A practical four-part online course for gardeners, homesteaders, farmers, orchard keepers, market gardeners, permaculture students, and land stewards who want to make better soil decisions and build fertility with greater understanding and intention.
Learn how soil functions physically, chemically, and biologically; how to observe and test it without becoming overwhelmed; and how to design living fertility systems that fit your real garden, farm, homestead, orchard, landscape, or land-based project. Choose from independent recorded learning, a certification pathway with feedback, or a fully supported live learning experience.
A Practical Course in Regenerative Soil Understanding and Design
Improving soil can become confusing when every problem seems to lead to another product, amendment, recipe, or recommendation. Compost, minerals, mulch, cover crops, fertilizers, and biological inputs can all be useful, but their value depends on the soil, plants, water, climate, management history, and goals of the project.
Master Regenerative Soil & Fertility Systems was created to help you understand those relationships and make more grounded decisions. Rather than beginning with the question, “What should I add?” the course helps you first examine what conditions may be limiting life in the soil and what the soil, plants, roots, and water are communicating.
Across four guided teaching modules, you will move through a clear progression: understanding soil as a living system, learning how to observe and test it, choosing appropriate soil-building strategies, and bringing those strategies together into an ongoing fertility and management plan.
The course is practical, visual, and designed for real gardens, homesteads, orchards, farms, greenhouses, pastures, and land-based projects. Its purpose is not to give you one universal soil recipe, but to help you develop a framework you can use to read different conditions and choose strategies that fit the place in front of you.
Improving soil can become confusing when every problem seems to lead to another product, amendment, recipe, or recommendation. Compost, minerals, mulch, cover crops, fertilizers, and biological inputs can all be useful, but their value depends on the soil, plants, water, climate, management history, and goals of the project.
Master Regenerative Soil & Fertility Systems was created to help you understand those relationships and make more grounded decisions. Rather than beginning with the question, “What should I add?” the course helps you first examine what conditions may be limiting life in the soil and what the soil, plants, roots, and water are communicating.
Across four guided teaching modules, you will move through a clear progression: understanding soil as a living system, learning how to observe and test it, choosing appropriate soil-building strategies, and bringing those strategies together into an ongoing fertility and management plan.
The course is practical, visual, and designed for real gardens, homesteads, orchards, farms, greenhouses, pastures, and land-based projects. Its purpose is not to give you one universal soil recipe, but to help you develop a framework you can use to read different conditions and choose strategies that fit the place in front of you.
What You Will Learn
Part 1 — Soil Foundations: Understanding Soil as a Living System
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The first module establishes the foundation for the entire course. We examine soil as a living system made of mineral particles, organic matter, water, air, roots, organisms, and structure. We will explore the three primary lenses of soil health:
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We also examine the role of organic matter, the importance of soil aggregates, the relationships between soil biology and nutrient cycling, and the difference between visible symptoms and underlying causes. The purpose of this module is to understand what soil is before trying to improve it.
Part 2 — Reading and Testing Soil: Learning What the Soil Is Telling You
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The second module moves from understanding soil into observing it, testing it and interpreting the data gathered. You will learn how to begin reading soil through the landscape, plants, water, roots, surface conditions, decomposition, and management history. We then explore practical physical, chemical, and biological testing methods. Topics include:
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The goal of this module is not to dive deep into how to perform every possible test. The goal is to determine which observations and tests help answer the question in front of you. This module helps you move beyond collecting information and begin interpreting what the information may mean for your soil-building decisions.
Part 3 — Building Living Fertility Systems: From Understanding to Regenerative Action
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The third module focuses on the tools and living processes that can build soil fertility over time. We explore:
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A vegetable garden may require a different fertility strategy than an orchard. A compacted clay soil may require a different starting point than sandy soil. A high tunnel may require different management than an outdoor field exposed to rainfall. This module helps you begin assembling soil-building practices into a connected system rather than treating them as isolated inputs.
Part 4 — Integration and Management: Bringing the Complete Soil System Together
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The fourth module integrates the major ideas from the course and asks a practical question: How do we build and manage regenerative soil systems over time? We return to the complete process of understanding soil, reading and testing it, choosing living fertility strategies, managing those strategies, and continuing to learn from the system.
The module also provides a soil microscopy demonstration - we examine how microscopy may be used to compare soil and compost samples, observe different organisms and materials, and develop a deeper awareness of biological conditions. The course concludes by helping participants begin bringing their observations, testing, priorities, and chosen strategies into a practical regenerative soil and fertility plan for one area of their own project. |
What Is Included
The recorded course and resource library include:
The recorded course and resource library include:
- Four guided visual teaching modules (live and/or recorded)
- PDF copies of the course presentations
- Resource sections connected to each module with soil, compost, cover-crop, and soil-biology downloadable resources that are from the commons and with authors' permission
- Additional recommended books, references, and learning links
- Practical application exercises for each module
- The digital edition of Regenerative Soil & Fertility Systems
- Indefinite access to the course materials through the online course-module system
Choose From 3 Learning Pathways
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Recorded Content and Resource Library Only
This option provides access to the complete recorded course and supporting resource library. It contains the four recorded teaching modules, presentation PDFs, supporting resources, practical exercises, and the digital edition of our Regenerative Soil & Fertility Systems guidebook. This pathway is designed for independent learners who want to watch, listen, study, and apply the material at their own pace. You may complete the exercises for your own learning, but they are not formally submitted or reviewed through this option. PRICE: $193 (if you already purchased the book, the price is $150) |
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Recorded Content and Resource Library with Certification
This pathway includes everything from Pathway 1, recorded content and resource library plus a certification process. The certification pathway includes:
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This option is designed for participants who want to apply the course to a real project and receive direct feedback, guidance, and recognition for completing the work.
PRICE: $343 (if you already purchased the book, the price is $300)
PRICE: $343 (if you already purchased the book, the price is $300)
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Full Support and Live Learning
This is the most interactive and supported learning pathway. It includes 4 live lectures with reserved time for interaction, questions, answers and discussion with the course instructor and participants, plus the resource library, the digital book, the exercises with additional feedback, and 4, one hour, 1-on-1 support sessions with Lucian. This pathway is best suited to participants who value direct guidance, community, conversation, accountability, and help applying the course to a real soil or land-based project. |
Upcoming Live Cohort: August 2026
The current supported cohort meets live on Zoom on Thursday evenings at 7:00 p.m. Central Time:
PRICE: $493 (if you already purchased the book, the price is $450)
The current supported cohort meets live on Zoom on Thursday evenings at 7:00 p.m. Central Time:
- August 6 - August 13 - August 20 - August 27
PRICE: $493 (if you already purchased the book, the price is $450)
The Course and the Book
The Master Regenerative Soil & Fertility Systems course and the Regenerative Soil & Fertility Systems book come from the same larger body of work. The book provides a complete written guide for self-directed study. The course adds visual teaching, recorded explanation, expanded resources, guided exercises, biological observation, optional certification, and opportunities for direct support. The digital edition of the book is included with the recorded course, certification pathway, and supported course options. Participants who previously purchased the book separately may contact Sun and Bloom Farms regarding the currently available course-upgrade credit.
The Master Regenerative Soil & Fertility Systems course and the Regenerative Soil & Fertility Systems book come from the same larger body of work. The book provides a complete written guide for self-directed study. The course adds visual teaching, recorded explanation, expanded resources, guided exercises, biological observation, optional certification, and opportunities for direct support. The digital edition of the book is included with the recorded course, certification pathway, and supported course options. Participants who previously purchased the book separately may contact Sun and Bloom Farms regarding the currently available course-upgrade credit.
About the Instructor
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Lucian Toma is the creator and instructor of Master Regenerative Soil & Fertility Systems and the author of Regenerative Soil & Fertility Systems: A Practical Guidebook for Reading, Building, and Managing Living Soil in Gardens, Orchards, Farms and Designed Landscapes.
His work brings together more than a decade of experience in permaculture, horticulture, regenerative design, consulting, education, composting, and practical, hands-on farming |
Lucian has worked with local governments to develop and deliver public education programs focused on composting, organic waste reduction, and the return of local organic materials to the soil for many years. He has taught college classes that included soil, composting, horticulture, permaculture, and related ecological concepts. Through his work in university extension, he also provided education and technical assistance to farmers, growers, and agricultural professionals working through practical soil, fertility, production, and land-management questions.
Sun and Bloom Farms is the third farm through which Lucian has continued developing and applying this work. There, he has worked directly with annual and perennial crops, vegetable production, orchards, berries, flowers, herbs, pasture, animals, compost systems, mulch, cover crops, biological fertility, and broader regenerative soil and land projects. This hands-on work continues to inform the way he teaches, designs, and supports others.
His teaching approach is practical and systems-based. Rather than offering one universal recipe, he helps participants understand their soil, observe what it is communicating, choose appropriate tools, and develop fertility systems that fit real people, real projects, and real places.
Sun and Bloom Farms is the third farm through which Lucian has continued developing and applying this work. There, he has worked directly with annual and perennial crops, vegetable production, orchards, berries, flowers, herbs, pasture, animals, compost systems, mulch, cover crops, biological fertility, and broader regenerative soil and land projects. This hands-on work continues to inform the way he teaches, designs, and supports others.
His teaching approach is practical and systems-based. Rather than offering one universal recipe, he helps participants understand their soil, observe what it is communicating, choose appropriate tools, and develop fertility systems that fit real people, real projects, and real places.
What Happens After You Purchase Your Pathway?
- After completing your purchase, you will receive an email confirming the learning pathway you selected.
- A follow-up email will be sent within 24 hours with the information needed to begin.
- For the recorded course, this email will explain how to access the modules, recordings, presentation PDFs, digital book, exercises, and supporting resources.
- For the certification pathway, you will also receive instructions for completing and submitting the exercises and moving through the certification process.
- For a supported live cohort, you will receive the live schedule, Zoom information, course-module access, and participation instructions.
- A Google or Gmail account may be required to access some shared course materials and module resources.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need previous soil-science experience? No. The course begins with foundational soil concepts and gradually moves into observation, testing, soil-building practices, microscopy, and integration. Participants with previous experience can also use the course to organize and deepen what they already know.
Is this course only for farmers? No. The course can be applied to home gardens, homesteads, orchards, food forests, market gardens, pastures, farms, greenhouses, school gardens, community projects, and designed landscapes.
Is the book included? The digital edition of Regenerative Soil & Fertility Systems is included with the recorded course, certification pathway, and supported-course options.
Do I have to complete the exercises? The exercises are included in all course pathways and can be used for personal application. Formal submission and review are required only for participants pursuing certification.
How does certification work? Certification participants complete and submit four practical exercises connected to the course modules. Their work is reviewed, and the pathway concludes with review of the soil and fertility plan and a final Zoom conversation before the certificate is issued.
Is the course live or recorded? The core course is available as a self-paced recorded program. Supported live cohorts are offered at designated times and include the recorded materials, live participation, certification, and additional support.
Can I receive help with my specific soil? The certification and supported pathways provide opportunities for feedback and interpretation. Separate soil consulting is also available for projects requiring more detailed, site-specific guidance.
Do I need previous soil-science experience? No. The course begins with foundational soil concepts and gradually moves into observation, testing, soil-building practices, microscopy, and integration. Participants with previous experience can also use the course to organize and deepen what they already know.
Is this course only for farmers? No. The course can be applied to home gardens, homesteads, orchards, food forests, market gardens, pastures, farms, greenhouses, school gardens, community projects, and designed landscapes.
Is the book included? The digital edition of Regenerative Soil & Fertility Systems is included with the recorded course, certification pathway, and supported-course options.
Do I have to complete the exercises? The exercises are included in all course pathways and can be used for personal application. Formal submission and review are required only for participants pursuing certification.
How does certification work? Certification participants complete and submit four practical exercises connected to the course modules. Their work is reviewed, and the pathway concludes with review of the soil and fertility plan and a final Zoom conversation before the certificate is issued.
Is the course live or recorded? The core course is available as a self-paced recorded program. Supported live cohorts are offered at designated times and include the recorded materials, live participation, certification, and additional support.
Can I receive help with my specific soil? The certification and supported pathways provide opportunities for feedback and interpretation. Separate soil consulting is also available for projects requiring more detailed, site-specific guidance.
Begin Building Soil with Greater Understanding
Healthy soil does not come from one product, one recipe, or one application. It develops through the interaction of structure, water, air, minerals, organic matter, roots, microorganisms, plants, animals, and thoughtful management. When we learn how to observe those relationships, test what needs to be tested, interpret the information, and choose strategies that fit the context, soil-building becomes more grounded and intentional. Master Regenerative Soil & Fertility Systems was created to help you develop that understanding and begin applying it to a real place.
Healthy soil does not come from one product, one recipe, or one application. It develops through the interaction of structure, water, air, minerals, organic matter, roots, microorganisms, plants, animals, and thoughtful management. When we learn how to observe those relationships, test what needs to be tested, interpret the information, and choose strategies that fit the context, soil-building becomes more grounded and intentional. Master Regenerative Soil & Fertility Systems was created to help you develop that understanding and begin applying it to a real place.