Ecology for Gardeners

By Steven D. Salt and Steven B. Carroll

Book Overview

Even a relatively small garden is a miniature ecosystem. It includes a surprising diversity of organisms that interact in a myriad of ways. Some are permanent residents, others come and go in search of a meal or a mate. An insect feeding on a garden plant is simultaneously hunted by predators and weakened by parasites; it competes with other herbivores for choice food plants; it is hindered in its feeding by the plants' chemical and physical defenses; and it challenges other members of its species for the best mates and locations for egg-laying. Ecologists Carroll and Salt argue that the more completely we understand these interactions, the better gardeners we become. The authors cite hundreds of examples drawn from personal experience and from literature on gardening and ecology.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0881926116
• ISBN13: 9780881926118
• Release Date: May 2004
• Publisher: Timber Pr
• Length: 328 Pages
• Weight: 2.08 lbs.
• Dimensions: 11.5" x 1.3" x 6.5"

Customer Reviews

Splendid textbook for organic growers

I am of the go-with-the-flow school of cultivation, versus the invade and conquer approach. If you are similarly inclined, this is a superb textbook for working with nature. The two scientists (one an ecologist/botanist, the other a Ph.D. in biochemistry and microbiology) explain the garden-as-ecosystem in clear, vernacular language. Beginning with plant parts and their functions to other garden inhabitants (from elephants -- yes, elephants -- to prions, prions?), to micro-environments, plant interactions with natural forces and other garden organisms and on to gardening as applied ecology, this is a splendid educational tool. I learned a lot reading it and I have been a garden writer as well as an organic gardener for many years.

Enjoying this book

I am enjoying this book, although it can be a slowish read and is a little textbook 'ish' at times. It is well written and presents a lot of good information in an understandable way. It starts off with basic chemistry and biology of soil, plants, microbes, fungi, and insects, and ties them all together as you would expect in a book with "ecology" in the title. It is well illustrated with color photographs which are refered to through out the book. Not a begining gardening book by any means, but ideal if you have the basics and want to learn more about how the entire system works together.