Improving Your Soil

Valuable advice from an expert in soil science. Intended for both small and medium-size gardens, Improving Your Soil reveals the steps to take to achieve the perfect soil base in which to grow plants. With directions on amending poor soil, modifying mediocre earth, aerating compacted topsoil and substrates, and testing pH levels, this book enables gardeners to nurture their plants and promote more abundant growth. The features of good soil include proper structure and nutrients that encourage healthy plant growth. Soil in "good tilth" is loamy, nutrient-rich and friable because it has an optimal mixture of sand, clay and organic matter that prevents severe compaction. Improving Your Soil shows gardeners how to improve the soil in their garden to encourage good seed bedding and a strong root system for proper nutrient disbursement throughout various soil depths. Flower gardeners and vegetable gardeners will all benefit from the tips and methods in Improving Your Soil. Topics include: What your soil can tell you about how you need to manage it Soil texture and structure -- building soil tilth Using amendments to correct soil problems, such as clay or sandy soil Creating a good environment for plant growth in different situations Providing the right amount of water for plants The teeming microscopic world of soils Building soil organic matter Crop rotations Types of compost and how to make good compost Managing soils to minimize pest and disease problems Feeding the plants -- the nutrients they need, and how to get them there Overcoming common nutrient deficiencies Organic vs. mineral fertilizers. The detailed information is complemented with line drawings, diagrams and illustrations that demonstrate various soil issues and how to resolve common problems. With information on remedying specific problems with particular plants, Improving Your Soil will be an often-consulted resource for all gardeners.

Growing awareness of the importance of soil health means that microbes are on the minds of even the most casual gardeners. After all, anyone who has ever attempted to plant a thriving patch of flowers or vegetables knows that what you grow is only as good as the soil you grow it in. It is possible to create and maintain rich, dark, crumbly soil that’s teeming with life, using very few inputs and a no-till, no-fertilizer approach. Certified permaculture designer and lifelong gardener Diane Miessler presents the science of soil health in an engaging, entertaining voice geared for the backyard grower. She shares the techniques she has used — including cover crops, constant mulching, and a simple-but-supercharged recipe for compost tea — to transform her own landscape from a roadside dump for broken asphalt to a garden that stops traffic, starting from the ground up. This publication conforms to the EPUB Accessibility specification at WCAG 2.0 Level AA.

Healthy soil is key to sustaining life on Earth. While more and more people are starting to see the need for soil restoration, there is very little understanding of just how it can be accomplished. There is a rapidly emerging demand for a “how to” manual for soil restoration. Dale Strickler is an expert on building healthy soil and restoring degraded soil, and in The Complete Guide to Restoring Your Soil, he presents the science of soil, along with proven methods of restoring depleted soil and agricultural practices from around the world that continue to build soil, rather than cause it to deteriorate. Strickler provides a solid foundation in the science of healthy soil, explaining how soil has become so degraded over time and the dire consequences for the human species, not just in terms of food scarcity but also the social, health, and environmental consequences of growing food in poor soil. He addresses the chemical, physical, and biological principles behind soil function, and presents actual farming practices that can be used to regenerate soil, techniques and strategies for remediating contaminated soil, and agriculture systems both past and present that functioned to build soil, such as the ancient chinampas systems of Mexico and the permaculture systems of today. This publication conforms to the EPUB Accessibility specification at WCAG 2.0 Level AA.

Garden like Mother Nature, with an organic system that’s good for plants and good for people. Say good-bye to backaches and weed problems! Lee Reich’s organic Weedless Gardening eschews the traditional yearly digging up and working over of the soil. It’s is an easy-to-follow, low-impact approach to planting and maintaining a flower garden, a vegetable patch, trees, and shrubs naturally. "If you love to knock yourself out digging beds, buy a better shovel. If you're looking for a no-nonsense alternative, buy this book!" -Ketzel Levine, National Public Radio's Doyenne of Dirt) "Thoroughly practical, easy-to-follow guide to good gardening Lee Reich make it sound simple, and if you follow his methods and philosophy, it is." -Dora Galitzki, Gardening Columnist, The New York Times, and Author of The Gardener's Essential Companion "Finally, a book filled with science-based information that insures success and frees us from busywork in the garden." - Dr. H. March Cathey, President Emeritus, American Horticultural Society

Build healthy soil and grow better plants Robert Pavlis, a gardener for over four decades, debunks common soil myths, explores the rhizosphere, and provides a personalized soil fertility improvement program in this three-part popular science guidebook. Healthy soil means thriving plants. Yet untangling the soil food web and optimizing your soil health is beyond most gardeners, many of whom lack an in-depth knowledge of the soil ecosystem. Soil Science for Gardeners is an accessible, science-based guide to understanding soil fertility and, in particular, the rhizosphere – the thin layer of liquid and soil surrounding plant roots, so vital to plant health. Coverage includes: Soil biology and chemistry and how plants and soil interact Common soil health problems, including analyzing soil's fertility and plant nutrients The creation of a personalized plan for improving your soil fertility, including setting priorities and goals in a cost-effective, realistic time frame. Creating the optimal conditions for nature to do the heavy lifting of building soil fertility Written for the home gardener, market gardener, and micro-farmer, Soil Science for Gardeners is packed with information to help you grow thriving plants.

Create Fertile, Productive Soil, Anywhere! Create fertile, productive soil for your garden! Improving your soil both increases your yield of vegetables and fruit and makes your garden easier to tend. With Improving Your Soil, you’ll learn the best ways to improve the soil in your garden.

Table of Contents Introduction Importance of Organic Matter Improving Soil Structure Soil Improving Crops Proper Selection of Soil Improving Crops Legumes Cow Peas and Soybean Sweet Clover and Hairy Vetch White, Yellow, and Blue Lupines Crotolaria and Sesbania Non-Leguminous Plants Field Brome Grass and Domestic Ryegrass When to Turn the Soil Improving Crops Conclusion Author Bio Publisher Introduction One of the most difficult problems facing the experienced or amateur gardener whether he is a vegetable grower, or a future market gardener is to maintain the organic matter content of the soil. Nearly most vegetables and crops are grown on lands, that are intensively cropped. That means one or more cultivated crops are grown on the land each year, and the crop residues are not sufficient to replace the organic matter lost manually. In ancient times, it was the norm of a farmer to make sure that the land was fertilized with plenty of organic material and manure in order to provide nutrition to the soil, which had been depleted through a previous harvest. This was naturally the traditional method which was followed all down the ages, all over the world. People knew that the land gave enough of itself in order to produce your crops for you. But the land had to be fed. And this feeding was done with organic fertilizer, water, and other natural resources. At that time, nobody knew that there were plenty of helpful microorganisms present in the land, which were helping in the decomposition of the organic material in order to produce nutrients for the soil. The loss of organic matter was due to the action of these particular microorganisms which were decomposing it ultimately to produce carbon dioxide. The rate of the loss depended on the soil type, muster, temperature, and the type of the crop grown on that particular land. The microorganisms needed both water, therefore their growth, and continued happy action. The rate of the decomposition was slow in the dry soil.

Written by an author with more than 25 years of field and academic experience, Soil Improvement and Ground Modification Methods explains ground improvement technologies for converting marginal soil into soil that will support all types of structures. Soil improvement is the alteration of any property of a soil to improve its engineering performance. Some sort of soil improvement must happen on every construction site. This combined with rapid urbanization and the industrial growth presents a huge dilemma to providing a solid structure at a competitive price. The perfect guide for new or practicing engineers, this reference covers projects involving soil stabilization and soil admixtures, including utilization of industrial waste and by-products, commercially available soil admixtures, conventional soil improvement techniques, and state-of-the-art testing methods. Conventional soil improvement techniques and state-of-the-art testing methods Methods for mitigating or removing the risk of liquefaction in the event of major vibrations Structural elements for stabilization of new or existing construction industrial waste/by-products, commercially available soil Innovative techniques for drainage, filtration, dewatering, stabilization of waste, and contaminant control and removal