Building Soils for Better Crops

[_Keith]

Online book. Got to be something here for palm farmers (growers) to learn.

Building Soils for Better Crops is a one-of-a-kind, practical guide to ecological soil management, now expanded and in full color. It provides step-by-step information on soil-improving practices as well as in-depth background—from what soil is to the importance of organic matter. Case studies of farmers from across the country provide inspiring examples of how soil—and whole farms—have been renewed through these techniques. A must-read for farmers, educators and students alike.

Written by University of Vermont plant and soil science professor emeritus Fred Magdoff and Cornell University soil science professor Harold van Es. Produced by Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE).

http://www.sare.org/content/download/841/6675/Building_Soils_for_Better_Crops.pdf?inlinedownload=1

http://www.sare.org/Learning-Center/Books/Building-Soils-for-Better-Crops-3rd-Edition

[Palmdude]

Nice Keith I love all of that stuff. If you build a living organic soil you don't even need to fertilize, you concentrate on keeping all the micro beasties happy and well fed and everything else just falls into place. My garden in Massachusetts started out as sand and is now rich organic soil dripping with worms. I've got a way to go in Florida but the worms are starting to show up.

[Moose]

Thanks Keith - lots of excellent information !

[Palmdude]

If you guys like organic gardening you should check out the Rev and his approach to organic gardening both indoors and out. True Living Organics is a book he released but it deals with growing indoors. He's written lots of other articles on amending soil outdoors. Once you go organic and see the difference in the health of your plants, resistance to pests, which typically target weaker individuals, and the overall richness of your soil, there's no turning back

Oh yeah and no more need to fertilize when your soil is what it should be in the first place. You go from fertilizing to being more concerned with the health and number of micro beasties that are in your soil. It's more work but the results are quite rewarding

Edited July 1, 2014 by Palmdude