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The Soul of Soil: A Soil-Building Guide for Master Gardeners and Farmers |  | Author: Grace Gershuny
Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing
Category: Book
List Price: $25.00
Buy Used: $17.04
as of 9/6/2010 06:52 PDT details
You Save: $7.96 (32%)
New (13) Used (14) from $17.04
Seller: melsson
Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 178583
Media: Paperback
Edition: 4 Rev Sub
Pages: 192
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 6 x 0.6
ISBN: 1890132314
Dewey Decimal Number: 631.4
EAN: 9781890132316
ASIN: 1890132314
Publication Date: November 6, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Soil is the basis not only for all gardening, but for all terrestrial life. No aspect of agriculture is more fundamental and important, yet we have been losing vast quantities of our finite soil resources to erosion, pollution, and development. Now back in print, this eminently sensible and wonderfully well-focused book provides essential information about one of the most significant challenges for those attempting to grow delicious organic vegetables: the creation and maintenance of healthy soil. Chapter 2, "Understanding the Soil System," is alone worth the price of admission. Gershuny and Smillie give lay readers and experts a clear explanation of subjects--soil life and nutrient cycles--that have confounded most authors. Nowhere will the reader find simpler and more coherent descriptions of key concepts including cation exchange capacity and chelation. The soil fungi - 23977 Bytes There are other books about soil available, including Grace Gershuny's comprehensive Start with the Soil, and there are books that feature chapters on soil building. What distinguishes The Soil of Soil is the authors' concise presentation; they give readers important information, including technical essentials, without getting bogged down in scientific or quasiscientific mumbo-jumbo. In addition, useful tables list specific compost materials, green manures, and other resources that allow growers to translate into action the more general information provided by the book. The soil-building techniques featured include: * Organic matter management * Building and maintaining humus * On-site composting * Green manures and rotations; * Cultivation and weed control; * Nutrient balances and soil testing; * Using mineral fertilizers; * Planning for organic certification. Updates to the 1999 edition include analysis of Proposed Rules for the National Organic Standards, and expanded recommendations for private testing services and soil-testing equipment for home gardeners and organic farmers. All of us involved in the cultivation of plants--from the backyard gardener to the largest farmer--need to help regenerate a "living soil," for only in the diversity of the soil and its creatures can we ensure the long-term health of ourselves and our environment. The Soul of Soil offers everyone a basic understanding of what soil is and what we can do to improve our own patch of it. Seen in this light, this practical handbook will be an inspiration as well.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Excellent November 28, 2009
amarkist (san francisco)
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
If you are a home gardener who wants to make your backyard attractive, skip this book, but if you are serious about growing things and understanding ecological principles, this is a great resource.
Soil Basics and More November 22, 2001
Scott Vlaun (Otisfield, Maine United States)
16 out of 18 found this review helpful
The Soul of SoilThe Soul of Soil Understanding our soil is essential to successful gardening and farming, as well as to building a sustainable future for the planet. Grace Gershuny and Joe Smillie have devoted decades to unlocking the secrets of this mysterious and often maligned substance and they share their wisdom with us here. Includes descriptions of the major soil types, nutrient cycles and physical properties of soil, as well as lessons on composting and cover cropping. This book gives us the tools we need to understand the complex interactions that take place below our feet as we work to turn the tide against the erosion, pollution and outright destruction of our precious earth.
For master gardeners and farmers, but also good for basics February 4, 2003
Abdulrahman Aljabri (Jeddah)
16 out of 19 found this review helpful
This is truly a good book. It is short, simply written, and very informative. However, it is a little technical for the average Gardner. I personally picked-up this book to gain general knowledge about soil, and I found everything I asked for and more. Nevertheless, there were things that I felt were not explained enough, but that's not the fault of the author because I am neither a master gardner nor a farmer. In the begging of the book it almost seemed like the author was one of the environmentalist extremists, however as I continued reading I found the author to be a responsible writer with no extremism. As a matter of fact, on several occasions the author offered advise to non-organic farmers. Overall, a great book and coming from my non-farmer background I would give it 4 stars.
 The Soul of Soil June 28, 2001
Yoginatha Swami (Hawaii, USA)
6 out of 10 found this review helpful
Very informative book but it is a little technical for home garderner.
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