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Building Soil: A Down-to-Earth Approach: Natural Solutions for Better Gardens & Yards
How do you recognize healthy soil? How much can your existing soil be improved? What are the best amendments to use for your soil? Let Building Soil answer your questions and be your guide on gardening from the ground up! Fertilizing, tilling, weed management, and irrigation all affect the quality of your soil. Using author Elizabeth Murphy's detailed instructions, anyone can become a successful soil-based gardener, whether you want to start a garden from scratch or improve an existing garden.
If you want methods that won't break your back, are good for the environment, and create high-yielding and beautiful gardens of all shapes and sizes, this is the book for you! Create classic landscape gardens, grow a high-yielding orchard, nurture naturally beautiful lawns, raise your household veggies, or run a profitable farm. A soil-based approach allows you to see not just the plants, but the living system that grows them. Soil-building practices promote more ecologically friendly gardening by reducing fertilizer and pesticide use, sequestering greenhouse gases, and increasing overall garden productivity.
Building Soil is a simple book full of practical, up-to-date information about building healthy soils. Simple methods perfect for the home gardener's use put healthy, organic soil within everyone's reach. You don't need a degree in soil management to understand this book; you only need a yard or garden and the desire to improve it at the most basic level.
If you want methods that won't break your back, are good for the environment, and create high-yielding and beautiful gardens of all shapes and sizes, this is the book for you! Create classic landscape gardens, grow a high-yielding orchard, nurture naturally beautiful lawns, raise your household veggies, or run a profitable farm. A soil-based approach allows you to see not just the plants, but the living system that grows them. Soil-building practices promote more ecologically friendly gardening by reducing fertilizer and pesticide use, sequestering greenhouse gases, and increasing overall garden productivity.
Building Soil is a simple book full of practical, up-to-date information about building healthy soils. Simple methods perfect for the home gardener's use put healthy, organic soil within everyone's reach. You don't need a degree in soil management to understand this book; you only need a yard or garden and the desire to improve it at the most basic level.
- GenresGardeningNonfiction
200 pages, Paperback
First published February 15, 2015
67 people are currently reading
443 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Murphy
1 book2 followersElizabeth Murphy is a soil scientist, writer, and organic farmer/gardener who believes that the future of our planet depends on bringing life to soil, wherever we are. She has worked on organic farms, with urban gardens, as a Small Farms agricultural extension agent, and in agroecological research. With twenty years of hands-on practical experience and the latest research in soil health to back her up, she shares the simple truth that to grow more, we need to do less. A living soil grows naturally bountiful gardens. Based in Tacoma, Washington her love of soil and farming takes her on adventures around the world. Follow her blog at dirtsecrets.com.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
January 7, 2015
“There is something in our very nature that draws us to soil.“
BUILDING SOIL: A DOWN-TO-EARTH APPROACH is written by someone who is passionate about the subject. And that's good news. The author has studied soil science extensively—both in her own gardens as well as at the university level.
Clearly, the author loves to work in the soil - she's not just a theoretician. She describes working with her very first garden in Oakland California, at a neighborhood community garden, where “We packed the worm bins with scraps from our kitchen and saw are plots transformed with gooey black compost the worms provided.”
There's just something about digging in soil. As the author puts it, “There is something in our very nature that draws us to soil.“ Believe it or not, for serious gardeners working in soil is like a love affair. I'm not kidding—if you’re a gardener, you know exactly what I mean. If you’re not a gardener—get with the program!
The overall theme of this book is a practical one. That is, how to transform your soil to be a "breathing, eating, growing, digesting, dying, and throbbing organism.“ In other words, just like there are wonderfully living things above the soil, you have similarly vibrant living things below the soil. The author wants you to understand how to make the soil thrive to the greatest extent possible.
The author spends a fair amount of time explaining to the reader exactly what makes up soil. She homes in on the really critical part of soil--that is, the organic part of soil. And within that organic part of soil, she points out that "only 5% of that is actually alive.“ In terms of whole composition then, this means that less than 0.5 percent of the entire soil is living. And here's the real key: “That mighty 0.5 percent of a soil that lives and breathes at any time is a powerhouse of activity affect vastly outweighs is proportional size or weight.“
For me, the most helpful chapter was the one called, “Guiding Principles For The Soil Grower.“ In this chapter, Elizabeth explains how to create and sustain healthy soils. What you want to do is to make your garden like a sponge--not like a sieve. And the way that you make your garden a sponge is to provide organic matter.
There are lots of practical tips on how to promote a living healthy soil. One thing that I never thought of is to cover the soil: “Walk out into a meadow or forest and look at the ground. What you won't see is the soil. In nature, the ground is covered.“ Another huge point relates to tilling your soil. You don't want to overdo it--a little bit is helpful, but constant tilling will discourage the vibrancy that you are trying to achieve.
All in all, BUILDING SOIL: A DOWN-TO-EARTH is a tremendous resource. Elizabeth Murphy clearly has a superb scientific background—she's established her credentials as an expert in this field. But also, she provides lots of practical tips to help the common gardener. I really love this book. Highly recommend!
BUILDING SOIL: A DOWN-TO-EARTH APPROACH is written by someone who is passionate about the subject. And that's good news. The author has studied soil science extensively—both in her own gardens as well as at the university level.
Clearly, the author loves to work in the soil - she's not just a theoretician. She describes working with her very first garden in Oakland California, at a neighborhood community garden, where “We packed the worm bins with scraps from our kitchen and saw are plots transformed with gooey black compost the worms provided.”
There's just something about digging in soil. As the author puts it, “There is something in our very nature that draws us to soil.“ Believe it or not, for serious gardeners working in soil is like a love affair. I'm not kidding—if you’re a gardener, you know exactly what I mean. If you’re not a gardener—get with the program!
The overall theme of this book is a practical one. That is, how to transform your soil to be a "breathing, eating, growing, digesting, dying, and throbbing organism.“ In other words, just like there are wonderfully living things above the soil, you have similarly vibrant living things below the soil. The author wants you to understand how to make the soil thrive to the greatest extent possible.
The author spends a fair amount of time explaining to the reader exactly what makes up soil. She homes in on the really critical part of soil--that is, the organic part of soil. And within that organic part of soil, she points out that "only 5% of that is actually alive.“ In terms of whole composition then, this means that less than 0.5 percent of the entire soil is living. And here's the real key: “That mighty 0.5 percent of a soil that lives and breathes at any time is a powerhouse of activity affect vastly outweighs is proportional size or weight.“
For me, the most helpful chapter was the one called, “Guiding Principles For The Soil Grower.“ In this chapter, Elizabeth explains how to create and sustain healthy soils. What you want to do is to make your garden like a sponge--not like a sieve. And the way that you make your garden a sponge is to provide organic matter.
There are lots of practical tips on how to promote a living healthy soil. One thing that I never thought of is to cover the soil: “Walk out into a meadow or forest and look at the ground. What you won't see is the soil. In nature, the ground is covered.“ Another huge point relates to tilling your soil. You don't want to overdo it--a little bit is helpful, but constant tilling will discourage the vibrancy that you are trying to achieve.
All in all, BUILDING SOIL: A DOWN-TO-EARTH is a tremendous resource. Elizabeth Murphy clearly has a superb scientific background—she's established her credentials as an expert in this field. But also, she provides lots of practical tips to help the common gardener. I really love this book. Highly recommend!
May 19, 2018
This is a pretty solid intro to soil science for the layperson.
April 19, 2025
So good and so useful for understanding the literal foundation of gardening. It doesn't matter what your gardening style is, this is very relevant. I have read all or part of a dozen gardening books and this is in my top 3.
The focus of the book is on teaching principles that can be applied broadly rather than a specific formula that might not be relevant to your soil's needs. It teaches:
1 the importance of soil
2 how to identify good soil and,
3 how to know what to do to improve the soil you have.
A great handbook and an easier read than most.
The focus of the book is on teaching principles that can be applied broadly rather than a specific formula that might not be relevant to your soil's needs. It teaches:
1 the importance of soil
2 how to identify good soil and,
3 how to know what to do to improve the soil you have.
A great handbook and an easier read than most.
April 14, 2023
A great overall guide to building living, friable, wonderful soil. I like the fact the author focuses mainly on adding organic matter. I have found this to be a beneficial strategy in my own garden. Composting, vermicomposting, cover crops, and more are covered as natural ways to build soil. All good information throughout the book.
March 7, 2024
I can definitely see the value in this book but it wasn't for me. Like two thirds or more was information I already know from learning about permaculture, and the other third was serious soil science that demands getting your soil analyzed by a lab, and I just don't have the mental capacity for that right now.
July 16, 2017
I like reading science and gardening books but this one left things to be desired. While there's good info in the book it tends to get repetitive and it read like either a magazine article or 6th grade science book.
May 12, 2021
The author has a passion for the subject, and I very much enjoyed reading this book on one of my favorite topics.
I heard the author on a gardening podcast. She is very articulate, and communicates her passion for soil science.
I heard the author on a gardening podcast. She is very articulate, and communicates her passion for soil science.
June 26, 2017
Author breaks down the science behind good soil for gardens. Need to re-read
February 25, 2020
Interesting and accessible!
November 19, 2020
A fast read, slightly repetitive, but with enough info I could tell would be really handy.
March 5, 2022
Good, clear, science-based book on creating the best soil for your garden.
March 27, 2022
Soil science is new to me & there is a lot of info here, good pictures and data tables = good reference book.
March 13, 2022
Black gold. I've had Building Soil on my shelf the past year, dipping into it periodically, and this has been the overall most concise book on cultivating healthy soil I've come across so far. Several good techniques are covered, and with a solid foundation about nutrients and soil composition.
April 19, 2018
I received this book, for free, in exchange for an honest review.
This book is a very in depth overview on soil management.
It contained everything I expected and more. It will be a reference I turn to again and again
This book is a very in depth overview on soil management.
It contained everything I expected and more. It will be a reference I turn to again and again
July 23, 2019
This was an excellent resource! I learned a lot about cultivating the soil that I'm sure will help my organic garden for years to come. The basic intro to soil competition was very interesting and helped tie together concepts that I had been reading about in other articles.
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August 30, 2015Building Soil is great for garden-sized plots. The author makes everything make sense, and gives options so you can figure out the level of intervention you are most likely to maintain over time.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews