Category: Books

Teaming with Microbes: The Organic Gardener’s Guide to the Soil Food Web, Revised Edition

The 2011 Garden Writers of America Gold Award for Best Writing/Book proves soil is anything but an inert substance. Healthy soil is teeming with life — not just earthworms and insects, but a staggering multitude of bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms. When we use chemical fertilizers, we injure the microbial life that sustains healthy plants, and thus become increasingly dependent on an arsenal of artificial substances, many of them toxic to humans as well as other forms of life. But there is an alternative to this vicious circle: to garden in a way that strengthens, rather than destroys, the soil food web — the complex world of soil-dwelling organisms whose interactions create a nurturing environment for plants. By eschewing jargon and overly technical language, the authors make the benefits of cultivating the soil food web available to a wide audience, from devotees of organic gardening techniques to weekend gardeners who simply want to grow healthy, vigorous plants without resorting to chemicals.

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Soil Mates: Companion Planting for Your Vegetable Garden

Matchmaking in the garden!
 
In this charming guide to companion planting for your vegetable-garden favorites, you’ll learn why Broccoli ♥ Rosemary and whether Cucumber + Corn = friends with benefits. (Just watch out for Celery! Leggy and leafy, she is notoriously easygoing and will happily settle down with just about anyone, raising a ruckus in your raised beds.) Complete with 20 pairings, tasty recipes, prep-aration tips, and more, Soil Mates is the perfect partner for your horticultural matchmaker.

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Soil Science and Management (Texas Science)

Soil Science and Management, fifth edition, emphasizes the human interaction with and effect on soils, rather than treating the soil as an independent element. Non-technical and easy-to-understand, Soil Science and Management, fifth edition teaches the essentials of soils from the perspective of farmers, horticulturalists, environmentalists and other who are concerned about how soils work and how they are used more effectively. An emphasis on management and the sustainable use of soil and water resources makes it especially relevant to these audiences. The inclusion of nutrient management, best practices and relevant legal issues and government programs make this text a practical application for students. The images have been updated and are now in full color, reinforcing the content contained in the text.

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Soil Mechanics and Foundations

Discover the principles that support the practice!   With its simplicity in presentation, this text makes the difficult concepts of soil mechanics and foundations much easier to understand. The author explains basic concepts and fundamental principles in the context of basic mechanics, physics, and mathematics. From Practical Situations and Essential Points to Practical Examples, this text is packed with helpful hints and examples that make the material crystal clear. The text also includes a CD-ROM that offers readers hands on learning.

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Soil Science and Management

Gain a practical understanding of soil properties and the soil management techniques most important for the effective use of soils with SOIL SCIENCE AND MANAGEMENT, 6E. This non-technical, reader-friendly book details all aspects of effective soil usage, including management techniques, composition, fertility, erosion, conservation,and irrigation in this practical guide. This edition highlights horticultural uses of soil as well as the latest green methodologies in both agricultural and horticultural practice from the perspective of farmers, horticulturalists, environmentalists and others who are concerned about how soils work and how they can be used most effectively. This edition further examines nutrient management and best practices with the latest updates on legal issues and government programs that make it a useful resource now and invaluable reference for the future.

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