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The Ultimate Guide to Soil

Author: Anna Hess

Publisher: Skyhorse

Published: 2016-07-19

Total Pages: 296

ISBN-13: 9781634507707

Grow twice the fruits and vegetables in half the space on the farm, in the backyard, or in your window! Have you noticed the extraordinary flavors and yields emanating from even a small garden when the soil is just right? If you’ve ever been envious of your neighbor’s dirt or just curious about homesteading, then The Ultimate Guide to Soil is perfect for you. The book begins with a personality test for your soil, then uses that information to plan a course of action for revitalizing poor soil and turning good dirt into great earth. Next, you’ll learn to start and maintain a no-till garden, to balance nutrients with remineralization, and to boost organic matter with easy cover crops. Don’t forget the encyclopedic overview of organic soil amendments at the end. Old standbys like manures and mulches are explained in depth along with less common additions such as bokashi compost and castings from worms and black soldier fly larvae. Learn when hugelkultur, biochar, paper, and cardboard do and don’t match your garden needs, then read about when and how to safely use urine and humanure around edible plantings. With an emphasis on simple techniques suitable for the backyard gardener, The Ultimate Guide to Soil gives you the real dirt on good soil. Maybe next year your neighbor will be envious of you!

How to Make and Use Compost

Author: Nicky Scott

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2021-02-04

Total Pages: 189

ISBN-13: 0857845462

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The world of compost and how it relates to healthy soil is a fascinating, complex story. Compost helps to create and maintain healthy soil – the foundation of growing organically. It is also cost-saving, easy and fun, and a fantastic way to learn and connect with nature. Most importantly, composting is really beneficial for the environment as it massively reduces the amount of noxious methane gas generated from burying food waste in landfill. In How to Make and Use Compost, composting expert Nicky Scott reveals why making compost is so important for healthy soil and the environment, how it works and how to make your own compost. He provides clear guidance on the most appropriate system for your site, whether you're composting in a garden or a kitchen, and explains how different composting systems work, including cold composting, wormeries, bokashi and hot boxes. This practical book features an A-Z guide to what you can and cannot compost, composting techniques, common problems and their solutions – from Activators to fertilise the soil with microbial food sources, to Z for Zoo poo if you're lucky enough to live near a wildlife sanctuary! It also details how to compost food waste on a large scale for hotels, restaurants, cafés and other establishments, and shows you how to plan a school or community compost scheme. An extensive list of resources, including websites, organisations, books and where to buy equipment, is also included. Beautifully illustrated with photographs throughout, this handy guide is ideal for gardeners as well as those who want to become more sustainable.

Life in the Soil

Author: James B. Nardi

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2009-09-15

Total Pages: 316

ISBN-13: 0226568539

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Leonardo da Vinci once mused that “we know more about the movement of celestial bodies than about the soil underfoot,” an observation that is as apt today as it was five hundred years ago. The biological world under our toes is often unexplored and unappreciated, yet it teems with life. In one square meter of earth, there lives trillions of bacteria, millions of nematodes, hundreds of thousands of mites, thousands of insects and worms, and hundreds of snails and slugs. But because of their location and size, many of these creatures are as unfamiliar and bizarre to us as anything found at the bottom of the ocean. Lavishly illustrated with nearly three hundred color illustrations and masterfully-rendered black and white drawings throughout, Life in the Soil invites naturalists and gardeners alike to dig in and discover the diverse community of creatures living in the dirt below us. Biologist and acclaimed natural history artist James B. Nardibegins with an introduction to soil ecosystems, revealing the unseen labors of underground organisms maintaining the rich fertility of the earth as they recycle nutrients between the living and mineral worlds. He then introduces readers to a dazzling array of creatures: wolf spiders with glowing red eyes, snails with 120 rows of teeth, and 10,000-year-old fungi, among others. Organized by taxon, Life in the Soil covers everything from slime molds and roundworms to woodlice and dung beetles, as well as vertebrates from salamanders to shrews. The book ultimately explores the crucial role of soil ecosystems in conserving the worlds above and below ground. A unique and illustrative introduction to the many unheralded creatures that inhabit our soils and shape our environment aboveground, Life in the Soil will inform and enrich the naturalist in all of us.

Hydroponics

Author: Dudley Harris

Publisher: Struik

Published: 1992

Total Pages: 232

ISBN-13: 9781853681936

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This is a practical handbook enabling anyone without any previous knowledge of hydroponics to get started immediately. All the necessary topics are fully discussed: raising seedlings, pest, climatic and pH control, significance and measurement of conductivity, suitability of water for irrigation, hydroculture and tunnel farming and computer controlled irrigation.

Soil Science Simplified

Author: Helmut Kohnke

Publisher: Waveland Press

Published: 1994-12-09

Total Pages: 173

ISBN-13: 1478609303

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A concise, inexpensive treatment! Soil Science Simplified, 4/E was written to acquaint students with the basic concepts and scientific principles of soils without the burden of an extensive study. This useful, well-priced handbook includes discussions of soil classification, soil morphology, and soil and the environment. In addition, a chapter on soil surveys helps readers understand soil resources and apply the information presented in soil surveys to managing the soil environment. Outstanding features: 1) provides essential coverage of factors of soil formation; 2) outlines the most current principles of soil taxonomy; 3) provides an assortment of helpful tables, maps, and line drawings; 4) includes an expanded glossary.

The Ultimate Guide To Soil Health

Author: J T Tiller

Publisher: Independently Published

Published: 2024-05-10

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13:

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"The Ultimate Guide to Soil Health: Mastering Soil Science for Thriving Vegetable Gardens" is an essential resource for gardeners aiming to enhance their vegetable yield through scientifically proven soil management techniques. This comprehensive book delves into the fundamentals of soil science, offering detailed insights into soil composition, fertility, and ecology. From learning how to optimize soil texture and structure to mastering the balance of essential nutrients and pH levels, gardeners of all skill levels will discover effective strategies to boost their soil health. Additionally, the guide provides practical tips on organic amendments, water management, and innovative gardening practices that promote sustainability and soil resilience. Ideal for those passionate about organic gardening and sustainable agriculture, this book is a must-read for anyone looking to transform their garden by improving soil health.

The Ultimate Guide to Natural Farming and Sustainable Living

Author: Nicole Faires

Publisher: Skyhorse

Published: 2016-01-19

Total Pages: 344

ISBN-13: 1510702121

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A beautiful, comprehensive guide to going green and living sustainably. Permaculture is an important but often misunderstood method of growing food and building homes in a manner that works with nature, rather than against it, to create beautiful, healthy, and useful gardens. Blending ecology, organic agriculture, green home design, appropriate technology, and biology can be confusing and overwhelming, but The Ultimate Guide to Natural Farming and Sustainable Living simplifies this vast field for practical application. This is a hands-on guide, taking the beginner through each step of the design process, so that anyone can apply permaculture principles to his or her life. While the principles are simple, the in-depth topics cover every aspect of permaculture, including: • building green homes and passive solar design • growing edible plant communities and forest gardens • using no-till and natural farming methods • creating microclimates for extended growing seasons • raising livestock with ecological foraging techniques This is a common-sense approach to sustainable living that creates a self-sufficient and low-effort home for the people that live there, whether in the city or the country. The Ultimate Guide to Natural Farming and Sustainable Living isn’t a philosophy book or a dissertation on theory. It is a step-by-step, complete guide to every aspect of permaculture.

The Ultimate Guide to Gardening

Author: Lisa Jo Amstutz

Publisher: Capstone

Published: 2016-04-01

Total Pages: 112

ISBN-13: 1623707420

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Whether inside or outside, decorative or edible, this book is full of gardening projects large and small. Easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions are accompanied by photographs guide the aspiring gardening through planting all kinds of gardens.

True Living Organics

Author: The Rev

Publisher:

Published: 2016-10-11

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781937866099

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True Living Organics teaches you how to grow organic marijuana both indoors and outdoors. It is the only organic marijuana cultivation guide on the market. The first edition sold over 15,000 copies, and the new edition has over 100 additional pages of all new information and photos detailing how to grow marijuana organically so that it is healthier and tastes better. Organic marijuana is preferred for medical marijuana users as well as recreational marijuana users, and growing organic marijuana is much cheaperthan synthetic hydroponic marijuana cultivation systems. This new edition features all new composting techniques, improved soil mixes for maximizing yield, and all new techniques for organic marijuana gardening, including worm farms, organic tea mixes, and highly effective organic soil amendments. Also includes an all new organic hashish guide which teaches you how to make all-natural organic hash from marijuana without the use of any dangerous chemicals.

The Ultimate Guide to Urban Farming

Author: Nicole Faires

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2016-11-15

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 1510703934

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How to maximize your food production in an urban environment. The idea of bringing agriculture into the city has been promoted by many on both sides of the political fence: proponents of sustainability and prevention of climate change as well as those who worry about government and social instability. To address the urgent need for a shift in the way our food is produced, The Ultimate Guide to Urban Farming offers a practical education in everything there is to know about city agriculture: how to grow a lot of food in any kind of urban living situation, from apartment to full-scale commercial venture. Subjects covered include: • Small scale vs. large scale agriculture • The economic, social, health, and environmental impacts of urban farming • Making the most of the space available • The latest technologies and developments in agriculture, including: hydroponics, vertical gardening, and aquaponics • Case studies and design concerns for community-based farming • The best plant species for cities and seasons • Beekeeping and small animals • Commercial agriculture and the business side of farming in a city environment This comprehensive guide will introduce readers to the rewarding possibilities of growing their own food, as well as dispel the falsehood that says we need faraway factory farms to produce everything we eat.