A Grower's Guide to Balancing Soils: A Practical Guide to Interpreting Soil Tests

by William 'Crop Doc' McKibben

Whether you’re a serious home gardener or a full-time farmer, A Growers Guide for Balancing Soils will help you expand your understanding of the science behind plant nutrition. It all starts with the soil, but, as you’ll read, just spreading compost and hoping for the best isn’t a strategy for success. Drawing on 40 years of experience using the Albrecht philosophy of balancing soils, William McKibben will walk you through a data-driven, time-tested process that starts with soil analysis, but doesn’t stop there. Productive soil that has the right balance of bio-available minerals and maximizes crop production and quality is the goal, and McKibben outlines a common-sense approach for how to get there. For example, readers will learn how build a more complete soil-health management system; balance pH consistently across your fields with mineral balancing; create more resilient crops by knowing how soil health affects disease and pest pressure; and convert raw testing data into real action. For both organic and conventional farmers, A Growers Guide for Balancing Soils dives deep into how macro-nutrients such as carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium and sulfur ― along with potassium and micronutrients (cobalt, copper, iron, manganese, nickel, and zinc) ― affect the development of healthy crops. It’s a problem-solver’s handbook for building soil health.

260 pages, Paperback

Published September 18, 2024