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Robert Pavlis

Build healthy soil and grow better plants

Robert Pavlis, a gardener for over four decades, debunks common soil myths, explores the rhizosphere, and provides a personalized soil fertility improvement program in this three-part popular science guidebook.

Healthy soil means thriving plants. Yet untangling the soil food web and optimizing your soil health is beyond most gardeners, many of whom lack an in-depth knowledge of the soil ecosystem.

Soil Science for Gardeners is an accessible, science-based guide to understanding soil fertility and, in particular, the rhizosphere – the thin layer of liquid and soil surrounding plant roots, so vital to plant health. 

 Coverage includes: 

 • Soil biology and chemistry and how plants and soil interact 

 • Common soil health problems, including analyzing soil's fertility and plant nutrients 

 • The creation of a personalized plan for improving your soil fertility, including setting priorities and goals in a cost-effective, realistic time frame. 

 • Creating the optimal conditions for nature to do the heavy lifting of building soil fertility 

Written for the home gardener, market gardener, and micro-farmer, Soil Science for Gardeners is packed with information to help you grow thriving plants.

David Skulski

New Society Publishers

Garden Science Series

Soil Science for Gardeners: Working with Nature to Build Soil Health

A little plant science grows a long way 

Plant Science for Gardeners empowers growers to analyze common problems, find solutions, and make better decisions in the garden for optimal plant health and productivity.

Most gardeners learn by accumulating rules – water once a week, never dry out snowdrop bulbs, prune lilacs after flowering, plant garlic in October—the list is endless.

Rules take years to learn and yet leave you floundering when the unexpected strikes and plants look unhealthy, produce poorly, or die.

There is a better way.

By understanding the basic biology of how plants grow, you can become a thinking gardener with the confidence to problem solve for optimized plant health and productivity. Learn the science and ditch the rules! Coverage includes:

 • The biology of roots, stems, leaves, and flowers

 • Understanding how plants function as whole organisms

 • The role of nutrients and inputs

 • Vegetables, flowers, grasses, and trees and shrubs

 • Propagation and genetics

 • Sidebars that explode common gardening myths

 • Tips for evaluating plant problems and finding solutions.

Whether you're a home gardener, micro-farmer, market gardener, or homesteader, this entertaining and accessible guide shortens the learning curve and gives you the knowledge to succeed no matter where you live.

AWARDS

 • SILVER (tie) | 2023 IPPY Awards: Science

Plant Science for Gardeners: Essentials for Growing Better Plants

Create your own compost and grow better plants.

With breathtaking clarity, Compost Science for Gardeners demystifies composting practices and helps readers determine the best technique for their unique situation. This comprehensive science-based book is your key to building healthier soil and growing better plants.

Using plain language and easy-to-follow instructions, this essential resource distills and blends the latest scientific research with the author's many decades of knowledge and experience into manageable form, debunking a host of common gardening myths along the way. Learn about:

 • The role of composting in the ecological cycle

 • Compostable materials to incorporate and those to avoid

 • Browns and greens vs the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio

 • The full range of composting methods, including cold and hot composting; composting in piles, bins, and tumblers; and pit and trench composting

 • Keyhole gardening, food digesters, vermicomposting, bokashi, eco-enzyme fermentation, and more

 • The relative merits and impact on the environment of each composting technique

 • Using finished compost to improve soil health

Anyone can compost. Whether you are a balcony or backyard gardener, market gardener, small-scale farmer, or homesteader, or even if you are simply looking for a way to keep organic matter out of the landfill, this book will show you how to do it simply, safely, and sensibly.

Compost Science for Gardeners: Simple Methods for Nutrient-Rich Soil

Useful and practical gardening advice.

 –Jeff Lowenfels, author, the Teaming Series and DIY Autoflowering Cannabis

Microscopic organisms are as important to plant growth as water and light. Microbe Science for Gardeners highlights the essential role of microbes in plant biosystems and soil health, providing practical how-to gardening advice for enhancing plant microbiomes, and debunking common gardening myths.

Going beyond soil biology to examine the crucial role of microorganisms in cultivating a productive garden, this accessible guide covers:

 • The interrelationships in microbe populations and between microbes and plants

 • Understanding microbes such as bacteria, yeast, mycorrhizal fungi, and protozoa, both in the rhizosphere and above ground

 • How common practices such as tilling, crop rotation, and mulching affect the microbe community

 • How the savvy gardener can encourage beneficial microorganisms while discouraging those that cause disease or other undesirable effects

 • An objective analysis of popularized practices such as controlling fungal-to- bacterial ratios and applying biostimulants, compost tea, or plant probiotics

 • Prevention and cures for dozens of bacterial, viral, and fungal plant diseases.

Whether you're a home gardener, market gardener, or micro-farmer, Microbe Science for Gardeners will help you leverage the incredible power of the mighty microbe to grow healthy, strong, thriving plants.

Microbe Science for Gardeners: Secrets to Better Plant Health


Dive deep into the fascinating realm of garden science with Master Gardener Robert Pavlis as he unlocks the mysteries of what makes your garden thrive and flourish. With cultivation techniques informed by plant physiology, chemistry, and botany, the Garden Science series equips both novice and seasoned gardeners with the knowledge and insights to grow thriving, bountiful gardens.
