Do you worry about the soil in your backyard or home garden? While I live in a state known for its fertile land, it doesn’t mean that all our soil is excellent everywhere. Some areas of the state have rich, fantastic dirt, where others, like my own, are mostly clay. It can make growing certain things in our garden frustrating at times, especially when we have to mix in bagged dirt, which can become very expensive very quickly. For those of us trying to save money while growing our own food, this can make things a bit tricky at times. Wouldn’t it be great if we had a way to control the dirt we use for growing our plants? Luckily, I recently had the opportunity to review a complimentary copy of a new book that seemed perfect for homeowners and gardeners like myself – Start with Soil: Simple Steps for a Thriving Garden by Juliet Sargeant.
Start with Soil: What is It
Are you looking for a way to jumpstart your garden this year? If so, we think you will love Start with Soil: Simple Steps for a Thriving Garden. Here is what the publisher has to say about this new book:
Transform your garden from the ground up with this practical guide to soil.
Any thriving garden starts with good soil: whether you’re growing vibrant herbaceous borders or bountiful vegetable beds. And while gardeners all appreciate the soil beneath their feet, many are still perplexed by how it works.
In Start with Soil, award-winning garden designer Juliet Sargeant challenges you to take your soil seriously, reveals its hidden wonders and gives you the tools to improve your soil health and harness its power.
The science of soil is explained without the jargon: learn how soil works and how climate change is impacting its health.
Get to know your own soil with easy at-home testing, explanations about how soil changes throughout the year, and quick-guides to the types of growing mediums we use in gardening – from composts to house plants, hydroponics to sand gardens.
Follow Juliet’s advice for gardening for better soil, with tried-and-tested methods for making simple compost, feeding your soil, protecting your soil, and introductions to No Dig gardening, Hugelkultur and rain gardens.
Understand how plants help the soil and choose the perfect plants for your soil type.
With step-by-step projects, plant profiles and troubleshooting pages – by starting with soil you will not only be gardening in a way that is kind to the planet, but you will also be ensuring that your garden flourishes.Created in collaboration with the world-renowned Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and written by leading garden designer and soil expert, Juliet Sargeant, this is the must-have guide for a thriving garden.
Our Thoughts
Overall, I thought Start with Soil: Simple Steps for a Thriving Garden was a great resource and an excellent introduction to properly caring for your garden’s soil. The book itself is very well-organized and features numerous beautiful pictures that are both visually pleasing and informative. I especially love one of the informational graphs and pictures, which better illustrate some of the author’s instructions. I also appreciate that, while the book focuses more on the UK, the information can be applied anywhere, including your indoor garden. I also appreciate that it highlights contemporary concerns that we need to address today, including microplastics and issues you may be facing with your garden dirt. I especially love the instructions on creating your dirt mixes, which is something I know I will be using in my garden this season. If you’re looking for a comprehensive book to help you improve your garden’s dirt, I highly recommend Start with Soil.
Starts with Soil: Where to Purchase
Would you like to add this fantastic gardening book to your own collection or gift it to a special gardener in your life? You can find Start with Soil: Simple Steps for a Thriving Garden on Amazon.com in hardcover or digitally for under $22. Who knew that properly taking care of our garden could be so easy?
Want to learn how ways you can improve your garden? Check out more of our gardening books here.
About Susan Bewley
Susan Bewley is a professional writer who has been writing content online & in print format for over 10 years. As well, she is an alumni of the University of Louisville with a Masters Degree in Special Education. When not working as an online business consultant or ghost writing, she can be found writing on Budget Earth, on her own novel, or working with various entities in the pet industry.
