Build healthy soil and grow better plants

Robert Pavlis, a gardener for over four decades, debunks common soil myths, explores the rhizosphere, and provides a personalized soil fertility improvement program in this three-part popular science guidebook.

Healthy soil means thriving plants. Yet untangling the soil food web and optimizing your soil health is beyond most gardeners, many of whom lack an in-depth knowledge of the soil ecosystem.

Soil Science for Gardeners is an accessible, science-based guide to understanding soil fertility and, in particular, the rhizosphere - the thin layer of liquid and soil surrounding plant roots, so vital to plant health.

• Coverage includes: Soil biology and chemistry and how plants and soil interact
• Common soil health problems, including analyzing soil's fertility and plant nutrients
• The creation of a personalized plan for improving your soil fertility, including setting priorities and goals in a cost-effective, realistic time frame.
• Creating the optimal conditions for nature to do the heavy lifting of building soil fertility

Written for the home gardener, market gardener, and micro-farmer, Soil Science for Gardeners is packed with information to help you grow thriving plants.

Build healthy soil and grow better plants

Robert Pavlis, a gardener for over four decades, debunks common soil myths, explores the rhizosphere, and provides a personalized soil fertility improvement program in this three-part popular science guidebook.

Healthy soil means thriving plants. Yet untangling the soil food web and optimizing your soil health is beyond most gardeners, many of whom lack an in-depth knowledge of the soil ecosystem.

Soil Science for Gardeners is an accessible, science-based guide to understanding soil fertility and, in particular, the rhizosphere - the thin layer of liquid and soil surrounding plant roots, so vital to plant health.

• Soil biology and chemistry and how plants and soil interact
• Common soil health problems, including analyzing soil's fertility and plant nutrients
• The creation of a personalized plan for improving your soil fertility, including setting priorities and goals in a cost-effective, realistic time frame.
• Creating the optimal conditions for nature to do the heavy lifting of building soil fertility

Written for the home gardener, market gardener, and micro-farmer, Soil Science for Gardeners is packed with information to help you grow thriving plants.

Everyone's guide to using the power of science to produce healthier and tastier fruits and vegetables

From garden to fork, Food Science for Gardeners is everyone's guide to optimizing the quality of garden produce and preparing the most delicious and nutritious food possible.

Beginning with a high-level overview of food quality and nutrient density, this invaluable resource then takes a deep, but accessible, dive into:

• The essential nutrient groups as well as phytonutrients and their anti-oxidant properties
• Factors affecting food safety such as pesticides, microplastics, bacteria, and other forms of chemical and biological contamination
• The pros and cons of a host of approaches to food storage and preservation, as well as an extensive variety of cooking methods
• Gardening techniques for growing nutritious food
• A complete section dedicated to the best growing methods for common fruits and vegetables.

Whether you're a home gardener, local food enthusiast, or small-scale farmer, Food Science for Gardeners demystifies the science of food, enabling you to put the best quality vegetables and fruits on your plate.

Build a natural pond for wildlife, beauty, and quiet contemplation

Typical backyard ponds are a complicated mess of pipes, pumps, filters, and nasty chemicals designed to adjust pH and keep algae at bay. Hardly the bucolic, natural ecosystem beloved by dragonflies, frogs, and songbirds.

The antidote is a natural pond, free of hassle, cost, and complexity and designed as a fully functional ecosystem, ideal for biodiversity, swimming, irrigation, and quiet contemplation.

Building Natural Ponds is the first step-by-step guide to designing and building natural ponds that use no pumps, filters, chemicals, or electricity and mimic native ponds in both aesthetics and functionality. Highly illustrated with how-to drawings and photographs, coverage includes:

• Understanding pond ecosystems and natural algae control
• Planning, design, siting, and pond aesthetics
• Step-by-step guidance for construction, plants and fish, and maintenance and trouble shooting
• Scaling up to large ponds, pools, bogs, and rain gardens.

Whether you're a backyard gardener looking to add a small serene natural water feature or a homesteader with visions of a large pond for fish, swimming, and irrigation, Building Natural Ponds is the complete guide to building ponds in tune with nature, where plants, insects, and amphibians thrive in blissful serenity.

Robert Pavlis , a Master Gardener with over 40 years of gardening experience, is owner and developer of Aspen Grove Gardens, a six-acre botanical garden featuring over 2,500 varieties of plants. A well-respected speaker and teacher, Robert has published articles in Mother Earth News , Ontario Gardening magazine, the widely read blog GardenMyths.com, which explodes common gardening myths and gardening information site GardenFundamentals.com.

A little plant science grows a long way

Plant Science for Gardeners empowers growers to analyze common problems, find solutions, and make better decisions in the garden for optimal plant health and productivity.

Most gardeners learn by accumulating rules - water once a week, never dry out snowdrop bulbs, prune lilacs after flowering, plant garlic in October--the list is endless.

Rules take years to learn and yet leave you floundering when the unexpected strikes and plants look unhealthy, produce poorly, or die.

There is a better way.

By understanding the basic biology of how plants grow, you can become a thinking gardener with the confidence to problem solve for optimized plant health and productivity. Learn the science and ditch the rules! Coverage includes:

• The biology of roots, stems, leaves, and flowers
• Understanding how plants function as whole organisms
• The role of nutrients and inputs
• Vegetables, flowers, grasses, and trees and shrubs
• Propagation and genetics
• Sidebars that explode common gardening myths
• Tips for evaluating plant problems and finding solutions.

Whether you're a home gardener, micro-farmer, market gardener, or homesteader, this entertaining and accessible guide shortens the learning curve and gives you the knowledge to succeed no matter where you live.

AWARDS

• SILVER (tie) 2023 IPPY Awards: Science

Useful and practical gardening advice.
-Jeff Lowenfels, author, the Teaming Series and DIY Autoflowering Cannabis

Microscopic organisms are as important to plant growth as water and light. Microbe Science for Gardeners highlights the essential role of microbes in plant biosystems and soil health, providing practical how-to gardening advice for enhancing plant microbiomes, and debunking common gardening myths.

Going beyond soil biology to examine the crucial role of microorganisms in cultivating a productive garden, this accessible guide covers:

• The interrelationships in microbe populations and between microbes and plants
• Understanding microbes such as bacteria, yeast, mycorrhizal fungi, and protozoa, both in the rhizosphere and above ground
• How common practices such as tilling, crop rotation, and mulching affect the microbe community
• How the savvy gardener can encourage beneficial microorganisms while discouraging those that cause disease or other undesirable effects
• An objective analysis of popularized practices such as controlling fungal-to- bacterial ratios and applying biostimulants, compost tea, or plant probiotics
• Prevention and cures for dozens of bacterial, viral, and fungal plant diseases.

Whether you're a home gardener, market gardener, or micro-farmer, Microbe Science for Gardeners will help you leverage the incredible power of the mighty microbe to grow healthy, strong, thriving plants.

Turning wisdom on its head, Robert Pavlis dives deep into traditional garden advice and debunks the myths and misconceptions that abound. He asks critical questions and uses science-based information to understand plants and their environment.

Armed with the truth, Robert then turns this knowledge into easy-to-follow advice:

• Is fall the best time to clean the garden?


• Do bloom boosters work?
• Will citronella plants reduce mosquitoes in the garden?


• Do pine needles acidify soil?


• Should tomatoes be suckered?


• Should trees be staked at planting time?


• Can burlap keep your trees warm in winter?


• Will a pebble tray increase humidity for houseplants?

Garden Myths is a must-read for anyone who wants to use environmentally sound practices. This fascinating and informative book will help you understand plants better, reduce unnecessary work, convince you to buy fewer products and help you enjoy gardening more.

Gardeners just like you have commented on Garden Myths Book 1

This book has simplified my gardening; saving me tons of work and plenty of money. An easy, enjoyable read. I highly recommend this book., P.J.

This is a must have book for your gardening library., Daryle Thomas

Great book. I have purchased several copies because I keep giving them away to friends trying to help educate them to stop wasting their time and money following wrong advice., Karen Kroesen

More information than any other gardening book I've ever read. Because I read this book before I started my garden, I've saved an incredible amount of money, Stacy Hsu

You will enjoy and learn so much. Mr. Pavlis explains the science in a way that makes it very understandable., Rams Fan

Favorite Book. I wish he wrote more books because I like the way he breaks down a subject and makes it easy to understand., Craig Cardoni

One of the best books on gardening and, trust me, I have many. The author is a true gardening iconoclast who explains ideas succinctly and pleasurably. Highly recommended., AstroGremlin

A must have for all gardeners.... The author debunks a hundred garden myths logically and scientifically., Richard

My favorite quote from him is Look to nature for answers - mother nature already knows how to garden, Helen L.

Turning wisdom on its head, Robert Pavlis dives deep into traditional garden advice and debunks the myths and misconceptions that abound. He asks critical questions and uses science-based information to understand plants and their environment.

Armed with the truth, Robert then turns this knowledge into easy-to-follow advice:

• Do tomatoes ripen faster if you remove leaves?


• Will extra phosphorus increase flowering?


• Does salt and vinegar kill weeds?


• Should you fertilize at planting time?


• Does companion planting work?


• Is drip irrigation better than sprinklers?


• Are natives better for pollinators?


• Should you replace soil in containers each year?

Garden Myths is a must-read for anyone who wants to use environmentally sound practices. This fascinating and informative book will help you understand plants better, reduce unnecessary work, convince you to buy fewer products and help you enjoy gardening more.

Gardeners just like you have commented on Garden Myths Book 1

This book has simplified my gardening; saving me tons of work and plenty of money. An easy, enjoyable read. I highly recommend this book., P.J.

This is a must have book for your gardening library., Daryle Thomas

Great book. I have purchased several copies because I keep giving them away to friends trying to help educate them to stop wasting their time and money following wrong advice., Karen Kroesen

More information than any other gardening book I've ever read. Because I read this book before I started my garden, I've saved an incredible amount of money, Stacy Hsu

You will enjoy and learn so much. Mr. Pavlis explains the science in a way that makes it very understandable., Rams Fan

Favorite Book. I wish he wrote more books because I like the way he breaks down a subject and makes it easy to understand., Craig Cardoni

One of the best books on gardening and, trust me, I have many. The author is a true gardening iconoclast who explains ideas succinctly and pleasurably. Highly recommended., AstroGremlin

A must have for all gardeners.... The author debunks a hundred garden myths logically and scientifically., Richard

My favorite quote from him is Look to nature for answers - mother nature already knows how to garden, Helen L.