YOUR GARDEN SOIL
HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF IT
by R. MILTON CARLETON

Forward

This is not a textbook or a "complete" book of soils. It is simply a practical discussion of good garden soilcall it "Gardener's Loam"how to get it, how to retain it and, of equal importance, how to make it produce maximum results for you and your plants.
I don't believe a truly complete book of soils will ever be written; the subject is too vast and complex. It would be no exaggeration to say that a hundred thick volumes would be needed to fully discuss soils.
In preparing my previous book, "Your LawnHow to Make It and Keep It," I gathered reams of research reports and up-to-date scientific data and distilled them into everyday terms and usable information. For this book the job was much tougher. There was an ocean of technical information available about soils, but with extra distillation effort the end result is, again, a book of simple, practical, usable information. (At this point let me acknowledge that in working with the final manuscripts of both of these books I benefited greatly from the invaluable editorial assistance of Herbert C. Bardes.)
You will find here everything you need to know about Gardener's Loaman ideal, man-made soil of such quality that it cannot be directly compared with native earth or with the loams and clays of the farmer's field. You will also find discussion of nutrients, organic matter, water and air, soil organisms, alkalinity, and acidity, and other related aspects of soil; this will be sufficiently informative for most of you but, for some of you, the book will only whet your appetite for further reading in scientific books. Whatever your interest, this book will give you a new appreciation and respect for the wonders of soil. There are more unsolved mysteries, more un-explored avenues in the study of soil than in any scientific field in existence. Even the human body is simple when compared with the loam outside your kitchen door.
Soil is not merely a mixture of inert mineralssand, silt, and clay. It is a community of organisms that live in every pore of a soil mass. The minerals are merely the mechanical structure. Soil itselfin lawns, flower gardens, vegetable plots, shrub plantings and so on is as alive as the gardener who tills it. A handful of loam from your garden contains more living organisms than there are human beings on the face of the earth. Soil is alive and must be treated as a living substance.
We must recognize that a garden is not a natural place in which to grow plants. It is a completely artificial environment in which we are striving for controlled, not natural, growth. We are purposely molding plants to our own end. The soil is merely one element in a deliberate program to make "Nature" serve us better.
With that foundation I share my knowledge and experience with you in this book. As you put this information to work in your own gardening efforts, I'm sure that you, too, will see and feel the magic in your garden soil.
R. Milton Carleton

Contents

Foreword
From the Ground UpA General View of Soils
Make the pH Work for You
Various Soil TestsPro and Con
What You Should Know About Nutrients
Soil FertilizersUses and Sources
Organic AND (not vs.) Inorganic Gardening
Organic Matter in Soils
Composting and Soil ConditioningMicroorganisms Live and Die for You
The Misunderstood Earthworm
Water and AirA Vital Pair
A Little Digging Goes a Long WaySpecial Soil Mixtures
Soil-Borne Plant Diseases
Harmful Soil Insects and Other Pests
Weeds and Weed Killers
Appendix

Soil Preferences of Plants (pH Readings)
Reading Foliage for Deficiency Symptoms
Estimating Topdressing Materials for Lawns
Where to Send Soil Samples for Testing
Index
168 pages

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