Grow Now How We Can Save Our Health, Communities, and Planet—One Garden at a Time

“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

Did you know you can have a garden that’s equal parts food source and wildlife haven? In Grow Now, Emily Murphy shares easy-to-follow principles for regenerative gardening that foster biodiversity and improve soil health. She also shows how every single yard mirrors and connects to the greater ecosystem around us.
 
No-dig growing, composting and mulching smartly, and planting a variety of edible perennials that attract bees and butterflies are all commonsense techniques everyone can use to grow positive change. You'll also find detailed advice on increasing your nature quotient, choosing plants that cycle more carbon back into the soil, selecting a broader variety of vegetables and fruits to improve overall soil fertility, rethinking space devoted to lawns, and adding companion plants for pollinators to rewild any plot of land.

Exquisitely photographed and filled with helpful lists and sidebars, Grow Now is an actionable, hopeful, and joyful roadmap for growing our way to individual climate contributions. Gardening is climate activism!
 

Table of Contents
Introduction: The Simple Act of Growing
Grow a Garden, Change Your Life

1. Hope from Action
2. Planet A: The Biodiversity and Climate Crises
3. The Spaces We Plant and Grow Make a Difference
4. Change Starts at Home
5. Nurture Your Nature
6. The Biodiversity Hypothesis
7. Your Nature Quotient
8. The Power of Our Patchwork of Gardens

Go Beyond Organic

1. Carbon Cycling Basics
2. Revive. Restore. Regenerate.
3. Regenerative Organic Agriculture for Home Gardens
4. How Regenerative Gardening Works
5. The No-Dig Approach
6. Getting Started with Compost
7. The Right Compost System for You

Lay the Groundwork

1. Planning Where You’ll Grow
2. Preparing Ground for No-Dig Planting
3. Raised Garden Beds and Boxes
4. Filling Small Containers
5. Planning What You’ll Grow

Plants for People and the Planet

1. Traditional Edible Perennials
2. Edible Forest Garden Perennials
3. Edible Perennial Vines
4. Perennial Herbs
5. Annual Vegetables and Fruits
6. Root Vegetables
7. Berries
8. Fruit Trees and Shrubs
9. Plants for Butterflies
10. Bird Favorites
11. Soil-Building Plants

Grow and Gather

1. Getting to Know Your Plants
2. Grow Your Way to a Smaller Carbon Foodprint
3. Starting Seeds
4. Transplanting Seedlings
5. Troubleshooting the Growing Process
6. Nonfertilizer Fertilizing
7. Harvesting Your Produce
8. Methods of Home Preserving

Rewilding to Support Biodiversity

1. The Role of Native Plants
2. Biodiversity Begets Biodiversity
3. When Insects Disappear
4. Growing Habitat Starts at Home
5. Living Greenways

Grow More Good

1. What You Plant for Tomorrow, You Grow Today
2. Power to the People Who Plant
3. Swap. Barter. Give.
4. Become a Citizen Scientist
5. We All Love a Good Story
6. A New Normal

Helpful Resources
Many Thanks
Photo and Illustration Credits
Index