Download or read book The Soul of Soil written by Joseph Smillie and published by Chelsea Green Publishing. This book was released on 1999-06-01 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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. 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 Soilis 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.
Download or read book Soil Soul Society written by Satish Kumar and published by Parallax Press. This book was released on 2024-10-01 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the first US edition of Satish Kumar's classic book, we rediscover how our spiritual and social well-being connects to that of our planet. Internationally-respected peace and environment activist Satish Kumar has been gently setting the agenda for change for over 50 years. As 350.org founder Bill McKibben says, "There is no one on the planet better-equipped to make you think and rethink how you're living and how you might change." The age of sustainability is grounded on the knowledge that we ourselves are very much part of nature; that what we do to nature we in fact do to ourselves; and that the earth has a soul, which we share. Drawing on the example of Rabindranath Tagore, Kumar advocates living with awareness that our personal choices have political and poetic resonance. In this book, he inspires readers with the knowledge we are all leaders and can create change in our structures and mindsets for lasting peace and a sustainable culture and society. Celebrating an emerging global consciousness that reveres nature, the book explores how, as a global society, we need to embrace diversity and be aware of our role as pilgrims on this earth. Joyful and heart-centered, Satish Kumar reminds us that to bring about change in the world, we must embody the change we wish to see.
Download or read book The Soil Will Save Us written by Kristin Ohlson and published by Rodale. This book was released on 2014-03-18 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Thousands of years of poor farming and ranching practices—and, especially, modern industrial agriculture—have led to the loss of up to 80 percent of carbon from the world’s soils. That carbon is now floating in the atmosphere, and even if we stopped using fossil fuels today, it would continue warming the planet. In The Soil Will Save Us, journalist and bestselling author Kristin Ohlson makes an elegantly argued, passionate case for "our great green hope"—a way in which we can not only heal the land but also turn atmospheric carbon into beneficial soil carbon—and potentially reverse global warming. As the granddaughter of farmers and the daughter of avid gardeners, Ohlson has long had an appreciation for the soil. A chance conversation with a local chef led her to the crossroads of science, farming, food, and environmentalism and the discovery of the only significant way to remove carbon dioxide from the air—an ecological approach that tends not only to plants and animals but also to the vast population of underground microorganisms that fix carbon in the soil. Ohlson introduces the visionaries—scientists, farmers, ranchers, and landscapers—who are figuring out in the lab and on the ground how to build healthy soil, which solves myriad problems: drought, erosion, air and water pollution, and food quality, as well as climate change. Her discoveries and vivid storytelling will revolutionize the way we think about our food, our landscapes, our plants, and our relationship to Earth.
Download or read book The Living Soil Handbook written by Jesse Frost and published by Chelsea Green Publishing. This book was released on 2021-07-20 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Principles and farm-tested practices for no-till market gardening--for healthier, more productive soil! From the host of the popular The No-Till Market Garden Podcast—heard around the world with nearly one million downloads! Discovering how to meet the soil’s needs is the key task for every market gardener. In this comprehensive guide, Farmer Jesse Frost shares all he has learned through experience and experimentation with no-till practices on his home farm in Kentucky and from interviews and visits with highly successful market gardeners in his role as host of The No-Till Market Garden Podcast. The Living Soil Handbook is centered around the three basic principles of no-till market gardening: Disturb the soil as little as possible Keep it covered as much as possible Keep it planted as much as possible. Farmer Jesse then guides readers in applying those principles to their own garden environment, with their own materials, to meet their own goals. Beginning with an exploration of the importance of photosynthesis to living soil, Jesse provides in-depth information on: Turning over beds Using compost and mulch Path management Incorporating biology, maintaining fertility Cover cropping Diversifying plantings through intercropping Production methods for seven major crops Throughout, the book emphasizes practical information on all the best tools and practices for growers who want to build their livelihood around maximizing the health of their soil. Farmer Jesse reminds growers that “as possible” is the mantra for protecting the living soil: disturb the soil as little as you possibly can in your context. He does not believe that growers should anguish over what does and does not qualify as “no-till.” If you are using a tool to promote soil life and biology, that’s the goal. Jesse’s goal with The Living Soil Handbook is to provide a comprehensive set of options, materials, and field-tested practices to inspire growers to design a soil-nurturing no-till system in their unique garden or farm ecosystem. "[A] practical, informative debut. . . .Gardeners interested in sustainable agriculture will find this a great place to start."—Publishers Weekly "Frost offers a comprehensive, science-based, sympathetic, wholly practical guide to soil building, that most critical factor in vegetable gardening for market growers and home gardeners alike. A gift to any vegetable plot that will keep on giving."—Booklist (starred review)
Download or read book As in the Heart So in the Earth written by Pierre Rabhi and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2006-06-06 with total page 146 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The world’s leading expert on reversing soil desertification shows how ecology can flourish only when spiritual elements are present • Uses a parable from the African oral tradition to provide a living testimony of what has been lost with the rise of modern technology • Provides a vital account of the strong relationship between soil and soul and how this relationship can be restored As in the Heart, So in the Earth is a strong indictment of a civilization that, while seeking domination over the earth, mutilates, tortures, and desacralizes it. For Pierre Rabhi ecology is inseparable from spirituality. He shows how the growing desertification of North Africa is a reflection of the “desert” that is claiming the hearts and souls of the inhabitants of the Western world--how dead soil is mirrored in our deadened souls--and how reconciliation with Mother Earth must be accompanied by relearning our ancestors’ reverence for the soil. Using a traditional African parable grounded in the very wisdom of the earth, Pierre Rabhi seeks to initiate the reader into a time when the people that dwelled on this planet did so harmoniously and could converse easily with the land. Village elder Tyemoro recounts the gradual destruction of his village’s culture and all that has sustained it as the miracles promised by modern technology brought more harm than good. This same drama is recurring throughout the world, where indigenous value systems that have endured for millennia are torn apart by contact with modern civilization. Yet Rahbi offers hope--if those in the modern world will stop to hear the words of their ancestors who worked the land, for our destiny is linked irrevocably to that of the earth.
Download or read book Soul to Soil written by Teodrose Fikre and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2016-11-16 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Blessings come through unexpected tribulations. Life truly is a binary, happiness and sadness cannot exist on their own any more than can light exist without darkness. This is what makes life at once magical and tumultuous; it's like the most wonderful enigma built on the pillars of uncertainty and clarity. It is with this binary paradigm in mind that I wrote this second book Soul to Soil. This is me embracing the hardships and maelstroms I have been through over the past two years and, in the same place of pains, planting a seed of hope and resiliency. Someone once said that we don't always get to choose our circumstances in life; the choice is how we react when a season of bareness darkens our doorsteps. Soul to Soil represents my decisions process and a continuation of my journey; where Serendipity's Trace was a reflection and me bleeding out my past, Soul to Soil is a contemplation of present circumstances and how to move forward. Inspired by endless people I have had the honor and blessing to meet and know in my journey across America over the past 18 months, Soul to Soil is a collection of observations and prose that synthesizes the essence of our common humanity. The root of our power is the very source our perceived weakness. Fear becomes strength the minute we uncover this axiom.
Download or read book Soil and Sacrament written by Fred Bahnson and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2013-08-06 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recounts the author's experiences founding a faith-based community garden in rural North Carolina, and emphasizes how growing one's own food can help readers reconnect with the land and divine faith.
Download or read book Building Soils for Better Crops written by Fred Magdoff and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Secrets of the Soil written by Peter Tompkins and published by books catalog. This book was released on 1989 with total page 472 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book,a fascinating companion to The Secret Life of Plants by the same authors, tells the story of the innovative, nontraditional, often surprising things that certain scientists, farmers, and mystics are doing to prevent the slow degradation of our planet. For example, using the techniques of Rudolf Steiner s biodynamic agriculture with its reliance on ethereal forces from the planets,Dan Carlson s growth stimulating Sonic Bloom, and rock dust fertilizer to revitalize depleted soils; or gardening with the help of truly amazing new technologies to reverse serious agricultural problems.The authors illustrate,in a truly enlightening and convincing manner, the pivotal role that the natural elements play in ourlives, and the necessity of cultivating and sustaining a relationship with one most basic of them the soil.
Download or read book Dirt to Soil written by Gabe Brown and published by Chelsea Green Publishing. This book was released on 2018-10-11 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A regenerative no-till pioneer."—NBC News "We need to reintegrate livestock and crops on our farms and ranches, and Gabe Brown shows us how to do it well."—Temple Grandin, author of Animals in Translation See Gabe Brown—author and farmer—in the Netflix documentary Kiss the Ground Gabe Brown didn’t set out to change the world when he first started working alongside his father-in-law on the family farm in North Dakota. But as a series of weather-related crop disasters put Brown and his wife, Shelly, in desperate financial straits, they started making bold changes to their farm. Brown—in an effort to simply survive—began experimenting with new practices he’d learned about from reading and talking with innovative researchers and ranchers. As he and his family struggled to keep the farm viable, they found themselves on an amazing journey into a new type of farming: regenerative agriculture. Brown dropped the use of most of the herbicides, insecticides, and synthetic fertilizers that are a standard part of conventional agriculture. He switched to no-till planting, started planting diverse cover crops mixes, and changed his grazing practices. In so doing Brown transformed a degraded farm ecosystem into one full of life—starting with the soil and working his way up, one plant and one animal at a time. In Dirt to Soil Gabe Brown tells the story of that amazing journey and offers a wealth of innovative solutions to restoring the soil by laying out and explaining his "five principles of soil health," which are: Limited Disturbance Armor Diversity Living Roots Integrated Animals The Brown’s Ranch model, developed over twenty years of experimentation and refinement, focuses on regenerating resources by continuously enhancing the living biology in the soil. Using regenerative agricultural principles, Brown’s Ranch has grown several inches of new topsoil in only twenty years! The 5,000-acre ranch profitably produces a wide variety of cash crops and cover crops as well as grass-finished beef and lamb, pastured laying hens, broilers, and pastured pork, all marketed directly to consumers. The key is how we think, Brown says. In the industrial agricultural model, all thoughts are focused on killing things. But that mindset was also killing diversity, soil, and profit, Brown realized. Now he channels his creative thinking toward how he can get more life on the land—more plants, animals, and beneficial insects. “The greatest roadblock to solving a problem,” Brown says, “is the human mind.”
Download or read book Farming While Black written by Leah Penniman and published by Chelsea Green Publishing. This book was released on 2018 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Farming While Black is the first comprehensive "how to" guide for aspiring African-heritage growers to reclaim their dignity as agriculturists and for all farmers to understand the distinct, technical contributions of African-heritage people to sustainable agriculture. At Soul Fire Farm, author Leah Penniman co-created the Black and Latino Farmers Immersion (BLFI) program as a container for new farmers to share growing skills in a culturally relevant and supportive environment led by people of color. Farming While Black organizes and expands upon the curriculum of the BLFI to provide readers with a concise guide to all aspects of small-scale farming, from business planning to preserving the harvest. Throughout the chapters Penniman uplifts the wisdom of the African diasporic farmers and activists whose work informs the techniques described--from whole farm planning, soil fertility, seed selection, and agroecology, to using whole foods in culturally appropriate recipes, sharing stories of ancestors, and tools for healing from the trauma associated with slavery and economic exploitation on the land. Woven throughout the book is the story of Soul Fire Farm, a national leader in the food justice movement.--AMAZON.
Download or read book Organic Soil Fertility and Weed Management written by Steve Gilman and published by Chelsea Green Publishing. This book was released on 2011-04-28 with total page 138 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Soil is a living organism that loves to cooperate with farmers and gardeners. A green thumb will appear on those who align themselves with its health and requirements. This book discusses: Soil habitat Sustaining soil fertility The soil food-web Nutrient availability and deficiency After reading this book, readers will not only have a different view on soil, but on weeds as well. Knowing and utilizing the energies and characteristics of weeds, as Gilman teaches, will make for a more productive garden, and less stressful gardening.
Download or read book The Soil and Health written by Albert Howard and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2011-01-23 with total page 357 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During his years as a scientist working for the British government in India, Sir Albert Howard conceived of and refined the principles of organic agriculture. Howard’s The Soil and Health became a seminal and inspirational text in the organic movement soon after its publication in 1945. The Soil and Health argues that industrial agriculture, emergent in Howard’s era and dominant today, disrupts the delicate balance of nature and irrevocably robs the soil of its fertility. Howard’s classic treatise links the burgeoning health crises facing crops, livestock, and humanity to this radical degradation of the Earth’s soil. His message—that we must respect and restore the health of the soil for the benefit of future generations—still resonates among those who are concerned about the effects of chemically enhanced agriculture.
Download or read book Soil Science and Management written by Edward J. Plaster and published by Cengage Learning. This book was released on 1992 with total page 538 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The importance of soil; Soil origin and development; Physical properties os soil; Soil water; Water conservation; Irrigation and drainage; Life in the soil; Organic matter; Soil fertility; Soil pH and salinity; Plant nutrition; Soil sampling and testing; Fertilizers; Organic amendments; Tillage and cropping systems; Horticultural uses of soil; Soil classification and survey; Soil Conservation; Urban soil; Government agencies and programs; Some basic chemistry; Sedimentation test of soil texture; Soil orders of the United States; Soil horizon symbol suffixes; Land evaluation.
Download or read book Soil Genesis and Classification written by S. W. Buol and published by Iowa State Press. This book was released on 1973 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Morphology of soils; Soil micromorphology; Soil composition and characterization; Weathering and soil formation; Pedogenic processes: internal, soil-building processes; Soil environment: External factors of soil formation; Parent material: initial material of the solum; Relief and landscape factors of the soil and its environment; Contributions of climate to the total soil environment; Organisms: biological portion of the soil and its environment; Time as a factor of soil formation; Principles and historical development of soil classification; Modern soil classification systems; Entisols:recently formed soils: Vertisols: shrinking and swelling dark clay soils; In ceptisols: emleryonic soils with few diagnostic features; Aridisols: soils of arid regions; Mollisols: grassland soils of steppes and prairies; Spodosols: soils with subsoil, accumulations of sesquioxide and humus; Alfisols:high base status soils; Ultisols: low base status forest soils: Oxisols: sesquioxide - rihch, highly weathered soils of the intertropical regions; Histosols: organic soils.
Download or read book A Mystic Garden written by Gunilla Norris and published by Bluebridge. This book was released on 2013-05 with total page 100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This lyrical primer on the spirituality of gardening reflects on the relationship between a gardener and his or her garden. Meditating upon how interaction with the earth opens the heart, schools the mind, engages the body, and embraces the soul in a world of increasing detachment from the natural realm, this book affirms a garden as a soulful space where people can take root and experience the changing seasons and the enduring cycle of renewal. Filled with the joy of living, this enchanting spiritual guide will speak to those who yearn to find the holy in the place they call home.
Download or read book Sacred Soil written by Melina Rudman and published by Harding House Publishing, Incorporated/Anamcharabooks. This book was released on 2020-12 with total page 148 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In these fifteen intimate essays, Melina Rudman explores the pain of loss and the joy of connection. She writes of gardening as a spiritual practice, one that has the power to ground us in the seasons and cycles of Nature.
