Teaming with Microbes A Gardeners Guide to the Soil Food Web

Teaming with Microbes A Gardeners Guide to the Soil Food Web

Teaming With Microbes enlightens readers in two important ways. First, in clear, straightforward language, it describes the activities of the organisms that make up the soil food web, from the simplest of single-cell organisms to more familiar multicellular animals such as insects, worms, and mammals. Second, the book explains how to foster and cultivate the life of the soil through the use of compost, mulches, and compost teas. By eschewing jargon, the authors make the text accessible to a wide audience, from devotees of organic gardening techniques to weekend gardeners who simply want to grow healthy, vigorous plants without resorting to chemicals.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Embarrassed by my ignorance
Prior to reading this book, I was one of the millions of Americans who bought into the wonders of “Miracle Grow” & “Turf Builder”. Oh how wrong I was. After reading this wonderful book on the importance of the amazing world of soil, I’ve sworn off my dependence on these synthetic fertilizers in favor of compost & compost teas.

In part one of the book , the author does a fantastic job of educating the readers on the make-up of soil. Then in part two, the author provides the readers with helpful soil improvement techniques that will hopefully wean America of its fascination with synthetic fertilizers. Every gardener should have a copy of this book in their library.

5 Stars Really a “must have” if you’re an organic gardener
I’m gardening since 20yrs, the last decade I attempted an organic approach and failed - I got slugs and snails and all pests you can imagine.

After reading this book I know why and how to “heal” my garden.

I will recommand the book to all my friends.

5 Stars Buy this if you want a beautiful garden, now and the future. Feed the soil!!
I dislike reading books but I found this book easy and fun to read. There are many technical/scientific explainations in this book but it still makes very good sense…common sense to a gardener perhaps. Through many years of gardening (usually ‘organic’) I found that a lot of what I have read I believe to be true; i.e. through experience it works! Some of the new things I’ve learned from this book I’ve tried and they appear to be working as well.

I’m not an organic gardening ‘purist’ but I guess I’ve always taken care of the soil; using leaves, compost, cow/chicken manures, etc. without even realizing how healthy I was keeping my soil. Bottom line…my neighbors can’t seem to compete even though THEY try. Hey, I’m just gardening

5 Stars 5 stars
Never in my right mind did I think I would find interest and excitement in something I could not see or understand: soil microbes!

It was a challenging and delightful read because of the clarity of content, the authors understanding of the Soil Food Web, and interesting fashion in which it was presented. I feel a whole new world has been opened up to explore and understand.

If you are interested in soil science, organic gardening, and how it all comes together, this is an excellent book to read. You may only be “scratching the surface” to an intricate and delicate science but it is enough to understand the basics and lay a foundation for further study.

5 Stars Must read!
This is simply a fantastic read. Too often, the word “organic” can turn people off as an offshoot of hippy-mysticism. Here, the authors counter that by laying out the solid “science & logic” of letting nature do more of the work that traditionally breaks the gardener’s back, wallet, and good cheer.

Balanced, pragmatic, and entertaining; this is a must read for gardeners spanning the full spectrum from Iowan adherents of industrial agriculture, to Oregon vegan granola farmers. A GREAT companion book to this is The Living Garden: The 400-year History of an English Garden by George Ordish.

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The Organic Lawn Care Manual

The Organic Lawn Care Manual

In the modern suburban landscape, beautiful, green lawns are perhaps the most ubiquitous feature of all. It’s difficult to imagine a friendly neighborhood without broad, clean stretches of neatly shorn grass. More and more in recent years, those lawns are evolving into organic systems as homeowners — concerned about the long-term effects of chemicals on their children, their pets, and the environment — turn to natural methods to keep their yards healthy and inviting, and, yes, still green and lush, too.

Paul Tukey, a self-confessed mowing addict, answers the growing demand for organic grass with a comprehensive volume of natural lawncare information. Step by step, he takes readers through the many elements that work together to form a healthy, organic lawn. Well-treated soil, fed properly with compost and natural fertilizers, is the foundation of every great lawn. Plant it with a grass cultivar matched properly to the climate and sunlight, nourish the soil and grass with the proper amount of water, and maintain the height with a good mower equipped with a sharp blade. A beautiful, naturally maintained lawn can be as simple as that.

An organic, healthy lawn is the best defense against weeds and pests, but when unwanted visitors creep in, Tukey is ready with Weed and Thug ID Guides and advice on dispatching them naturally or learning to live with the benign offenders. Tukey also provides helpful advice for lawnkeepers making the transition from a synthetic to an organic lawn system. It’s all here — everything today’s homeowner needs to keep his lawn off drugs, and make it an inviting living and play area for the whole family.

User Ratings and Reviews

4 Stars Great Book!
The book is great and gives you ideas on how to “green” up your lawn.

4 Stars Exactly what I needed.
Whether it’s the pictures or the easy reading style this book has become my goto book for getting my new lawn up and running without chemicals. Anyone just getting into it should find this book an excellent introduction to chemical free lawns.

Only drawback, the book is really an introduction. So for example if you really want to dive into creating different compost tea recipes or different ways to brew them, you would need to get another book.

3 Stars Decent, but light on real information
This book is like too many “green” or “organic” books lately. It spends as much time arguing for its existence (i.e. why you should manage your lawn organically) as it does providing practical information for how to do it successfully. OK, I bought the book already — you don’t need to convince me!

It was frustrating that, when I needed a solution to a real problem, all the book told me was: if you plant your lawn the way we’ve told you, you won’t have this problem. Not much help!

On the plus side, I did learn about some good techniques like dethatching.

5 Stars Good Resource
I purchased this as a gift for my dad and he seemed think it’s a good resource to have on hand. I called him when I had a question about how to naturally get rid of dandelions, and he quickly found an answer for me in this comprehensive manual.

5 Stars Marvelous
I have to admit, I first looked into organic lawn care for not-so-noble reasons. I have a pool in my backyard, which means that using any nitrogen-rich fertilizer back there risks getting nitrates in the pool water, which is a big no-no for pool owners. I hoped that organic lawn care could provide me with a way to care for my backyard without endangering the pool water. That’s not to say that I didn’t care about the environment; it just wasn’t my first priority.

However, in reading this book, I’ve become downright enthusiastic about, not just helping the environment, but having a great yard *while* helping the environment. As other reviewers noted, the author does not ask us to settle for inferior lawns in order to help the environment. He is passionate about having a great lawn — and doing it the right way.

There are essentially two ways to get great looking lawns: treat it with chemicals, or follow the organic route described in this book. They can both produce great looking lawns, but there is a difference. I liken the comparison to making a person look better through either plastic surgery or exercise. Plastic surgery is fast and can have some incredible results, though it does nothing to improve the actual health of the person. Whereas exercising can probably get to the same end, though with a bit more effort, especially at the beginning. However, even though the results may look similar, underneath the person who has been exercising is stronger, fitter, and more able to cope with the physical stresses of life. Similarly, with a bit more effort (at least, at the beginning), an organically cared-for lawn can look great and be healthier and stronger than a chemically cared-for lawn.

I’m ditching the remainder of my Scott’s Four-step weed-and-feed lawn care process and embarking on *really* caring for my lawn. Thank you Paul Tukey for opening my eyes!

PS - as an added bonus, I *can* care for my lawn organically without endangering my pool water.

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Lawn Care for Dummies

Lawn Care for Dummies

If your neighbors’ lawn always resembles a beautiful green carpet while yours looks like something that would cost Tiger Woods several shots, you could use some practical help. Trust the Dummies folks–you really can have a great lawn without breaking your back every weekend, spending a fortune on sod, or poisoning your pets. Lawn Care for Dummies takes you through all the steps: choosing the right grass, planting the seed or laying the sod, installing an irrigation system, fertilizing, aerating, watering, and mowing. It also helps you avoid (or conquer) the Big Three: weeds, pests, and disease. Finally, the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow–you get to enjoy your lawn! In the spirit of all Dummies books, there’s a list of 10 lawn games at the end. Bocce, anyone?

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars If I can do it , so can you…
I didn’t have a clue about landscape but had to learn really fast when I bought my house. This book has been my bible. It’s great!

3 Stars The name says it all
A good book that covers all the different info on grass. However, none of the informative paragraphs dig too deep.

2 Stars Too Basic!
This book is really basic. I found that “How to Make Big Money Mowing Small Lawns” as a better resource. It had easy to understand charts. Simplistic pricing method. Simple to understand and extremely helpful/useful in earning extra income. This book offers unique and insightful ideas to help get you off the ground. It gives real life experience of the author will enable them to have insight into business that is fundamental to becoming entrepreneurial. An updated version is available at librarydepot.com

4 Stars Very good book for starting a lawn
I planted my first lawn from scratch this Spring, and spent a lot of time reading and re-reading this book. The advice the book gave was great, particularly when it came to selecting the type of grass to plant for my particular needs and in my area.

The other reviewers are correct about the photos being not very useful, but they certainly are pretty! However, I found the author’s descriptions of grass types to be very clear and putting pictures of grass types would have been redundant.

There were a few things that could have used more coverage, though. In particular, the description of the various options in boundaries and edgings was difficult to follow with very few pictures. Plus, the section on sprinklers touched on only about half of the types of sprinklers offered by my local garden center.

My neighbor across the street planted his lawn at the same time I did mine, but without the book. He’s a nice guy, but his lawn is a joke! Maybe I’ll loan him my book this Fall when he starts over….

3 Stars Ok but not great
The few color pictures are pointless. There is some good information, but the section on revitalizing your lawn is too small. I was looking for a general reference, but they say to aerate but never mention when you should do this (I have read this in other books) and they don’t mention other techniques that I have read other places. This book would be pretty good for someone starting from scratch. If you just want to improve your lawn, buy another book.

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Start Your Own Lawn Care Business Entrepreneur Magazines Start Up

Start Your Own Lawn Care Business Entrepreneur Magazines Start Up

This book will tell you everything you need to know to get started in the lawn care business.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Great starter book
I will use this book as the go to information source in making my business grow. Love it.

4 Stars Good book.
This book gives you a lot of great information that a lawn care operator would not think about when starting up a business. It takes a lot more than a push mower and a trimmer to make money in this business and this book lets you know what a professional in this occupation does. This is not a book that tells you how to cut grass, fertilize, ect. It deals with what it takes to run a lawn care business and it has a pricing list, checklists, etc. that helps you calculate your start up costs. Good book.

2 Stars LESS THAN I EXPECTED
THE BOOK WAS VERY SHORT AND DID NOT EXPAND VERY MUCH IN A LOT OF IMPORTANT AREA’S…THIS COULD OF ALMOST BEEN A START UP BOOK FOR ANY TYPE OF SMALL SERVICE BUSINESS. I WAS VERY DISAPPOINTED IN THE FACT THAT SEVERAL OF THE ORGANIZATIONS LISTED WERE EITHER NO LONGER FUNCTIONING OR NEVER DID. THE CONTACT NUMBERS AND WEB ADDRESSES ARE ALL DEAD ENDS. THE BOOK DID HOWEVER HAVE GOOD POINTS ON OUTLINING THE START OF YOUR BUSINESS (HOWEVER GEARED FOR SOMEONE WITH A LOT OF MONEY TO START). I ALSO THINK THE BOOK BARELY TOUCHED UPON THE AREA’S OF HOW TO ATTAIN LICENSE’S AND PERMIT’S. OVERALL I WAS DISAPPOINTED BUT IT WAS NOT A TOTAL LOSS, I LEARNED A FEW THINGS THAT I WILL PROBABLY USE IN THE START UP OF MY BUSINESS.

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Start Your Own Lawn Care or Landscaping Business Entrepreneur Magazines Start Up

Start Your Own Lawn Care or Landscaping Business Entrepreneur Magazines Start Up

Rake in the Green

Successful landscapers and lawn care professionals reveal their secrets to success in this $20 billion industry. With all the homes, business parks, apartment complexes, shopping malls and hospitals that need landscaping, you can tailor your services and create your dream job. Your business can range from the simple-mowing and edging lawns, raking leaves and clipping hedges-to applying chemicals and fertilizer, trimming and shaping trees, designing landscapes and more. Learn everything you need to know, including:

• How to find customers
• What equipment you’ll need
• How to hire and manage employees
• Record keeping and accounting
• Where to find working capital
• How to calculate job estimates
• And more

If you love working outdoors, you owe it to yourself to buy this step-by-step guide and start building your own successful lawn care or landscaping business.

User Ratings and Reviews

3 Stars Not what I was looking for…
If you are a rookie to lawn care looking for a book that will help you get started, this one will help you considerably, but it is not for the experienced landscaper. I was really looking for a book to help me out in bidding for larger scale contracts and this book had little if any info on that. Bidding is your best friend in landscaping so I am always looking for new and different bidding techniques. This book was just barely OK to me, but it did have some good information on advertising. In my opinion, go with door hangers, they work pretty well.

4 Stars Good coverage of the business end
The landscaping business aspects are definitely here, the accounting, the equipment, the scheduling, even the make and model of truck to buy to pull your trailer full of equipment. I was expecting to learn something about the finer points of lawn care, mixing plants, use of mulch, how to protect plants from being eaten by animals etc. Knowing how to run a tight business is helpful but the main thing that your customer wants from you is quality work and knowledge of grasses and decorative plants. The book states internally that the concentration is on business and not horticulture but it’s not obvious until you buy it and read it. Now you get to buy another book to gain the landscaping knowledge. Overall, worth the money.

4 Stars Lawn Care or Landscaping
In this Magazine you learn all you need to know about Lawn Care and landscaping business.I have been in Landscaping for 14 years and hopefully will be in it another14.My customers are very pleased with our work and always recommend me for other jobs.

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