If you’re growing a home garden to provide fresh vegetables for your kitchen, we’re betting you want to avoid harmful pesticides and chemicals so you’re not introducing them into the food you and your family eat.

Following organic, environmentally sound gardening practices for your vegetable beds is the best choice — and this should extend to how you approach your surrounding landscape as well.

Chemicals used to treat your lawn will undoubtedly make their way into the kitchen garden, one way or another. Growing your own vegetables can be the inspiration you need to view your landscaping practices with an eye toward sustainability.

Using organic matter like wood chips, mulch and compost creates healthier soil, which means stronger and healthier plants, shrubs, flowers and grass.

In addition, by extending your organic gardening approach from the veggie garden to your overall home landscape, you’ll also create a safer environment for beneficial insects and pollinators. This biodiversity can help control unwanted pests naturally, and improve the resiliency of your home’s landscape.