The Regenerative Grower’s Guide to Garden Amendments

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.)