At the beginning of the pandemic, sourdough bread, dalgona coffee and houseplants thrived on social media. The increased amount of time spent at home meant we looked for ways to fill our time. Newly minted plant parents found themselves Googling care details: why a monstera leaf has a hole or what to do with brown leaves. Plants create a warm, lived-in space, but we are not always thinking about the larger impacts of our decisions.
Problem: Plants are grown in greenhouses that demand specific light and temperatures. These buildings need large amounts of energy to thrive, harming the environment by releasing large amounts of CO2.
Related: Bioluminescent indoor houseplants are opening new doors
Solution: The good news is that because so many plants are grown in one location, the carbon footprint is shared among thousands of plants, making a large greenhouse more energy efficient than many small ones. If you are still hesitant to buy plants grown in greenhouses, look for native plants that can thrive in your natural environment or plants grown in hoop houses that use the sun to keep plants warm. For another solution entirely, you can often find neighbors and community members who are willing to share plant cuttings, giving you a head start on a plant that is already mature.
Problem: Plants are grown all over the world, and with an increasing demand for them as replacements to decorations and pets, they are being shipped all over the world too. The travel of plants has been dubbed “plant miles,” similar to “food miles,” when thinking about how far rice and oranges travel to reach your plate. The shipping and delivery costs whether via boat, airplane or car are all calculated in this number. Thousands of plants, among other packages, share this carbon-emitting journey, but increased demand for tropical plants will only increase demand for shipping costs.
Solution: With transportation being one of the biggest carbon-emitting industries, this can be a real hiccup in plant purchasing. There are still benefits to shipping plants, namely that your plant will not be the only one flying on an airplane or traveling in a truck. There are other ways, though, including buying locally grown flowers at the farmers market, growing your plants from seed or cuttings or simply trading plants with local groups.
Care Tip: Many houseplants are able to produce more plants from cuttings. Monstera plants, for example, are particularly adept at growing roots (and sometimes leaves) while only sitting in water. Once mature, cutting plants off with root nodes can be a way for you to have more plants without spending money. Succulents do not even require roots to regrow. Just place a few succulent leaves in soil and water regularly.
Problem: Many websites tout that plants in your home can help to clean the air of toxins and absorb CO2. More recently, scientists have noted that this is not true. Plants typically found in our homes (succulents, pothos, monsteras) have to be so dense in order to make any impact on CO2 that you mine as well move into a greenhouse. Even plants said to remove various toxins from the air do not have the kind of surface area needed to compete with the rest of the stuff in our 21st-century homes already filled with furniture and tchotchkes.
Solution: That does not mean plants do not do anything in terms of air quality. They help negligibly, and they are certainly better than plastic décor or dust-collecting objects. Just do not assume that you will suddenly breathe better because you have a few houseplants.
Care Tip: Especially if you are planning to put your plants on the floor, it is important to get plants that are pet friendly. Various lists of pet-friendly plants can be found online, and they range from vining plants to succulents. One way to counteract the fact that plants do not do much to clean the air is to buy edible plants. With the right conditions, herbs, lemons and even tomatoes can grow in your home or on your balcony. Edible plants help save you money in the long run and reduce shipping miles on food.
Problem: Plastic pots are much less likely to break in travel than ceramic or terracotta pots that would need more cushion, and they are much lighter, reducing the fuel needed to travel from point A to point B. However, they eventually lose their shape and break over time, meaning they are not helpful to the plant parent. Most cannot even be recycled because the black color means they cannot be seen by the recycling machines.
Solution: Some garden stores and groups have started take-back programs to keep plastic pots out of the landfill, but there will always be plants outgrowing their pots. One solution is to buy terracotta and ceramic pots that will last longer, though they are more likely to break in a fall. Another solution is plant-based pots made of compostable materials such as coconut and paper. You can even trade for pots as your plants grow to keep pots in rotation and out of the landfill.
Care Tip: Pots with drainage holes are a great way to avoid mold and rot, thus making your plants live longer. The soil can release the water it does not need and decreases the risk of root rot. Additionally, bottom water techniques are available when pots have drainage holes, allowing the plant to absorb as much water as it needs. These methods are also helpful when you leave for an extended period of time because plants can absorb and release water as needed.
Problem: Peat is an interesting environmental concern mostly because we do not talk about it much. If we know it is bad, we may not know why. Peat is a buildup of broken-down organic waste over many years. It is often found in waterbeds, and it is cheap to mine. It creates larger pockets of air for roots to grow while also retaining water to keep the plant hydrated. However, they break down over time and most plants do not actually need peat to survive. Additionally, in one year alone, 500 years of peat formation can be mined, so we will run out eventually.
Solution: Since plants do not need peat, the best solution is to find potting soil that does not include peat. This may mean mixing soils to get the correct nutrients for your plant, but that is better than continuing to mine a resource that is mostly unnecessary for your plants.
Plants, like most things, are imperfect environmentalists. At the end of the day, they may not clear the air, but they make us happy. They are beautiful and life-giving; we just need to pay more attention to our care and maintenance of them.
Lead image via Pexels
from INHABITAT https://ift.tt/ex7X29I
via Inhabitat
Nincsenek megjegyzések:
Megjegyzés küldése