OT - Secrets to Great Soil

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For those of you interested in improving your soil, here is a great book. And the good news is that learning how to improve your soil is easy.

And this book is fun to read!

The writing style is clear and the book is filled with useful methods for improving the nutrient value of your soil and in turn your vegetables and fruits.

Secrets to Great Soil

by Elizabeth P. Stell

A Grower's Guide to Composting, Mulching, and Creating Healthy, Fertile Soil for Your Garden and Lawn Hard Bound: ISBN: 1580170099

Paper Back: ISBN: 1580170080

Reviews: From Booklist

Stell starts with an analysis of soil: how it was formed, its different textures, its structure, and the importance of drainage and earthworms. She explains how to create fertile soil with the help of nutrients and organic matter and what hand tools are needed to cultivate the soil--trowels, hoes, spades, shovels, weeders, forks, rakes, etc., as well as power tools such as shredders, trimmers, mowers, rototillers, and cultivators.

There's a chapter on making and using compost and how to construct composting bins, a chapter on the use of mulches, and one on choosing and using fertilizers. Another chapter gives data on starting a new garden and deals with raised beds, sunken beds, slopes, and terraces. This latest volume in Storey's Gardening Skills Illustrated series contains 300 detailed color drawings.

Synopsis: The ultimate guide to creating fertile, productive soil anywhere. In easy-to-understand terms, Elizabeth Stell teaches readers all about the properties and value of good garden soil. She explains how to improve soil health with amendments and fertilizer and gives tips for customizing soil for a variety of vegetables, flowers, fruits, trees, shrubs, and lawns. Over 300 two-color illustrations.

-- snooze button (alarmclock_2000@yahoo.com), November 01, 1999

Answers

Better book, titled similarly but more simply: SECRETS OF THE SOIL -- by Christopher Byrd and ...whatisname? Thompson? The same guy who wrote Secrets of the Mexican Pyramids. Excellent source of techniques for bio-dynamic agriculture that summarizes the most advbanced techniques pioneered worldwide, by the likes of, e.g., USDA and University of Gainsevill Prof. Phil Callahan, who pioneered the use of pheromones in pest control, and went on to discover the role of paramagnetism in plant grwoth.

-- Roch Steinbach (rochsteinbach@excite.com), November 01, 1999.

My favorite is: Ediphos: Dynamics of a Natural Soil System by Paul Sachs (Edaphic Press). A very heavy read, for a paperback, but the best technical explanation I have seen for WHY to garden organically.

-- Brooks (brooksbie@hotmail.com), November 01, 1999.

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