The Complete Guide to Restoring Your Soil: Improve Water Retention and Infiltration; Support Microorganisms and Other Soil Life; Capture More ... Cover Crops, and Carbon-Based Soil Amendments

EVEN THOUGH I AM NOT ENGLISH SPOKEN PERSON , THIS BOOK IS REALLY GREAT.ESASY TO UNDERSTAND AND MAKE ME MOVE TO GET MORE WATER WATER WATER..EVERYONE ADULT AND CHILDREN NEED TO READ THIS BOOD AND SEE HIM TOO... 10 OUT OF 10

Dale’s book may be written with US farmers in mind but while the scale may differ there is plenty of information that can be scaled down to far smaller plots.He is passionate about building healthy sustainable soils that support plant growth and healthy varied ecosystems. A lot of this is common sense when you think about it and feels like ‘going back to nature’. The truth is that we shouldn’t have messed with Mother Nature in the first place - she has millenia of experience and definitely knows best.I found the book full of fascinating information and I learned a lot from reading it. It covers everything from drainage, irrigation, techniques to minimise soil erosion, remove the need for pesticides and fertilizers, and balance soil organisms to maximise plant health, and even how to help fight climate change. Having recently read ‘Finding the Mother Tree’ this really chimed with me and I had many ‘light bulb’ moments of finding things I can use to improve the soil in my own plot while making life easier for me and better for wildlife as well - what’s not to love?My only niggle with the book is that Dale says that he repeats information to reinforce the messages he’s trying to get across. While I can see his point of view as the information combines to give different insights as he works through the various topics but it does make the book rather long and may put some people off. I think some editing to make it easier to see the key points and a closing summary of key bullet points as an aide memoire and easy reference for readers would help.Bottom line - This book is full of useful info for anyone who grows plants, has an interest in gardening, wants to encourage wildlife into their garden. Dale show us how important and valuable soil really is to all life on earth and that we can all do our bit to help.

It definitely gets you thinkng

This is a very interesting read. It is more from the approach of large-scale farming, but the ideas are applicable to the hobby farm or serious gardener.This book is about much more than just improving soil! It is really more about a sustainable, multi-faceted approach to growing crops that utilizes no-till cover crops and cattle as part of a closed local ecosystem. The major theme of this book is that tilling is harmful to the ground, the water system, and overall to the environment as a whole. There is an assertion presented that tilling and fallowing ground may account for a large portion of global climate change, and some of the logic is thought-inspiring. It's a viewpoint that I had not heard before. This point is relentlessly driven home throughout the book, but the evidence presented for it is convincing. That the evidence is presented by an experienced commercial farmer and rancher only adds credibility to some of the assertions... until you find out that his main business is now selling seed for the cover crops that are recommended (pardon my inner cynic). I'll leave it to you to judge whether or not this affects the integrity of the message. In my own pursuits, I have seen evidence for the transformative effects to soil through use of no-till cover cropping, and I am a believer in it.This book proposes a system of no-till cover crops as a means of rejuvenating the soil and producing competitive growth without the use of (or limited use of) commercial fertilizers and pesticides.The great thing about the author is that, while he is concerned with the environment, he doesn't go completely off the deep end and seems to be logical in all of his conclusions. An example is the recommendation for the use of ruminating livestock within the process, and the bold (and increasingly unpopular) view that it is beneficial and proper to the environment, the population, and the animal to then harvest those animals for meat. He gives good reasons for this in the book.The speculation about the effects of soil depletion on historical political stability is extremely interesting. My own thoughts are that the author gives too much credit to one facet of a complex problem, but it is a compelling idea that I have not seen before.If you are interested in being a good steward of your little slice of earth, this is a worthwhile read. It (successfully, in my estimation) presents a larger view of a better way of sustainable food production at a time when the world is in need of such wisdom. Just don't expect simple solutions presented in a cookbook style, because this IS NOT that book.

Do yourself a favour and buy this book! It's absolutely essential reading for ANYONE interested in improving the health of their soils, the productivity of their pastures/crops, and the profitability of their cropping & grazing systems. Easily the best book written on this critically important subject!

One of the most informative books I've found thus far that does an excellent job explaining why soil health matters and how you can apply various practices to restore your own soil. The author's writing is informative and easy to follow. This book was written mostly with farmers in mind, but I'd say it's eye opening and useful for even a backyard gardener as most scenarios and recommendations can be applied to small gardens as well.I also appreciate the author's background of being raised on a traditional farm that utilized tilling. He's got both the traditional perspective and empathy for that way of doing things, but also the enlightened perspective and experience for how much more beneficial no-till practices are.While I felt that all the information presented gave an excellent overview of each topic, and often times went into excellent detail, the author did a wonderful job referencing trusted sources and there are plenty of works cited for any reader who wants to deleve deeper into a topic.Finally, the lay out of this book is also superb. It reminds me a little of a text book in that chapters clearly follow the progression of topics, there are lots of informative side bars, and there's a very handy overview at the end of each chapter. Infographics are easy to follow and the illustrations and photos are excellent.Definitely one of my favorite books in my farming book stash!

The book is an excellent read and I have learned more from this book on soil health and regenerative ag that any other!