Conventional agricultural techniques have been degrading American soils nationwide since the beginnings of modern-day agriculture through practices such as soil tilling, using nitrogen synthetic fertilizers, and monocultural systems. These previously mentioned techniques contribute to degrading soil health, mass emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, and decreased biodiversity. Regenerative agriculture offers a combination of sustainable practices that will create carbon sinks to sequester atmospheric carbon dioxide, restore national food systems, and prioritize soil health. Regenerative agriculture techniques include the utilization of cover crops, compost, no-tillage, mob grazing, and polyculture. The APS Laboratory for Sustainable Agriculture focused on the effectiveness of compost by comparing the growth of lettuce in four different treatments: 100% compost (100%C), 75% compost 25% Miracle-Gro (75%C-25%MG), 50% compost 50% Miracle-Gro (50%C-50%MG), and finally, 100% Miracle-Gro (100%MG). The lettuce seeds were kept in a growth tent for 15 days during their period of germination before being transferred to four 1x1 meter plots in the Food Forest at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) for the 60-day growth period. The lettuce crops grew to full bloom and ready for harvest. Sampling events took place every six days in which crop growth data including wet weight (g), dry weight (g), chlorophyll concentration (μmol/m^2), and leaf area (cm^2) were collected. Specific Leaf Area (g/cm^2) and Leaf Area Index were derived, and statistical analysis was conducted. Based on the statistical tests conducted at the 5% significance level using R statistical software, soil treatment type was found to be significant (p=0.0002). Soil treatment type was shown to have significantly impacted wet weight (p
