Synopses & Reviews
Smart gardeners know that soil is anything but an inert substance. Healthy soil is teeming with life -- not just earthworms and insects, but a staggering multitude of bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms. When we use chemical fertilizers, we injure the microbial life that sustains healthy plants, and thus become increasingly dependent on an arsenal of artificial substances, many of them toxic to humans as well as other forms of life. But there is an alternative to this vicious circle: to garden in a way that strengthens, rather than destroys, the soil food web -- the complex world of soil-dwelling organisms whose interactions create a nurturing environment for plants. By eschewing jargon and overly technical language, the authors make the benefits of cultivating the soil food web available to a wide audience, from devotees of organic gardening techniques to weekend gardeners who simply want to grow healthy, vigorous plants without resorting to chemicals.
Review
"It takes readers underground to meet the critters that live if you let them under the garden."
Rockland Courier-Gazette
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"All good gardeners know healthy plants start with healthy soil. But why? And how? In Teaming with Microbes Lowenfels and Lewis reveal the new research in the most practical and accessible way." Anchorage Daily News
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"For years, we've thought of the 'food chains' in our environment. Lowenfels and Lewis explain an even more wonderful idea: the 'soil food web.' Read
Teaming with Microbes and keep it or give it to the library so others may learn of this astounding way to grow vegetables, trees, lawns."
Washington Gardener
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"Read this book and you'll never think of soil the same way." Rockland Courier-Gazette
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"The authors have given gardeners an inside scoop on the scientific research supporting organic gardening." Pacific Horticulture
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"This book has all the best dirt on all the best dirt. It...explains the basics of good soil practices, and it's written especially for home gardeners. Nature - ' - s Way Resources
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"This is sure to gain that well-thumbed look than any good garden book acquires as it is referred to repeatedly over the years." Detroit News
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"This is the most complete book on the market about biological or organic methods in horticulture...highly recommended for all gardeners, landscapers, or anyone taking care of a lawn or garden." DrWeil.com News
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"[This book] is a must read for any gardener looking to create a sustainable, healthy garden without chemicals." Florida Survival Gardening
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"Sure, it's a gardening book, but it has all the drama and suspense of an extraterrestrial thriller. A cast of characters without eyeballs or backbones. Battle scenes with bizarre creatures devouring one another. Only this book is about as terrestrial as it gets."
—Debra McKinney, Anchorage Daily News, September 14, 2006
Review
"Sure, it's a gardening book, but it has all the drama and suspense of an extraterrestrial thriller.... Read this book and you'll never look at soil the same way." B - & - B Magazine
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"It is exciting that the revelations herein are the tip of the iceberg in the complex, microscopic world of our soil that will unfold in the coming decades." The Oregonian
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"If you want to get a good understanding of how soils really work, and learn how to really feed your soil (and thus, your plants), there is a great book that explains it all very well, and also explains how to make really good compost and compost tea. It is concise and uses nonscientific terminology. The book is
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"The information in this book is eye-opening and consistently entertaining." Jared R. McKinley - DrWeil.com News
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"This very well illustrated hardback is a scientific view of many different kinds of soil microbes which include bacteria, fungi, algae, protozoa, nematodes and many others."
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"Read this book and you'll never think of soil the same way." Seattle Post-Intelligencer
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"The information in this book is eye-opening and consistently entertaining."
Synopsis
Healthy soil teems with life--not just earthworms and insects, but a staggering multitude of bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms. Chemical fertilizers injure the microbial life that sustains healthy plants, and the soil becomes increasingly dependent on artificial, often toxic, substances. But there is an alternative: by strengthening the soil food web--the complex world of soil-dwelling organisms--gardeners can create a nurturing environment for plants. Teaming with Microbes extols the benefits of cultivating the soil food web. It clearly explains the activities and organisms that make up the web, and explains how gardeners can cultivate the life of the soil through the use of compost, mulches, and compost tea. With Jeff Lowenfels' help, everyone--from devotees of organic gardening techniques to weekend gardeners who simply want to grow healthy, vigorous plants--can create rich, nurturing, living soil.
Synopsis
"A breakthrough book. No comprehensive horticultural library should be without it." --American Gardener
When we use chemical fertilizers, we injure the microbial life that sustains plants, and then become increasingly dependent on an arsenal of toxic substances. Teaming with Microbes offers an alternative to this vicious circle, and details how to garden in a way that strengthens, rather than destroys, the soil food web. You'll discover that healthy soil is teeming with life--not just earthworms and insects, but a staggering multitude of bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms. This must-have guide is for everyone, from those devoted to organic gardening techniques to weekend gardeners who simply want to grow healthy plants without resorting to chemicals.
Synopsis
Lowenfels and Lewis describe the activities of the organisms that make up the soil food web and explain how to cultivate the life of the soil. This text offers an accessible guide for gardeners who want to grow healthy, vigorous plants without resorting to chemicals.
Synopsis
When we use chemical fertilizers, we injure the microbial life that sustains healthy plants, and thus become increasingly dependent on an arsenal of artificial substances, many of them toxic to humans as well as other forms of life. But there is an alternative to this vicious circle: to garden in a way that strengthens, rather than destroys, the soil food web — the complex world of soil-dwelling organisms whose interactions create a nurturing environment for plants.
About the Author
Jeff Lowenfels has been writing a weekly column for the
Anchorage Daily News since 1977. A member of the Garden Writers of America Hall of Fame, he is a leading proponent of gardening using the concepts of the soil food web. After working at his father's hobby farm in his youth, he developed a life-long love of gardening that has led him to writing countless articles, hosting a popular gardening television show, and founding a successful program for soup kitchens called "Plant a Row for the Hungry" that is active in 48 states and has resulted in over 14 million meals fed to those in need. A native New Yorker, he is a Harvard graduate and now works as an attorney in Alaska.Wayne Lewis is a lifelong Alaskan gardener. He has worked with Jeff Lowenfels on many projects over the past 25 years, including the now national Plant a Row for the Hungry program (started in Anchorage by Jeff), which encourages gardeners to donate a portion of their harvest to charitable organizations in their community.