plastic from our garden, even if it’s an inconvenience. We should celebrate a whimsical patchwork of growing things rather than a pristine collection of symmetrical pots and plants if the latter necessitates more plastic.

This approach means storing old things and foraging for new ones in a slower fashion, rather than writing up a big shopping list and getting it all done in a single trip. It entails getting to know your neighbors and occasionally MacGyver-ing a situation.

You can’t accomplish it all in one day, but the payoff is helping the wildlife in your yard, growing edibles that are less plasticky, and not adding to our gargantuan plastic problem.

Before I get to my list, I’ll leave you with a quote I saw on a teabag recently (I’m working through all my tea bags before switching to loose leaf, since tea bags release microplastics into your brew): nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. Take a page out of Earth’s book; she’s been doing this for billions of years. 

1. Share with your neighbors. 

We’re talking systemic change here, and you can’t buck the system without a good community around you. You need to know the people in your neighborhood to make this work. Talk to each other in real life (I know, but you can do it, I believe in you!) or check your local BuyNothing group, NextDoor, Craigslist, and/or Facebook Marketplace forums to see who got a too-big chip drop and is offloading mulch, who’s giving away plant starts and containers, and where you might be able to donate something, too. 

You can also use your neighborhood’s tool library. Then you don’t have to carve out storage space for a tool you use once a year (or even worse, just once). Find your local tool library—or learn about creating your own—at the Washington State Recycling Association website. 

2. Change how you’re getting your garden soil.  

Did you know that soil can come in bulk instead of a plastic bag? Soil is often cheaper by volume when purchased in bulk, and it doesn’t come in a plastic bag that bakes all day in the sun, which is definitely a bonus because we know heated plastic releases harmful chemicals. You can usually have it delivered or pick some up yourself. Check with your local landscaping materials supplier to see what your options are. And please go peat-free, as peat harvesting is very bad for the environment. 

You can also create compost right at home, which benefits your garden and the planet. For tips on how to get started, turn to the excellent folks at Tilth Alliance. 

3. Start your plants from seed. 

Do not be afraid of growing plants from seed—it’s fun! I often like to say that a true gardener is someone who has accidentally killed one of everything, so please don’t be afraid to fail. Use soil blocks (learn how to make them here) in old casserole dishes with a wire cooling rack inside, or some other configuration that allows you to slightly elevate the blocks so they don’t get too soggy. Or you can use cans, toilet paper tubes, newspaper pots, or egg cartons filled with potting soil. The Washington State University Extension has a helpful publication on starting seeds. 

You can buy seeds, of course, but you can also use a seed library near you for free. You’d be surprised how many seed libraries there are! You can also harvest seeds from existing plants or grow food from your kitchen scraps. 

4. Use what you already have. When you need something you don’t have, get creative. 

This is where storage space helps. Instead of recycling old salsa and jam jars, save them to use for plant cloches on cold days. Grow plants in burlap bags from your local coffee roaster. Forage for containers at garage sales, estate sales, and thrift stores. Save your cans, toilet paper tubes, and egg cartons. Think about what you’re discarding and whether it could play a role in your garden before you toss it to the landfill. 

5. Grow the right edible plants in the right quantities.  

The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the annual greenhouse gas emissions from U.S. food loss and waste are equal to the emissions from 42 coal-fired power plants. Let’s not pile on by growing edible things that won’t be consumed. Choose vegetables and fruits for your garden that you know you love to eat, rather than growing an exotic plant that you’ll use for a single recipe and will otherwise go to waste. Also think about the quantity of food you’re growing—will you have too much for your family to go through? How much can you reasonably give away? Different plants produce in different quantities, so incorporate that consideration into your garden plans. 

What did I miss? Do you have zero-waste gardening tips? I’d love for you to share them with me so I can keep improving my own practices. By creating a knowledge- and resource-sharing community around us, we can keep our plastic problem from becoming even more severe while embracing the wild beauty of a foraged garden.

Kayah Swanson is a certified King County Extension Master Gardener, a communications director, and a staunch advocate for growing groceries in a landlord’s yard.

When she’s not rooting around in the dirt, you’ll find her behind the pages of a good book or gallivanting around the wilderness with her husband, Conrad and trusty pup, Frida Pawlo.