Teaming with Microbes

Winner of the Garden Writers Association Gold Award for Best Book Writing

Smart gardeners know that soil is anything but an inert substance. Healthy soil is teeming with life—not just earthworms and insects, but a staggering multitude of bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms. When we use chemical fertilizers, we injure the microbial life that sustains healthy plants, and thus become increasingly dependent on an arsenal of artificial substances, many of them toxic to humans as well as other forms of life. But there is an alternative to this vicious circle: to garden in a way that strengthens, rather than destroys, the soil food web—the complex world of soil-dwelling organisms whose interactions create a nurturing environment for plants. By eschewing jargon and overly technical language, the authors make the benefits of cultivating the soil food web available to a wide audience, from devotees of organic gardening techniques to weekend gardeners who simply want to grow healthy, vigorous plants without resorting to chemicals.

This revised edition updates the original text and includes two completely new chapters—on mycorrhizae (beneficial associations fungi form with green-leaved plants) and archaea (singled-celled organisms once thought to be allied to bacteria).

Table of Contents
 
Part 1. The Basic Science
Chapter 1. What Is The Soil Food Web and Why Should Gardeners Care?
Chapter 2. Classic Soil Science
Chapter 3. Bacteria
Chapter 4. Archaea
Chapter 5. Fungi
Chapter 6. Algae and Slime Molds
Chapter 7. Protozoa
Chapter 8. Nematodes
Chapter 9. Arthropods
Chapter 10. Earthworms
Chapter 11. Gastropods
Chapter 12. Reptiles, Mammals, and Birds
 
Part 2. Applying Soil Food Web Science to Yard and Garden Care
Chapter 13. How the Soil Food Web Applies to Gardening
Chapter 14. What Do Your Soil Food Webs Look Like?
Chapter 15. Tools for Restoration and Maintenance
Chapter 16. Compost
Chapter 17. Mulch
Chapter 18. Compost Teas
Chapter 19. Mycorrhizal Fungi
Chapter 20. The Lawn
Chapter 21. Maintaining Trees, Shrubs, and Perennials
Chapter 22. Growing Annuals and Vegetables
Chapter 23. A Simple Soil Food Web Garden Calendar
Chapter 24. No One Ever Fertilized an Old Growth Forest
Appendix. The Soil Food Web Gardening Rules