About
Soil-Building
Everything begins and ends with soil. We teach gardeners to focus on the health of their soils as the first step towards healthy plants, gardens, and communities.
In organic agricultural systems, soil acts as the digestive system which allows plants access to nutrients.
A thriving soil microbiome is a concert of bacteria, fungi, flagellates, archaea, arthropods, isopods, and more all working to break down decaying matter and separate it out into its constituent parts.
Water and trace minerals are traded by the microbiome to plants via their roots, in exchange for carbon-based sugars exuded by plants.
This exchange is what allows plants in organic systems to thrive, so we focus heavily on soil microbiome health here at Learn Dirt as THE most important pillar of regenerative gardening.
Keep reading about soil-building here.
Regenerative Gardening
Regenerative gardening is an updated approach to old-school organic agriculture which focuses on ‘regenerating’ soils and ecosystems.
Combining organic techniques which have been around since the dawn of the agrarian age with recent advancements in soil science and microscopy, regenerative agriculture offers the best of both worlds.
This fusion of new and old is often referred to as a “back to the future” approach to growing food, and seeks to adopt the techniques that work, and leave behind what no longer serves us or our plants.
The primary goal of regenerative gardening is to improve soil and ecosystem health over time, by giving back more than we take from the system.
This creates sustainable ecosystems, gardens, and farms which will grow better with age. It sharply contrasts “conventional” chemical agriculture which pillages soil nutrients and degrades microbiome and ecosystem health – eventually leading to depletion and soil collapse.
Regenerative gardening offers a clear path forward towards a bright agricultural future.
Keep reading about regenerative gardening here.
Thanks for visiting!
-Dan Hennion
Regenerative Gardener & Educator