Natural gardening resources

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Learn how to garden chemical-free using Metro's publications and seminars.

2008 Natural gardening seminars

Metro offers free natural gardening seminars to help you garden chemical-free. Learn to grow a beautiful, productive garden without products that could harm your family, pets, wildlife and local rivers and streams. These seminars are held March through June, or you can have a group seminar anytime...Learn more

Healthy yard and garden strategies

There are some simple things you can do in your garden to keep it beautiful and also make it healthy and safe for your family, pets and the environment. Start with these simple steps to a healthy garden without using chemicals. You’ll learn good gardening strategies that result in fewer pest problems. Then learn how to use less harmful methods for managing insect pests, weeds and diseases in your yard before reaching for chemical controls.
Find out about seminars
Visit a demonstration garden
Invite the mobile native plant garden to your event
Get in-depth troubleshooting tips from Metro's natural gardening guide.

Water quality and household chemicals

Many pesticides and fertilizers used at home can cause water quality problems close to home or miles away. Water from rain or irrigation carries pesticides and fertilizers from lawns and gardens into nearby street drains that feed directly into waterways. Once in water, pesticides and chemicals dissolve or combine and can kill fish and aquatic life. They also can limit beneficial plants and animals and increase growth of algae. This reduces light for plants and oxygen levels that fish need to survive. Make a difference in your own backyard. Learn habitat-friendly chemical-free gardening practices and help protect our rivers, streams and lakes.

Publications

These publications are available for download below.

Grow Smart, Grow Safe (PDF)

A comprehensive guide of lawn and garden products, Grow Smart, Grow Safe reviews 550 pesticides, fertilizers and garden products and rates their hazards to human health and the environment.

Natural gardening shopper's guide (PDF)

This 12-page booklet contains information on natural and organic products and where these products can be purchased in the Metro area.

Files and related materials

Files that are downloadable from this page

Grow smart, grow safe 559K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published January 3, 2008
Natural gardening shopper's guide 1.1M Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published March 13, 2008

To view PDF files, download free Adobe Reader. To translate PDF files into text to assist visually-impaired users, visit Access.Adobe.com.

Need assistance?

Metro Recycling Information
503-234-3000
mri@oregonmetro.gov