Secrets to Great Soil: A Grower's Guide to Composting, Mulching, and Creating Healthy, Fertile Soil for Your Garden and Lawn

by Elizabeth Stell

Book Overview

Good soil leads to thriving gardens, and it's easy to create Elizabeth Snell shows you how to properly use composted plant materials and animal manure to make soil that is perfectly suited to your... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1580170080
• ISBN13: 9781580170086
• Release Date: January 1998
• Publisher: Storey Publishing
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 1.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 8.3" x 11.1"

Customer Reviews

Excellant Book

Very informative book for the outdoor gardner that is interested in his soil. We have great soil for our garden, but with this book we can take it to the next level. We are not expert gardners and this book is written in laymans language, so for us it is great. I don't know if a seasoned professional would like the book, but for the backyard hobbiest, worth the cost.

Book Review

Wealth of information about my favorite topic of late -- soil. For a beginner, it provided some much needed information on tools, composting and managing diseases and nutrients in the soil. The added bonus for me was information on crop rotation and managing a calendar.

Composting Knowledge

The previous reviewers are correct, this is a great book. Ever wonder why some plants grow and others won't even though the nurseries tell you that they will grow? This book will answer all those questions. This book goes thru a very methodical and thorough approach to educating one on how to build great soil and maintain it for any plant; from ornamental plants to vegetable gardens to fruit trees to lawns; from rebuilding a lawn to remediating a lawn. The tool chapter was a little redundant for me but this book is helpful to all; from the rookie gardener to the most experienced gardener. Most helpful to me were things like soil testing, top dressing solutions and organic composting. The format of the book is well done. Diagrams, text, master gardener tips, tables and illustrations. The greatest knowledge to me was that no matter what soil problem you have, the best solution is organic composting. Organically composted topsoil provides the greatest flexibility in terms of getting anything to not just grow but thrive!

Great Gardening Book

Simply a marvelous book that is so easy to use. Addresses many questions the gardener may ask about soil nutrition, structure, pH level and how to adjust them. I have been a gardener for thirty five years but questions about soil and what to do to make the best of a particular situation arise still. This book has become a wonderful resource for me. Chaptered and indexed for easy accessibility. Very thorough in its information for both organic and formulated solutions. Highly recommend.