The Living Home Garden
Move beyond basic planting and learn to manage your garden as a self-sustaining biological system. Master the science of soil health and natural pest cycles to grow high-yield organic produce.
Like Duolingo, but for The Living Home Garden. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
A short one: 12 levels across 2 sections, about 24 minutes end to end, roughly 5 days at five minutes a day. It moves through Engineering the Living Soil and The Self-Sustaining Ecosystem. It assumes you already know the basics.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in The Living Home Garden
- Nitrogen-rich greens provide microbial fuel
- Aerobic vs anaerobic odors
- Carbon-heavy browns stall decomposition
- Turning the pile for oxygen
- Applying the C:N ratio to fix a cold, stagnant pile
- Recognizing the sensory signs of anaerobic decomposition
- Activators like comfrey have a low C:N ratio that triggers rapid microbial reproduction
- Manure acts as a biological 'starter' by inoculating the pile with diverse digestive enzymes
- Curing allows complex acids to stabilize so they don't 'lock out' nitrogen from your garden plants
- Immature compost can contain phytotoxins that stunt the growth of young organic seedlings
- Selecting the right activator to jumpstart a stalled pile
- The sequence of the composting lifecycle including the curing phase
- Foliar sprays coat leaves with beneficial bacteria that outcompete fungal spores for space
- Compost tea introduces a 'living' shield of microbes to the plant's surface, known as the phyllosphere
- Understanding the protective mechanism of foliar compost tea
- Fungal hyphae extend far beyond root tips to mine phosphorus
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives The Living Home Garden the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
If your compost pile begins to smell like rotten eggs, what is likely happening inside?
Get it right to open this lesson and 11 more in the app.
How to learn The Living Home Garden, step by step
Go in order. 12 short levels across 2 sections, about 24 minutes in all, five minutes a day.
- 1
Engineering the Living Soil
- Precision Composting
- Managing the Soil Food Web
- 2
The Self-Sustaining Ecosystem
- Biological Pest Management
- Nutrient Cycling and Cover Crops
2 sections · 4 units · 12 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
Questions about The Living Home Garden
How do I learn The Living Home Garden?
Go in order: start with Engineering the Living Soil, then The Self-Sustaining Ecosystem. On Tomo that's 12 short levels, about 24 minutes in all, played five minutes a day. Start free and play the first level in under a minute.
Is there a Duolingo-style app for The Living Home Garden?
Yes. Tomo works like Duolingo: short daily lessons, streaks and quick quizzes. The Living Home Garden is one of its free courses, and you can type any other topic to get a course of your own.
Is The Living Home Garden free?
Yes. The Living Home Garden is playable on Tomo's free plan, which doesn't expire. No credit card, no waitlist. Download the app and start your first lesson.
How long does it take to learn The Living Home Garden?
12 levels across 2 sections, about 24 minutes of play in total. It's built for five minutes a day, so you finish it a little at a time instead of all at once.
Do I need any background to start The Living Home Garden?
No. It's pitched at an intermediate level, so it starts where you are and builds up. If you can tap a phone, you can start.
Tomo is in ChatGPT
Tomo is also a ChatGPT plugin: the same playable courses, built and played inside your chat.
Add Tomo to ChatGPT- What to ask
- “Make me a Tomo course on black holes.” “Turn this chat into a Tomo course.”
- What you get
- Quick questions with instant feedback, hearts and stars, ready to play in about a minute.
- Where it goes
- No sign-up to start. Connect your Tomo account and your streak carries on in the app.
You pick the voice
The Living Home Garden is taught in the Professor style: clear, structured, thorough. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
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Start The Living Home Garden today.
Download Tomo, search The Living Home Garden, and play your first lesson in under a minute.