Teaming with Microbes: A Gardener's Guide to the Soil Food Web [ILLUSTRATED] (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Wayne Lewis (Author) "GIVEN ITS VITAL IMPORTANCE to our hobby, it is amazing that most of us don't venture beyond the understanding that good soil supports plant life,..." (more)
Key Phrases: Judith Hoersting, Courtesy Tom Hoffman Graphic Design, Dennis Kunkel Microscopy (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"All gardeners who take this important book seriously will learn how to make their gardening practices more effective." -- HortIdeas, September 2006

"Lowenfels oh-so-thorough investigation has resulted in one heck of a good book...written it in a style so on-the-spot clear and easy to grasp that my dog, Sadie, could understand it." -- The Oregonian, August 10, 2006

"Read this book and you'll never think of soil the same way." -- Anchorage Daily News, September 14, 2006

"This is sure to gain that well-thumbed look than any good garden book acquires as it is referred to repeatedly over the years." -- Pacific Horticulture, Fall 2006

"This is the most complete book on the market about biological or organic methods in horticulture...highly recommended for all gardeners, landscapers, or anyone taking care of a lawn or garden." -- Nature's Way Resources, October 11, 2006

"Sure, it's a gardening book, but it has all the drama and suspense of an extraterrestrial thriller. A cast of characters without eyeballs or backbones. Battle scenes with bizarre creatures devouring one another. Only this book is about as terrestrial as it gets."
—Debra McKinney, Anchorage Daily News, September 14, 2006 (Anchorage Daily News )

Sure, it's a gardening book, but it has all the drama and suspense of an extraterrestrial thriller. A cast of characters without eyeballs or backbones. Battle scenes with bizarre creatures devouring one another. Only this book is about as terrestrial as it gets. Debra McKinney, Anchorage Daily News, September 14, 2006 (Anchorage Daily News )

Review

"All good gardeners know healthy plants start with healthy soil. But why? And how? In Teaming with Microbes Lowenfels and Lewis reveal the new research in the most practical and accessible way." Kym Pokorny, The Oregonian (The Oregonian )

"Sure, it's a gardening book, but it has all the drama and suspense of an extraterrestrial thriller.... Read this book and you'll never look at soil the same way." (Anchorage Daily News )

"The authors have given gardeners an inside scoop on the scientific research supporting organic gardening." (Washington Gardener )

"This book has all the best dirt on all the best dirt. It...explains the basics of good soil practices, and it's written especially for home gardeners."  (Seattle Post-Intelligencer )

"For years, we've thought of the 'food chains' in our environment. Lowenfels and Lewis explain an even more wonderful idea: the 'soil food web.' Read Teaming with Microbes and keep it or give it to the library so others may learn of this astounding way to grow vegetables, trees, lawns."

(Rockland Courier-Gazette )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 196 pages
• Publisher: Timber Press, Incorporated (July 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0881927775
• ISBN-13: 978-0881927771
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #12,659 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #2 in	Books > Home & Garden > Gardening & Horticulture > Soil
  #2 in	Books > Science > Biological Sciences > Biology > Microbiology
  #2 in	Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Biological Sciences > Biology > Microbiology

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally an answer to my questions, April 17, 2007

By	Deirdre NYC - See all my reviews

I've always known that there was more than meets the eye in all that dirt, and now I know what it is. It's life. Between the tiny pieces of rock (minerals) and the decaying plant matter, right next to the roots of plants and the above the clay level, lives billions of organisms. Each one, be it bacteria, fungi, nematodes, protozoa, worms, grubs or rodents, has a function in the soil.

Teaming with Microbes: A Gardener's Guide to the Soil Food Web by Jeff Lowenfels and Wayne Lewis is bursting with information helpful to gardeners. Using a science-based approach they characterize the roll of each inhabitant and component of soil and explain its contribution to the "soil food web." They even include 19 helpful rules to keep your soil fertile without fertilizers and to recover the life in damaged soil.

Questions about the type of compost (brown or green) needed to rebuild damaged soil are fully answered. They make a compelling argument against rototilling soil have step by step recipes for producing healthful compost teas.

I loved their thorough approach and because I've only been gardening for a few years, I finally feel like I have a place to go for definitive answers that eluded me before. My veggie garden needed something and I hope that the I can boost my soil and my output this year based on the information in this book. Time will tell, but this was a great book to point me in the direction that I hope fills my freezer and my stomach with food from my garden this summer.

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars COMMON GROUND, February 9, 2008

By	Tod F. Forman "tod" (boston) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It would be difficult to resist the clarion call Jeff Lowenfels has issued on behalf of all the animated wealth he has unearthed at garden level. Ground zero is explosive with activity: diminutive, robust and markedly determined though vulnerable, hidden, silent. Microbes and Insects and Worms, oh my!
Healthy plant life is dependent on healthy soil. Healthy soil is dependent on the interaction of a vigorous "soil web". That is a complicated tangle of simple life-forms vying for subsistence, existence or dominance. Out of this chaos come the energy, nutrients and protection that sustain a fertile root and leaf horizon. Who knew?
The soil web has existed for eons but never in anticipation of fertilizers, rototilling, genetic engineering or industrial agriculture. With innocent abandon we commit assault and battery on the land that feeds us [and it took a ^@*$# lawyer to point that out!]. Well...attention must be paid!
This little book pays attention. It's a friendly affair replete with drawings, graphs, compost recipes, a helpful summary and homey photos provided by a pretty indulgent wife.
You might enhance your appreciation by attending one of Jeff's lectures. He is probably on some promotional circuit. Consult the event calendar of your regional horticultural society.
This just may be fertile soil for a new religious movement, a seminal hybrid of nature and science without the blight of divisional rancor. There's just no ground for hypocrisy, apostasy or MiracleGro.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent resource, November 9, 2006

By	M. Pulse (Rochester, WA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is revolutionizing the way I garden. I have learned so much about how to work with the soil and not be concerned about the bugs I see there. I am composting with knowledge and a purpose instead of composting just because. Highly recommend this book for beginners or long-term gardeners. This will challenge the way you have gardened...in a good way.