Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["TradingPostPaul" <tradingpost@riseup.net>]

Building Soils for Better Crops
http://www.uvm.edu/~nesare/news_BSBC.html

By taking advantage of the strengths built into natural systems, farmers,
ranchers and gardeners can improve their soil fertility, boost their
production, reduce pest problems, and minimize their use of pesticides. But
it isn’t always obvious how to achieve these results, and, to help clear
things up, the Sustainable Agriculture Network is proud to offer a new,
expanded edition of Fred Magdoff and Harold van Es’s Building Soils for
Better Crops.

With practical information presented in an engaging, easy-to-read style,
Building Soils for Better Crops lays out how to treat soil to produce
healthy crops. It makes a convincing argument that enhancing soil health is
the key to reducing use of pesticides as well as water pollution from
agricultural nutrients and soil sediments. The book talks about managing
soil tilth, using appropriate tillage, and nutrient management. There are
also chapters on using animal manures, making and using composts, cover
crops, how to develop better rotations, methods to avoid and decrease soil
compaction, reduced tillage, and techniques for reducing erosion.John Hart,
a soil fertility specialist at Oregon State University, writes that he is
"excited to find in print the practical approaches I attempt to use in my
extension program"; Fred Kirschenmann, a grain and livestock farmer, says,
"This is the most practical guide I have read about how whole soil systems
work. Written in clear, illustrative language, it makes the world of soils
accessible to farmers and beginning students as well as soil science
professionals."The book is specifically directed to the needs of farmers,
gardeners, students, and agriculture professionals who work with farmers,
and the emphasis is on offering clear and practical information that will
lead to an understanding of soil dynamics. Ray R. Weil, professor of soil
science at the University of Maryland and the co-author of The Nature and
Properties of Soils, says, "I would recommend this book to people who enjoy
getting their hands dirty and want to know how to build better soil."

Building Soils for Better Crops runs 240 pages and is available for $19.95.
Add $5.95 for first book plus $2 for each additional book shipped within
the U.S.A. Please allow 3-4 weeks for delivery.

Sustainable Agriculture Publications
PO Box 753
Waldorf, MD 20604-0753
Telephone: (301) 374-9696
Fax: (301) 843-0159
Email: sanpubs@sare.org