The Regenerative Grower's Guide to Garden Amendments - by Nigel Palmer (Paperback)

About the Book

"With recipes for fermented plant juice, nutrient-rich extracts, and IMO using weeds, leaf mold, shells, bones, rock dust, and more Revitalize your garden 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 from local woodlands, fields, restaurants, and markets. Gardener and author Nigel Palmer provides practical, detailed instructions that will be accessible and exciting to every grower who wants to achieve a truly sustainable garden ecosystem, 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 while increasing pest and disease resistance, yields, and nutrient density. Recipes range from the very simple-such as using rainwater to extract nutrients from plant residues and using vinegar to extract minerals from bones and shells-to more complex and creative processes for fermenting plant juices and fish and culturing indigenous microorganisms (IMO) to create amendments that supply a broad spectrum of minerals and complex organic compounds. This compact collection of recipes and instructions is inspired by the work of many innovative agricultural pioneers, especially Cho Ju-Young (founder of the Korean Natural Farming method). Palmer supplies extensive data from mineral analysis of amendments he has made using materials from his own garden; this type of detailed data is not available in any other source. The Regenerative Grower's Guide to Garden Amendments also includes a primer on plant-soil interaction, instructions for conducting a soil test and measuring the quality of fruits and vegetables using a refractometer, and guidance on compost, cover cropping, mulching, and other aspects of sustainable gardening"--

Book Synopsis

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.

Review Quotes

"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."-- Publishers Weekly

"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

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).