LIVING SOIL: A Grower’s Guide, part of the ongoing Market Gardener series

LIVING SOIL: A Grower’s Guide (Market Gardener series)
JEAN-MARTIN FORTIER (edited by Pierre Nessmann; Illus. Flore Avram; tr. Laurie Bennett)
New Society Publishers (non-affiliate Bookshop.org link)
$19.99 all editions, available now

Rating: 4.75* of five

The Publisher Says: Living Soil: A Grower's Guide offers an illustrated, accessible resource on nurturing resilient crops and ecosystems through fertile, healthy soil. Jean-Martin Fortier shares his proven biointensive methods to help growers understand soil biology, improve fertility, and cultivate lasting abundance. Build and sustain fertile, living soil—the essential foundation for thriving crops—with Jean-Martin Fortier's biointensive techniques.

Living Soil: A Grower's Guide reveals the secrets to creating fertile, healthy soil—an essential foundation for abundant, nutrient-rich harvests. With Jean-Martin Fortier's biointensive methods, gardeners and farmers alike can improve soil health while supporting thriving ecosystems.

This richly illustrated, full-color guide includes:

An overview of "The Market Gardener Method"—a proven formula for small-scale, high-yield farming

A deep dive into soil composition, including humus, microbes, and mineral content

Simple DIY assessments and advanced tests for understanding soil biology and structure

Low and no-till techniques to enhance soil fertility, including composting, mulching, crop rotation, and green manures

Strategies for regenerating and sustaining soil over time.

Living Soil is part of the Grower's Guides from the Market Gardener series, offering practical knowledge for all growers. From beginner gardeners to seasoned farmers, these guides equip you with the tools and insights needed to grow sustainably using principles of biointensive, regenerative agriculture on a human scale.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: Author Fortier is the founder of the Market Gardener Institute (www.themarketgardener.com) deidcated to the expansion of sustainable agriculture in all levels of farming and gardening. The entry into the Institute's Market Gardener series is very thorough indeed:

...just to orient you as to what we're going to be reading about. Of course, it always helps to have a face to put with the voice, and a milieu for both:

Where we go from here is down. Into the soil, the basic material of all food production. It is something much more important than ever, as our planetary climate shifts in as-yet unpredictable conditions. How much more warming we're going to experience is a large determining factor in how we're going to feed everybody.

Soil is what we're using to feed them, so learning about it is key. It's also key if you're going to do your own bit to help feed your own near and dear. Here are some examples of what you'll see in this book:

I'd rate this book five stars for anyone seriously wondering how to move into a market-gardening lifestyle. I think the home gardener will derive a lot of benefit from the read; but I found it overwhelming to take in all this detailed and carefully thought out information. I think most who read my reviews will likely feel the same way. I have to, in that case, take just a fraction off my rating; not from dissatisfaction but from overload of good information.

Read slowly, you'll get more out of it!