Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #304577 in Books
• Published on: 1998-10-31
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 422 pages

Customer Reviews

The soil is alive
I've just got through reading this book, it is quite a large book, and i was a little put off by that at first, but after the first two chapters i found it completely engrossing.
It is basically a research book into the method of farming and gardening known as bio-dynamics, the authors visit experts, working farms and observes biodynamic preps being made as well as giving an indepth history of biodynamics, composting and scientific understanding of biodynamic techniques.
This is a great book for anybody who is interested in bio-dynamics or is skeptical of organic/ biodynamic growing methods and wants a scientific background to their belief.
Their really is so much information in this book, that it's quite hard to do it justice in a review. There are chapters on the history of domestication and farming in America, the spread of bio-dynamic agriculture in vinyards, the political and un-ethical side of the petro-cemical fertiliser industries, landfil composting prijects, a very detailed scientific assessment of bio-dynamic methods, a chapter on the hunzas and their idillic agricutural system in the glacial valleys of the himalayas.
After reading this book and discovering the amazing facts about bacteria, bugs and earth worms, and how the soil itself is a living organism which is being grossly neglected by modern chemical-based farming methods you will have a much deeper understanding and appreciation of that brown mucky stuff that lives under trees and patios.

only criticism of the book i can give is that it doesn't give enough practical information for gardener who've read the book to apply on their own gardens, but does have an excellent bibliography and list of contacts for further information in the back.

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