Moonglotexas
I loved “Grow Your Soil!” by Diane Miessler from the first page! It is packed full of insightful information but it’s threaded together with a fabulous “building your soil house” metaphor which makes the science easier to remember and the book more enjoyable!
The book begins setting the scene for why healthy soil is not only great for the gardener but for the world as well. It details the way we’ve destroyed the ground by taking more from it than we put in.
It explores how to work in harmony with our soil. It outlines what soil is, what makes good soil and then how to improve our soil. With beautiful illustrations and plenty of humour, Diane shares practical and easy-to-implement ways to grow our soil! My only objection is to her massacre of snails! I have a fondness for them, aside from that, the book is full of working in harmony with, and appreciation for, the amazing world of creation in which we live.
If you want to combat global warming, improve your garden and care for the natural community around you, this is one to read! It’s a five out of five on the enJOYment scale and highly recommended!
From the back cover:
Growing awareness of the importance of soil health means that microbes are on the minds of even the most casual gardeners. After all, anyone who has ever attempted to plant a thriving patch of flowers or vegetables knows that what you grow is only as good as the soil you grow it in. It is possible to create and maintain rich, dark, crumbly soil that’s teeming with life, using very few inputs and a no-till, no-fertilizer approach. Certified permaculture designer and lifelong gardener Diane Miessler presents the science of soil health in an engaging, entertaining voice geared for the backyard grower. She shares the techniques she has used — including cover crops, constant mulching, and a simple-but-supercharged recipe for compost tea — to transform her own landscape from a roadside dump for broken asphalt to a garden that stops traffic, starting from the ground up.
I received a complimentary copy of the book from Storey Publishing through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
