What does it mean to have a sustainable garden? To sustain means to keep going or to continue, and sustainability is the ability to carry on an activity indefinitely.

But what does that concept mean in reference to the garden? Can we have a sustainable home garden?

For many, the word refers to the environmental impact of our garden activities. As an abandoned garden quickly demonstrates, nature left alone produces a weedy and chaotic plant mix. Natural plant communities are in constant flux. As plants grow, they alter the microclimates and conditions within our garden. As gardeners, we often fight against this natural process.

We can’t sustain a garden in a fixed state, but we can create gardens that are easier to care for, gardens that produce well with minimal amounts of energy, water, money, fertilizers and pesticides.

Careful planning and good plant choices will make your work easier and reduce the need for other inputs as well. Select plants that are well suited to the conditions of your yard. Note your garden microclimates: where the sunlight is at different times of day over the course of the year, your soil type and soil condition, seasonal high and low temperatures and available water.

Before you plant anything, tend to your soil. Amending your soil with organic matter, such as compost, will improve its health. Good soil produces healthier plants because the soil will hold water and nutrients better. Organic soil amendments improve drainage in heavy soils and help with water retention in sandy or rocky soils. Organic material also feeds the soil microorganisms that help make the nutrients in the soil available to the plants. Amended soil is easier to dig, too.

You can spread organic material on top of the soil in the fall and winter rains will wet it. Then the worms and other soil creatures will work it in for you. 

Read up on plants you like to find out what conditions they like, and how much light and water they require. Then try to find the most appropriate location in your yard.

Group plants together by their sun and watering requirements. Don’t over fertilize. Excess fertilizer washes out of the soil and into our waterways, creating problems. Too much nitrogen fertilizer will create a flush of tender, leafy growth that attracts leaf-eating pests and invites many diseases. All that extra growth also makes more pruninig work for you. 

Water is one of our region’s most precious resources. Choosing plants with low water needs will help the community and save you money. Similarly, choosing plants that can tolerate our seasonal temperature extremes will save you the expense and labor of replacing them.

Gardening sustainably requires some tolerance for insect pests. Even a well-planned and tended garden will have them. Choose the least toxic method possible for controlling pests. Napa County Master Gardeners and the University of Califonia Integrated Pest Management Web site (http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/) can guide you in these choices. 

Creating healthier soil, making good plant choices, putting plants in the right place and caring for them properly with the right amount of water and fertilizer will make your garden more successful while taking less of your time, energy and money. And that’s one definition of a more sustainable garden.

The Napa County Master Gardeners’ next free public workshop, on Aug. 29, will provide more information on sustainable gardening. Check our Web site for information on this and other upcoming workshops on water-wise landscaping and composting.

Napa County Master Gardeners answer questions Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to noon, at the UC Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Ave., Suite 4, Napa, 253-4221, or 877-279-3065.