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EnglishWhat Is the Dirt Doctor Cheat Sheet?
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The Dirt Doctor Cheat Sheet is a quick-reference page on dirtdoctor.com that condenses Howard Garrett's core organic gardening practices, products, and remedies into one place you can consult any day of the year. It is best for people who already garden organically (or want to start) and need a fast reminder of what to apply or do, rather than a full explanation of why. If you are new to the whole approach and want the underlying system, start with the Basic Organic Program instead.
What the cheat sheet is for
The site describes it as "quick-reference organic gardening essentials" — a "handy Dirt Doctor cheat sheet of core practices, products, and remedies you can use in the garden any day of the year."
That framing tells you the intended use:
- Speed over depth. It is a lookup tool, not a course. You go to it when you need to recall a practice or product, not when you are learning a concept from scratch.
- Practical and repeatable. The content is oriented toward things you actually do in a garden across a season, which is why it is positioned as usable "any day of the year."
- A companion to the rest of the library. It sits alongside the site's larger resources rather than replacing them.
What it covers
Based on the site's own description, the cheat sheet gathers three categories:
| Category | What that means in practice |
|---|---|
| Core practices | The routine organic gardening and landscaping actions Howard Garrett teaches |
| Products | The materials he recommends for organic land care |
| Remedies | Natural pest control and treatment preparations, including homemade recipes |
The mention of "remedies" and "products" together is the key detail: the cheat sheet is not just a calendar of tasks. It is also a place to check what to use — including DIY mixtures — when a specific problem comes up.
When to reach for it
Use the cheat sheet in situations like these:
- You are about to treat a pest or disease problem and want to confirm the organic option before mixing or buying anything.
- You are planning a seasonal task (feeding, mulching, soil work) and want a fast check on the recommended practice.
- You are already following the Basic Organic Program and need a reminder of a specific step without re-reading the whole program.
- You want a short list to keep on hand while working outside, rather than scrolling through long articles.
If instead you are trying to understand the overall philosophy — how soil biology, planting, and pest management fit together — the cheat sheet will feel thin. That is by design.
How it differs from the Basic Organic Program
These two resources answer different questions:
- Basic Organic Program — Howard's "foundation for natural land care." It is the core program for soil, plants, and pest management without synthetic chemicals. Read this to understand the system and the reasoning behind it.
- Cheat Sheet — the condensed, everyday reference drawn from that kind of material. Use this once you know the system and just need the specifics.
A practical sequence: read the Basic Organic Program first to get the framework, then keep the cheat sheet as your day-to-day lookup. The Sick Tree Treatment is a third, separate resource — a full protocol for diagnosing decline and restoring weak or ailing trees — so if your problem is a specific struggling tree, go there rather than to the cheat sheet.
How to get to it
From the dirtdoctor.com homepage, the cheat sheet appears in the "Explore" area as a featured item labeled "Cheat Sheet," with the link text "Open cheat sheet." The site also offers a "Browse the library" entry point if you want to search the wider index of organic gardening, landscaping, and natural pest control advice.