Grow Abundance
Understanding & Building Healthy Soils
Healthy soil begins with understanding its biochemistry. It is the subtle dance between minerals, microbes, and roots that sustains all life above it. Soil building is more than technique. It is participation in an ancient process. It is about learning the rhythm of your soil and watching it come alive as chemistry becomes biology in motion.
Through simple and mindful practices such as broadforking to open the earth, composting and cover cropping to feed the soil food web, rotating crops build resilience, solarizing to rest and renew, and mulching to hold moisture and life, you begin to see the garden transform from the ground up. Each act deepens the living structure that supports your plants and the ecosystems around them.
Building soil is not a one-time task but a relationship. It is about patience, curiosity, and reverence. As you learn the ways of your soil, you start to notice the quiet beauty in how roots, worms, fungi, and microbes respond to your care. Soil building is the art of co-creating with nature. It is slow, grounding, humble, and profoundly rewarding.
Garden Plant Guides
For Gardens & Huertos
in San Antonio
Whether you are planting your first backyard bed or tending a huerto that feeds your family, friends, and neighbors, these guides are here to help you grow with the seasons. San Antonio’s weather can swing from sunshine to frost overnight, but with the right plants and timing, it becomes one of the most rewarding places to garden.
Every gardener’s space is different. What thrives in your yard might struggle next door, and that is part of the fun. Trade a basket, share a handful, and learn what grows best where you are.
Each guide is built to keep things simple and practical. You will find notes on sunlight, soil, and growing conditions, along with quick tips, pros and cons, and companion planting suggestions. They are easy to follow and ready to help you make the most of your space, no matter your experience level.
If you would like to share your knowledge or suggest additions to these guides, you can leave a comment in the document, we will research your suggested addition or edit, and credit you as a contributor. Your experience helps the whole community grow stronger together.
Native & Pollinator
Plant Guides
For Texas by region
Want to support life, create abundance, and save water? One of the best ways to do so is to swap out a patch of turf and turn it into a native/ pollinator habitat. These guides are here to help you reconnect with the plants that belong here. Texas natives are tough, beautiful, and built for this place. Once established, they need only a fraction of the water that lawns demand and often thrive on rainfall alone.
Native plants support the pollinators and wildlife that keep our ecosystems alive. They host butterflies, bees, and birds, rebuild healthy soil, and help restore balance to the landscape. A native garden shifts with the seasons, resting and blooming in rhythm with the land while creating a rich, living habitat just outside your door.
Each guide keeps things simple and practical. Not only will you find one that is specific to your region in Texas, but also notes on sunlight, soil, and water, plus quick tips and plant pairings that bring color and life to any yard. Start small or go big, but plant native and watch your garden grow into something that gives back to you and to the land around you.
Composting Techniques
Finding one that fits your needs & Lifestyle
Composting is where the alchemy of gardening begins. It is the art of transforming everyday waste into living soil. Kitchen scraps, garden clippings, and fallen leaves become food for the microbes and fungi that sustain all plant life. Composting is a conversation between decay and renewal, reminding us that nothing in nature is ever wasted.
There are many ways to compost, and each one tells a different story. Static composting works slowly, layer by layer, turning organic matter over time. Hot composting uses heat and turning to create rich humus in just a few weeks. Trench composting feeds the earth directly in the garden bed, while Takakura and Bokashi composting rely on fermentation and friendly microbes in confined spaces. Vermicomposting uses worms to weave life through waste, producing castings that enrich soil and spark new growth.
Your composting practice should fit your life, not the other way around. Choose the method that feels natural and suits your space, your pace, and your purpose. Composting is about relationship, patience, and participation in the cycle of life. It teaches us to slow down, observe, and trust the invisible forces beneath our feet. When you compost, you are tending the heartbeat of your garden, completing the circle where all things return to nourish new life.