Introduction: How Did We Get Here? The modern nursery industry has turned gardening into an overly expensive endeavor: each trip to the nursery is met with a new product suggestion, something to buy to "fix" whatever pest or growth problem is being seen. Bagged soils are pushed heavily, as are fertilizers and "safe" pesticides, which only serve to decimate important pieces of the garden ecosystem, leading to further damage as the balance of beneficial insects and food for those beneficial insects is knocked out of equilibrium. The solution lies with treating the garden as an ecosystem and regenerating that system, starting with the basis of the soil food web. Part 1: The 10 Principles of Regenerative Gardening Chapter 1: Recognize The Garden as Its Own Ecosystem Regenerative gardening can be explained as thinking of nature as a partner rather than a resource to be used. It will always start with an analysis of the current soils and ecosystem to establish a baseline. Regenerative growing is different from organic growing practices. Organic growing is done using only organic or OMRI-certified products--however, "organic" growing can still utilize broad-spectrum pesticides and applications of fertilizers that can overly acidify the soil and throw off the balance of soil life. Regenerative growing, on the other hand, focuses on growing and regenerating soil and the garden as a piece of the ecosystem.

The practices we use include no pesticide sprays or granules (even organic ones like NEEM oil) and zero synthetic fertilizers; but most importantly, the soil and the health of the soil and ecosystem is always the main focus. * Levels of the garden ecosystem, and the importance of fostering each - Soil food web overview (microbial and fungal life, brief overview--not too in depth to avoid overwhelm but to give the reader the idea behind the concept) - Insects/arthropods (including "pests") and their function within the ecosystem of the garden - Birds/mammals and their function within the ecosystem of the garden * What happens when the ecosystem is lacking or is out of balance, which leads to the majority of garden "issues" such as pests, fungus, and low yields * 5 strategies for ecosystem balance 1. Plant biodiversity: monocultures lead to increased disease and insect damage (in most home gardens, lawns serve as a major monoculture and source of issues) 2. Birds: Birds are the top of the soil food web and are a vital, and often missing, key to balancing the ecosystem and reducing the number of insects damaging your plants 3. Native plants: native plants are a key attractant to the beneficial insects that naturally balance the soil food web 4. Healthy soil: Healthy soil will provide the correct balance of nutrients from the bottom rung of the soil food web up, to create balance. Excess fertilizer often leads to unhealthful soils and the death of the soil microbes and symbiosis between plant roots and soil life. 5.

Healthy plants: Rootbound plants, over fertilized plants, plants purchased that have traveled hundreds or thousands of miles, non-native plants can all struggle, leading to increased fungus and disease pressure. Chapter 2: Know Your Soil How to analyze your current soil health using visual and tactile methods, how to test your soil using lab services, and how that informs garden decisions for the layperson. Soil tests can be helpful, especially the first time you are establishing a garden. However, if you are following our seasonal plan to a regenerative garden, yearly soil testing will become unnecessary. We are basing most of our planting decisions on the visual and physical examination of our soil, and on the performance of our plants. Soil tests can give good baseline information such as soil texture, mineral deficiencies, and phosphorus/potassium levels, but the important thing is to remember that the annual soil management practices we will outline in the seasonal guide will be the same regardless. The only thing a soil test might change is the amount of compost you use and the types of cover crops you choose to utilize. To me, this is the most eye opening and enjoyable part of regenerative gardening--the fact that once you have these strategies down, they can be applied no matter the type of soil or medium you are growing in.

* How to analyze soil health using visual and tactile methods * The importance of getting a soils test for new gardens to establish baseline and avoid wasting money and resources on unnecessary amendments - When you can choose NOT to use a soils tests: the goal of this program is to make annual soils testing unnecessary, as the soil and overall health of the garden is brought into balance naturally without the use of artificial additives * How to do a soils test (timing, depth, quantity, frequency, where to send the sample) * Knowing your soil can be the most eye opening and enjoyable part of regenerative gardening, as you understand how your soil is the foundation of the garden''s ultimate performance * Weeds as a symptom: if your soil is riddled with weeds it can be a symptom of issues in the garden, though that is also not always the case: sometimes it is just from a seed bank or invasive weeds * Why starting gardens with popular "no dig methods" in the name of soil health can actually be detrimental * Starting garden beds, two ways - Using the native soil method in grassy area - Build a layered garden bed for immediate gratification Chapter 3: Minimize The "Purchased Garden" One of the most confusing things to do is to go to the garden center and browse the fertilizer aisle. There can be five or six different brands of "bloom fertilizer," all with different NPK numbers. The NPK numbers indicate how much nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are present in each bottle--the problem is, most gardeners have no idea what they truly need to feed their soil, whether they need fertilizer at all, and the bottle often recommends more fertilizer than is actually needed. Truly, if done correctly, regenerative gardening means you won''t be applying any artificial OR organic fertilizers or chemicals at all. They are often expensive, unnecessary, and will result in the death of your soil life and ecology. * Too often, we rely on purchases from the garden center to "fix" perceived problems in the garden. These fixes can include: pesticides, fertilizers, bagged soils/composts, other "miracle" amendments, purchased beneficial insects * Include list of questions to ask when purchasing soils/composts/what to look for * The "problems" seen in the garden can be solved through implementation of regenerative gardening, affordably, in the way that nature intended. Examples: * Low nitrogen: nitrogen-fixing cover cropping * Compaction: heavy root crops such as radish, turnip; building the soil life * Fungus/disease: create resiliency in the soil through minimizing disturbance * Pests: building biodiversity, looking at ecosystem * The importance of growing your own plants from seed whenever possible to have full transparency into what is in them, and also to have the healthiest plants possible - Soil blocking as the way to create the strongest and most healthful roots for pest and disease-resistant plants * How to soil block (physical process: mixing soil, wetting, pressing out blocks, what kinds of trays to use, how to water, how to use humidity domes, how to plant from soil blocks) * Soil block recipes: * Coconut coir-based * Wool pellet based * Pitt moss (recycled paper) based Chapter 4: Build Your Soil Armor Soil armor is just another way of saying mulch--soil armor, as the name implies, serves many purposes.

Remember that soil food web we just spent time reviewing? This is where soil armor shines! That soil food web consists of living beings--and those living beings will thrive if their environment is staying even and consistent. Soil armor, or mulch, helps with this in many ways. We all have probably heard of the benefits of mulch in terms of weed reduction and prevention, but there are other benefits as well. * Benefits of mulch from the perspective of ecosystem and soil food web * Different types of mulches and their uses - Always best to source what''s the most readily available and travels the fewest miles: pine straw, leaves, wood chips, straw (including things to look out for), compost, terminated cover crops * When and where to mulch ("building a soil blanket") * When to NOT mulch, when to remove mulch and why * Tips to help hold mulch in place in harsh environments or.