Teaming with Nutrients

Description

A 2014 Garden Writers Association Media Award Winner Just as he demystified the soil food web in his ground-breaking book Teaming with Microbes, in this new work Jeff Lowenfels explains the basics of plant nutrition from an organic gardener's perspective. Most gardeners realize that plants need to be fed but know little or nothing about the nature of the nutrients and the mechanisms involved. In his trademark down-to-earth, style, Lowenfels explains the role of both macronutrients and micronutrients and shows gardeners how to provide these essentials through organic, easy-to-follow techniques. Along the way, Lowenfels gives the reader easy-to-grasp lessons in the biology, chemistry, and botany needed to understand how nutrients get into the plant and what they do once they're inside.

Jeff Lowenfels is a prolific garden columnist whose extensive garden writing experience has earned him widespread recognition. He is a leading proponent of gardening using the concepts of the soil food web and founded 'Plant A Row for The Hungry', an welfare scheme that provided over 14 million meals to feed impoverished families in 2005. He is also the author of 'Teaming with Microbes' (Timber Press 2010).

"If you really want to get a sense of how little we know about how plants use fertilizers -- and I count myself in this league -- you should read Teaming with Nutrients, which gets deep into the weeds, so to speak, of the microscopic architecture of plants and the biochemical processes at play." --The Washington Post "Useful and practical information on soil testing, natural and synthetic fertilizers, factors influencing availability of nutrients, and the importance of proper fertilizing." --Pacific Horticulture "Lowenfels offers everyone else a crash course in discovering soil structure, fertility, and microbial actions powerful enough to turn a dry wash into a productive source of clean, slow, organically grown food, without a single bag of potting soil." --The Desert Sun "Lowenfels offers a deeper understanding of the major and minor plant nutrients and delivers the necessary science in a conversational style that most gardeners will appreciate." --The Monterey County Herald "You'll never garden the same old way again." --Muskogee Phoenix "Colorful illustrations, plentiful and readable diagrams, and a well-executed chapter structure make this an indispensable resource." --Publishers Weekly