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Homeowners are looking for actionable ways to help conserve the environment, and this hopeful, heartfelt guide offers them specific guidance on how to do so in their own home gardens.
List of contents
Table of Contents
Introduction: The Simple Act of Growing
Grow a Garden, Change Your Life
- Hope from Action
- Planet A: The Biodiversity and Climate Crises
- The Spaces We Plant and Grow Make a Difference
- Change Starts at Home
- Nurture Your Nature
- The Biodiversity Hypothesis
- Your Nature Quotient
- The Power of Our Patchwork of Gardens
Go Beyond Organic
- Carbon Cycling Basics
- Revive. Restore. Regenerate.
- Regenerative Organic Agriculture for Home Gardens
- How Regenerative Gardening Works
- The No-Dig Approach
- Getting Started with Compost
- The Right Compost System for You
Lay the Groundwork
- Planning Where You’ll Grow
- Preparing Ground for No-Dig Planting
- Raised Garden Beds and Boxes
- Filling Small Containers
- Planning What You’ll Grow
Plants for People and the Planet
- Traditional Edible Perennials
- Edible Forest Garden Perennials
- Edible Perennial Vines
- Perennial Herbs
- Annual Vegetables and Fruits
- Root Vegetables
- Berries
- Fruit Trees and Shrubs
- Plants for Butterflies
- Bird Favorites
- Soil-Building Plants
Grow and Gather
- Getting to Know Your Plants
- Grow Your Way to a Smaller Carbon Foodprint
- Starting Seeds
- Transplanting Seedlings
- Troubleshooting the Growing Process
- Nonfertilizer Fertilizing
- Harvesting Your Produce
- Methods of Home Preserving
Rewilding to Support Biodiversity
- The Role of Native Plants
- Biodiversity Begets Biodiversity
- When Insects Disappear
- Growing Habitat Starts at Home
- Living Greenways
Grow More Good
- What You Plant for Tomorrow, You Grow Today
- Power to the People Who Plant
- Swap. Barter. Give.
- Become a Citizen Scientist
- We All Love a Good Story
- A New Normal
Helpful Resources
Many Thanks
Photo and Illustration Credits
Index
About the author
Emily Murphy is a regenerative organic gardener, photographer, and designer. She's the author of Grow What You Love and creator of the celebrated blog passthepistil.com. She’s trained in ethnobotany and environmental science and has dedicated herself to nature-based garden education and nature advocacy.
Summary
Homeowners are looking for actionable ways to help conserve the environment, and this hopeful, heartfelt guide offers them specific guidance on how to do so in their own home gardens.
Foreword
Homeowners are looking for actionable ways to help conserve the environment, and this hopeful, heartfelt guide offers them specific guidance on how to do so in their own home gardens.
Additional text
“Grow Now is an earth manual that applies to everyone, everywhere. Regenerating life begins with our hands, the soil, and our heart. Take this book and go outside, stay outside, and transform.” —Paul Hawken, author of Drawdown and Regeneration
“People always ask me, ‘What can I do?’ Now I can answer, ‘Start by reading Grow Now.’ This beautiful, helpful, humane book is like one of those strangers you meet and instantly bond with. It’s your new best friend.” —Carl Safina, ecologist and author of Becoming Wild
“This is a book I’ve been waiting for. Emily Murphy shows us how restoring nature can begin in our own garden—how to rewild our own patch of land, sink carbon to build soil, and grow good, healthy food for our families. And when we restore nature to the home garden, we learn some of what we need to know to save the home planet.”—Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia
“Murphy shows how home gardens can be one of the biggest forces to improve our health, rebuild nature, reduce pollution, and reverse climate change. The time has never been more urgent for people to join forces for the benefit of themselves and the planet. Start with transforming lawn care.” —Will Raap, founder and chairman of Gardener’s Supply Company, the Intervale Center, and Nordic Farm
“Emily Murphy wants to change the world by convincing you to grow plants with impact and high ecological value. With her energy, knowledge, and passion, she just might do it!" —Doug Tallamy, author of Nature's Best Hope and The Nature of Oaks
“Murphy’s reframing of gardening as a critical factor in mitigating global warming makes this book so potentially impactful in the hands of a beginning gardener. With a list of related sources and a bibliography, Murphy offers a positive and doable approach to addressing our climate crisis.” —Booklist
“An encouraging primer on gardening as a way to combat climate change….New gardeners will find this a fine starting point, and those with dirt already under their nails will enjoy the nudge to try something new.” —Publishers Weekly
