Gardening in Clay Soil: Storey's Country Wisdom Bulletin A-140 (Storey Publishing Bulletin) [Paperback]

Sara Pitzer (Author)

Book Description

Series: Storey Publishing Bulletin | Publication Date: January 8, 1995

Since 1973, Storey's Country Wisdom Bulletins have offered practical, hands-on instructions designed to help readers master dozens of country living skills quickly and easily. There are now more than 170 titles in this series, and their remarkable popularity reflects the common desire of country and city dwellers alike to cultivate personal independence in everyday life.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Since the 1973 publication of Storey's first Country Wisdom Bulletin, our commitment to preserving the arts, crafts, and skills of country life has never wavered. We now have more than 200 titles in this series of 32-page publications, and their remarkable popularity reflects the common desire of country and city dwellers alike to cultivate personal independence in everyday life.

Storey's Country Wisdom Bulletins contain practical, hands-on instructions designed to help you master dozens of country living skills quickly and easily. From traditional skills to the newest techniques, Storey's Bulletins provide a foundation of earth-friendly information for the way you want to live today.

About the Author

Sara Pitzer is the author of Homegrown Whole Grains and more than a dozen cookbooks and travel guides. She has studied and written about grains in Amish country in central Pennsylvania, in the southeastern United States, and in California. More recently, she has studied small-scale rice growing in Thailand and quinoa production in Peru. She lives in North Carolina.

Product Details

• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC (January 8, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 088266378X
• ISBN-13: 978-0882663784
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #381,193 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #46 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Home & Garden > Gardening & Horticulture > General

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review of Gardening in Clay Soil, August 3, 2005

By 

M. Duensing "desert rat" (Victorville, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Gardening in Clay Soil: Storey's Country Wisdom Bulletin A-140 (Storey Publishing Bulletin) (Paperback)

This small, easy to read pamphlet lays out the exact how to's and what not to do working with clay soil. Clay soil can be so frustrating to work with but with the help of this book I feel that I can be much more successful in improving my soil thereby enjoying greater success in my gardening.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars good if short, May 25, 2008

By 

ChaseBase (Maine, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Gardening in Clay Soil: Storey's Country Wisdom Bulletin A-140 (Storey Publishing Bulletin) (Paperback)

I was not sure about these Storey County pamphlets, since they obviously enjoy a high profit margin despite their lower cost. But I haven't been able to reproduce this information on clay soils after looking in several longer texts.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A quick, short introduction to gardening on clay, April 8, 2011

By 

Silea (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Gardening in Clay Soil: Storey's Country Wisdom Bulletin A-140 (Storey Publishing Bulletin) (Kindle Edition)

This bulletin is pretty short, as all Storey's Country Wisdom Bulletins are. If you are looking for a thorough, complete, exhaustive guide, glance at the page count for this booklet and move along.

That said, there's a lot of useful information in this book. It discusses the various soil amendments you can use to change the texture of your soil, including how they'll affect the soil pH and how often you'll need to re-apply them. (And yes, it does say that one option is to truck in a whole new layer of top soil, because it is one way to deal with the problem, but it also mentions how expensive that would be.) It also discusses when and how to work with the soil to avoid turning your yard into a giant brick.

One thing i didn't like, though, was the suggestion to grow things like mint in order to break up the soil. The author suggests that you can simply pull the mint out when you're ready to plant something else there, but in my experience, getting rid of mint is much harder than that.