Secrets of the Soil : New Solutions for Restoring Our Planet

I stumbled across this book in the library in 1994 and read the first few chapters about biodynamic organics and thought, "This is too far out for me!" I read MB's review, and I can understand how he feels, as this stuff is way outside the realm of mainstream thinking. However, by the time I had finished the last chapter, stuffing manure in cow horns seemed downright normal. So I thought, why not give biodynamic organics a try? Now, 13 years and many gardens later, I am totally sold on this method. There are not enough years in my life to try all the other things in this book, but I don't need to since I am so pleased with how biodynamic organics has improved the soil in my sandy garden. It is now teeming with earthworms, and my soil is becoming friable, instead of sifting through my fingers like sand on the beach. This book has been in and out of print a few times. I lent my first copy to someone and never saw it again, was elated when the book came back in print and am now more careful with my new copy. This book is a gem, and one that I refer to again and again. I have visited the Josephine Porter Institute and Perelandra, two places mentioned in the first and last chapters, just because I had to see for myself what was going on. Too often, just because we cannot measure something, we don't give it credibility. But guess what? The Earth wasn't flat until the day we devised the instruments to measure its roundness. And so biodynamic organics and many of the other farming methods outlined in this book have validity even without a "scientific" way to measure their efficacy. I measure by counting worms!

For anyone interested in organic gardening and putting life back into your dead soil, this book is fabulous. (It explains how we are killing our soil) So full of information that even the most advanced gardener will learn something new. It's an all around wonderful book as it teaches how to mend the soil to the condition that soil was intended to be, to grow healthy crops full of nutrients the way they were intended to be in order to feed the human body and supply all the vitamins and minerals needed to maintain good health. This book is a must have. Hats off to the authors for all the research and wisdom that went into this book.

An incredibly important work revealing the fundamental roll indigenous peoples had on the "paradise" that CA was when white settlers "discovered" it. Tompkins extensively researches CA's topo-geographic history by way of scientific testing, language histories, and stories gathered from indigenous elders that reveal CA was carefully tended: allowing large animals to graze through pastureland by using fire, collection and redistribution of seeds and tubers, language born directly from millenia of wisdom gained from living with the land, among other insights. There is so much we can learn about regenerating CA's environment if property owners and the state parks would only pay attention. It took two centuries for white man to catch on, only because we are at a tipping point and few, like Tompkins, are finally dedicating themselves to unburying the wisdom that went down with the genocide of a brilliant people.

This is a book that presents the importance of preserving the earth's soil using established techniques of organic or natural farming. It explains why the use of chemical fertilizers and chemical pest and disease control procedures are damaging to the earth and to those who eat the vegetables, meat, and fruits produced by chemical means.

This book points out the tragic consequences of substituting the marvels of nature for the chemical onslaught of Agra business cartels. More importantly, it shows the valiant work done by real soil scientists and real farmers whose experience at restoring land offer us all one last chance to garden and farm to produce wholesome food and thus restore health to a world now encountering major illnesses brought on by the fury of the ever increasing use of pesticides, fungicides and chemical fertilizers. Once you read this book you will understand the feeding of a growing population is quite attainable. The fundamentals to enriching the soil are amply demonstrated and apply to every tiny garden plot up to and including large cattle ranches. Phenomenal harvests are made possible by the techniques demonstrated. Healthy cattle which, under the proper grazing of free range, have a beneficial affect on the environment not to mention the high quality of the meat. This book should be required reading in every high school and should supplant the material now served up in University Soils Departments who, tragically, have let chemical firms dictate the agenda for the last generation or so.

Everyone should read this...I can't give this book enough stars! It's a slow read only because just about every page is so compelling that I have to put it down, to smile in amazement, and think about what I just read...truly astounding and I love the easy meditation time it gives me...it really is that moving. Your view on the world beneath your feet will definitely change (as vast and intriguing as the deepest ocean) and if it doesn't make you more spiritual, it will certainly make you respect the very small, living creatures this world takes for granted. It will also bring about a bit of sadness as the modern era is the first of any time/culture to treat the small so terribly. From the ancients, to Egypt, to the 1800's, the small creatures were respected (as they should be) and were even considered sacred (to protect them from the fears of the uneducated common folk). Even if you have no interest in gardening, READ THIS BOOK! You will be humbled and amazed.

When I ordered this book, I had expected that I would find a fair amount of environmental wacko content, but I had hoped that, among the nonsense, there may still be some helpful information on the science of soil, perhaps something that might truly be helpful in giving me some ideas on regenerating portions of the hundred acres of land that I will be doing something with over the next few years. I should have given up after the introduction, which was everything about passing blame for the impending destruction of the earth, and nothing whatsoever about anything that might be in any way helpful to anyone who truly wanted to do something practical with soil. Instead, doggedly I went forward through the first chapter, and even skimmed the second and third. What I found was that there is some seriously weird stuff in this book. Packing cow manure into cow horns and burying them over the winter, then digging it up and mixing it with a sort of a witches brew, stirring it so many times in one direction, then another... Eye of newt, anyone? There is little or nothing useful in this book. I don't think they even interviewed any sane people before putting this nutty book together. I doubt I'll go any further with it. Rather, I am considering doing something far more practical with this book, such as shredding it and adding it to my compost pile. It's a shame that a good tree had to die in order to publish this book. Don't waste your money. If you're interested in understanding the nature of soil, or of improving the soil that you know and love, try "Start with the Soil" by Grace Gershuny. It's an excellent text, and the author is sane.

Modern humans are sadly deficient in knowledge of the importance in the health of our soil. That health is predicated by an awareness and knowledge of the importance of the numbers and diversity of micro-organisms(mostly bacteria) in the soil and that those numbers and diversity have been decimated by the gross overuse of chemical fertilizer, pesticides and herbicides. Anyone interested in learning the needed knowledge to reverse this travesty promoted by the greed of the chemical companies must read this book. Anyone interested in improving their health, that of their loved ones and the planet must read this book.

La calidad del producto es buena, no presenta errores de impresión y el envío fue muy rápdio y óptimo. El producto es totalmente nuevo.

C'est un livre magnifique sur la nature, le terre. Il changera votre vision du monde pour toujours. Lecture pour ceux qui cherchent un espoir.

A bit boring but some information that is passed on in this book is worth a fortune!!!Therefore It’s worth buying.

impotant ideas for changing the way we garden and deal with our soil and plants. Loved the book

J'ai acheté ce livre en espérant y trouver des informations intéressantes sur la vie du sol, sa composition, etc.. Pas de chance, au fil de phrases hyper longues ponctuées de moultes disgressions sans rapport avec le sol, j'ai trouvé un ramassis d'informations et de conseils totalement empiriques comme cette technique de bourrer des cornes de bovins avec de la bouse de vache pour créer de l'humus, ou les modes d'emplois précisé pour attirer les forces cosmiques. Je regrette mon achat.