At First Glance
Title: Improving Your Soil: A Practical Guide to Soil Management for the Serious Home Gardener
Author: Keith Reid
Publisher: Firefly Books, Ltd.
Release Date: 2014
Cover Price: $29.95
Target Audience: Gardeners and hobby farmers who desire to grow the best possible produce they can
If you farm or garden, you should be concerned about the health of your soil. No questions asked.
Soil is the foundation of every single fruit and vegetable you have grown, are growing and will ever grow, both the delicious successes and the bitter failures. Soil management isn’t exactly a glamorous topic to discuss, but it’s arguably one of the most important if your end goal of tending plants is delicious, healthy produce—and shouldn’t it be?
With his latest book, Improving Your Soil (Firefly Books, 2014), Keith Reid tackles soil management from every imaginable angle, providing concrete, sensible tips for making your garden’s earth the best it can be. From background details on composition and simple, at-home tests for quality analysis to equipment profiles and amendment breakdowns, this book is basically a one-stop shop for soil enthusiasts. The author builds your knowledge from the bottom up—just like you should do with your soil; talk about parallel construction!—explaining a valuable concept
A soil scientist with over 30 years of experience, Reid does an admirable job of breaking down the wide world of dirt into digestible sections, each written in accessible language that doesn’t mince scientific words and concepts. However, that subtitle is not misleading: His comprehensive tome is not for amateurs and fair-weather soil fans. You need to be serious about your soil to get the most out of his discussions, but thankfully, the book is sprinkled with charts, diagrams and sidebars that are perfect for even casual soil aficionados. Dirt never looked so good.
The Final Word: Want healthy soil? Pick up this book, read every word and put the ideas into practice. You—and your eyes and taste buds—will not be disappointed.
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If you like this book, check out these articles:
- 5 Ways to Prep Soil for Better Berries
- 5 Soil Amendments to Help You Grow Better Herbs
- 9 Soil Tips for Growing Better Asparagus
