Living Systems Institute

We promote a No Weed, No Water, No Till, Deep Mulch, Drip Irrigated gardening system. The first three are about the gardener's relationship with the garden. We want nature to do the work, so that gardening is not onerous, so more people get involved. We do that with deep mulching and drip irrigation. That creates a habitat for a whole ecosystem of soil organisms that are necessary for nature to do her work.

There are resource conservation reasons for doing this in an urban area. We can convert resource consuming lawns into resource producing gardens that use less water and no manufactured fertilizers or pesticides.

There are economic reasons for doing this in an urban area. If we converted the lawns on the front range to gardens, we would eliminate the need for a substantial portion of our food to travel from far off places, and we could employ legions of people with the skills to care for these gardens for no more than we spend now on lawn care.

But, the most important reason is health. A healthy soil contains a whole ecosystem of soil organisms and thus produces food that contains a full spectrum of nutrients. Healthy food produces healthy people. Healthy soil creates the habitat for a whole ecosystem of plants and animals so our healthy people can enjoy the beauty of a healthy environment.

And, in coming to understand all the relationships that make up a healthy environment, we come to understand how much more we might depend on the people, and other living things, around us, contributing to a healthy society.