The Regenerative Grower's Guide to Garden Amendments: Using Locally Sourced Materials to Make Mineral and Biological Extracts and Ferments

by Nigel Palmer, John Kempf (Foreword by)

Overview

Revitalize your garden—and go beyond compost—by making your own biologically diverse inoculants and mineral-rich amendments using leaf mold, weeds, eggshells, bones, and other materials available for little or no cost!

In The Regenerative Grower’s Guide to Garden Amendments, experimental gardener and author Nigel Palmer provides practical, detailed instructions that are accessible to every grower who wants to achieve a truly sustainable garden ecosystem—all while enjoying better results at a fraction of the cost of commercial fertilizer products. These recipes go beyond fertilizer replacement, resulting in greater soil biological activity and mineral availability. They also increase pest and disease resistance, yields, and nutrient density.

Recipes include:

• Extracting nutrients from plant residues using simple rainwater techniques
• Extracting minerals from bones and shells using vinegar
• Fermenting plant juices and fish
• Culturing indigenous microorganisms (IMO)

Inspired by the work of many innovative traditional agricultural pioneers, especially Cho Ju-Young (founder of the Korean Natural Farming method), The Regenerative Grower’s Guide to Garden Amendments also includes a primer on plant-soil interaction, instructions for conducting a soil test, and guidance on compost, cover cropping, mulching, measuring the quality of fruits and vegetables using a refractometer, and other aspects of sustainable gardening—making it a must-have resource for  any serious grower.

 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781603589895
Publisher:	Chelsea Green Publishing
Publication date:	08/07/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	74 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Nigel Palmer has been a lifelong gardener in New England relying on the amazing complexity of nature to inspire his gardening philosophy, as well as working as an aerospace engineer sorting, organizing, and resolving complex technical issues. He is the instructor and curriculum developer of the Sustainable, Regenerative Gardening program at The Institute Of Sustainable Nutrition (TIOSN).  

Table of Contents

Foreword ix

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction: From Gardening for Fun to Gardening for Health 1

Real Food Matters

How to Use This Book

Part I Nourishment from the Ground Up

Chapter 1 A New Garden Model 15

The Soil/Plant Model

Putting the Models Together

Reaping the Harvest

Chapter 2 Methods and Strategies 39

Mineral Amendment Sources

Biological Amendment Sources

Amendment Strategies

Starting a New Garden Plot

Amending at Planting Time

Amending Perennial Crops

Amendment Strategies Throughout the Growth Cycle

Summing Up

Chapter 3 Sustainable, Regenerative Garden Tools 73

Good Water

Foliar Sprays and Drenches

Compost

Cover Crops

Mulches

Weeds

Crushing Tool

Chapter 4 Data and Measurements 95

Using a Refractometer

Conducting a Soil Test

Amendment Analysis Results

Garden Math

A Garden Notebook

Part II Making Mineral and Biological Amendments

Chapter 5 Raw Materials 113

Weeds and Crop Plants

Local Rocks and Soils

Ocean Products

Raw Milk

Chapter 6 Amendment Recipes 121

Water Extractions

Apple Cider Vinegar

Vinegar Extractions

Fermented Plant Juice

Fermented Fish

Leaf Mold Fermentation

Leaf Mold Biology

Lactic Acid Bacteria

IMO #1 Capturing Local Microorganisms

IMO #2 Fermenting Local Microorganisms

IMO #3 Propagating Local Microorganisms

IMO #4 Living Soil Amendment

Appendix A Summary of Amendment Recipes 179

Appendix B Optimal Soil Mineral Amounts 181

Appendix C A Sample of Dr. James Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Database 183

Appendix D Plant Mineral Deficiency Indicators 184

Appendix E Amendment Mineral Analysis 185

Appendix F Refractive Index Brix Scale 190

Glossary 193

Bibliography 195

Index 197

Editorial Reviews

06/01/2020

When it comes to organic gardening, gardener and first-time author Palmer’s instructive primer makes the case that it is all about the ecosystems. It is not enough, he asserts, simply to save food scraps for compost and then mix them into the soil. “To have a truly sustainable or even regenerative agriculture,” he writes, “we need to develop the tools and management systems that harness the amazing power of biology” through organic mixtures, or “amendments,” to nourish the soil, which in turn will give rise to healthy plants. Recipes include, for example, an amendment using apple cider vinegar to extract minerals from shells and bones, which can then be applied to plants, directly enabling them to benefit from calcium. Other natural ingredients can be concocted from leaf mold and fermented fish, among other things, with recipes, proportions, and benefits noted in charts and diagrams. The book is detailed and densely written with an emphasis on biology, and the visuals will make it accessible to the earnest farmer or gardener. It may, however, prove too scientific for the average backyard tinkerer. But for the dedicated organic farmer, it is a gold mine of astonishing methods and new possibilities for growing and maintaining a sustainable and truly organic garden. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

Publishers Weekly—

"For the dedicated organic farmer, [this book] is a gold mine of astonishing methods and new possibilities for growing and maintaining a sustainable and truly organic garden.”

“Nigel Palmer has come up with a terrific new ‘cookbook’ for the regenerative (and any other) gardener who desires to build and maintain soil and plant health. The easy-to-follow recipes are designed to satiate any plant’s appetite for the appropriate microbiology and nutrients. This guide to ‘using locally sourced materials to make mineral and biological extracts and ferments’ is to gardening what Julia Child’s classic guide is to cooking.”—Jeff Lowenfels, author of Teaming with Fungi and Teaming with Nutrients

“Nigel Palmer’s new book is filled with fermentation methods for the garden. It’s an exciting new DIY resource for soil regeneration and plant health.”—Sandor Ellix Katz, author of Wild Fermentation and The Art of Fermentation

“In a world seemingly focused on the newest miracle from the chemist’s laboratory, it is refreshing to find a book that unveils the power of nature in gardening and equips savvy growers with proven tools and formulas to move their practices to a new level. Nigel Palmer makes the art and science of life-enhancing amendments accessible to gardeners everywhere.”—Fred Walters, ACRES U.S.A. magazine

“The Regenerative Grower’s Guide to Garden Amendments is a wonderful book, giving the reader new insight into regenerative horticulture at home—preserving the soil, enhancing biodiversity, and producing healthy food.”—Jake Fiennes, general manager of conservation, Holkham Estate

“Attention, gardeners! The Regenerative Grower’s Guide to Garden Amendments will instruct and inspire. Learn to make targeted mineral and biological garden amendments and sprays with this comprehensive and easy-to-understand manual. Nigel Palmer’s guide is a classic in the making!”—Sally Fallon Morell, president, Weston A. Price Foundation

“Herbal brews and probiotics keep us in good stead . . . so why not the plants we grow for food and medicine as well? Nigel Palmer offers an enthusiastic exploration of fermented plant extracts and organism cultures to keep our gardens and orchards productive and healthy. Indigenous wisdom presented in a scientific light rocks! Making one’s own garden amendments not only saves money but is truly the most effective way to grow. Phytonutrients prime plant immunity and friendly microbes protect from disease. Heed this advice and become a savvier grower today.”—Michael Phillips, author of Mycorrhizal Planet and The Holistic Orchard

“In The Regenerative Grower’s Guide to Garden Amendments, Nigel Palmer offers a careful, thorough approach to creating abundance and health in and from the garden. The specifics of innovative and useful techniques, as well as the supporting concepts, are well presented for diligent gardeners to utilize. Nigel’s new garden model does a great service in moving forward our ability to feed ourselves in a cooperative effort with nature.”—Bryan O’Hara, author of No-Till Intensive Vegetable Culture

“Easy, affordable, and garden-tested amendment recipes to help grow nutrient-dense food? Yes, please! The Regenerative Grower’s Guide to Garden Amendments made me wonder why I hadn’t started making my own amendments years ago. I was barely past chapter 2 before I started collecting egg and oyster shells to submerge in vinegar; comfrey and nettles were already fermenting by the end of chapter 3. Every gardener needs this knowledge!”—Chris Smith, author of The Whole Okra; director, The Utopian Seed Project

“This book empowers readers to observe nature’s processes at work in the food garden, and to become aware of natural resources, such as weeds and leaf litter, that they can use to make their own mineral and biological amendments. Brilliant! Beautifully crafted by a first-rate teacher able to convey his in-depth understanding, passion, and knowledge, The Regenerative Grower’s Guide to Garden Amendments will inspire many growers to embark on a never-ending journey of discovery; to grow nutrient-dense food by creating an abundance of healthy ecosystems in the garden.”—Matthew Adams, cofounder, Growing Real Food for Nutrition; former director, Good Gardeners Association

From the Publisher