This fall, goldenrod is abundant and monarch butterflies have been passing through the Moonbeam Blooms Flower Farm in Cane Creek Valley, just south of Asheville, North Carolina.  Owner Jessica Stark won’t be bagging up the leaves, and she says you shouldn't either.

Moonbeam Blooms is a regenerative flower farm, where the priority is keeping the soil healthy.

“Regenerative farming is focused on really building a relationship with the land and the soil, and has some differences from conventional and even organic farming,” Stark explains.

What is regenerative farming?

While there’s no legal definition for regenerative farming, its core draws on the USDA’s principles for soil health:

• Disturb the soil as little as possible
• Keep it covered
• Keep living roots in the ground
• Grow a mix of plants

You don’t need a farm to try it. Here’s how to start in your own yard. 

Swap plastic for mulch

Stark says to swap landscape fabric or plastic sheeting for mulch.

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“We heavily mulch the beds, with aged wood chips to support the living soil. So as things continue to break down, it feeds the soil instead of inhibiting or putting any chemicals or plastic into the soil that also can run off into the watershed."

(MORE: The one thing to plant in an empty garden bed now)

That layer of mulch also works as a weather shield. Healthier soil soaks up and holds more water for longer, which helps it hold up through drought, according to the USDA.

"You want to have a layer of insulation and protection. Almost like how you would insulate a house,” Stark says. "The other issue with laying down landscape fabric or black plastic is the heat will beat on that and it dries out the soil more quickly.”

Skip the tiller

For new beds, Oregon State University experts say no-till gardening can build healthier soil. They found that tilling can disrupt microorganisms that help soil thrive, compact the soil and increase water runoff and erosion.

They suggest year-round mulch and encourage gardeners to plant seeds or transplants by using a trowel to open holes in the mulch.

Leave the leaves

“The best thing you could possibly do is leave the leaves or gently rake them into piles in areas that you can let them break down over winter. That is where our luna moths and fireflies overwinter, and these species are declining, " Stark explains.

Leaves can also provide key nutrients to the soil. You can compost or mulch them to feed your lawn or garden beds.

(MORE: How to start a compost pile in autumn)

Rethink the lawn and the runoff

Most of us probably have lawns that we’re not about to rip up, but Stark says you can consider bioswales and rain gardens.

Instead of a stone or concrete gutter, a bioswale is a shallow, planted channel that can capture and slow down water runoff. Use native plants and the roots can trap debris, absorb nutrients and filter out heavy metals and pesticides.

Experts say deep-rooted native plants can absorb up to 10 times more stormwater than turf grass.

Skip the chemicals

Going chemical-free is easier than many gardeners think. "Approaching farming or backyard gardening without chemicals is totally doable," Stark says, noting that "the chemicals do leach into the soil and do leach into the watershed." 

Take Japanese beetles, a pest she deals with in western North Carolina that shows up in other places too. Instead of reaching for an insecticide, she suggests knocking them off plants by hand into a bucket of soapy water.

Use what you have

You don’t have to go out and buy a bunch of stuff to get started. Stark says to look around your home, garage and even your recycling bin, "If you have old plastic containers or milk jugs or salad containers, those are also great things to use to start seeds.”

She also suggest visiting your local library, “Many, many libraries have seed banks where you can get flower and food starts for free.”

"Start some things at your property and talk with a friend and have them grow something else and share with each other," Stark says.