Managing Soil without Using Chemicals

Soil is our greatest garden asset and this book contains a wealth of information to help you get to know and work with it. It looks at soil structure and how soil 'works', explains how to identify different soil types and then gives advice on how to care for and manage your soil. We are all aware of global warming, the greenhouse effect, the extinction of species of flora and fauna, the pollution of land, sea and air. But what, you may ask, have these global problems to do with organic gardening? A great deal. Every year millions of gardeners pour herbicides, pesticides and chemicals into the land and all this adds to the destruction of our environment. So why not become an organic gardener and make a contribution to protecting our precious world? Do not be put off by some people who say organic gardens are of little or no help. We all have to start somewhere and our gardens are as good a place as any. Organic gardening is not only much more fun than reading the label on a packet of chemicals, but there are other benefits too: healthier fruit and vegetables and a garden teeming with a variety of wildlife. Remember...every garden counts!

About the Author :
Jo Readman lives in High Littleton, and is a lecturer in Organic Horticulture and Botany at Lackham College of Agriculture. She has a Ph.D. in Plant Science and is a member of the Soil Association Education Committee.She is a free-lance television researcher, specialising in gardening, wildlife and the environment, and worked on Channel 4 TV's successful gardening series Loads More Muck and Magic. She wrote the booklet which accompanied the last series of the programme, and she contributes reguarly to the general gardening press. As well as being a wife and mother, Jo also finds time to run a large garden, complete with fruit, vegetables, ornamentals and chickens!

Review :
Centre for Alternative Technology: Soil is our greatest garden asset and this book contains a wealth of information to help you get to know and work with it. It looks at soil structure and how soil 'works', explains how to identify different soil types and then gives advice on how to care for and manage your soil. Full of colour photos.Pentacle: Jo Readman is the Education Co-ordinator for the Eden Project in Cornwall and with that you know this is going to be a great and informative book which will be an asset to your gardening bookshelf. With photographs and diagrams yu are guided through getting to know which are friends (e.g. worms), foes (e.g. cutworms) for your plants , to getting to know your soil and which plants work best in it. If you're wanting to step away from the use of chemicals in your garden or allotment I would highly recommend this book - your plants will even probably thank you for getting it!Maria Malokarenplatt.co.uk: This book is part of a practical gardening series from Garden Organic. Good soil makes good gardens. This book teaches all about getting the best from your soil . Learn how to identify different soil types and about the structure of soil. Basic advice is given on which plants grow best in different types of soil. See how to cultivate and dig, improve and mulch soil. Manage soil and growing with no-dig or rotation systems. There is also a trouble-shooting section on soil problems. A very useful 48-page booklet including clear diagrams.