Books: Living Soil & Fertility

You'll discover the art and method of preparing numerous plant extracts, including nettle extract, as well as those of 31 other essential plants, such as horsetail, fern, comfrey, dandelion, and more. A veritable first-aid kit for your garden, planters, and houseplants...

In addition to the authors' experience, there are testimonies from specialists who share their own secrets and techniques...

"Your plants are going to be happy!"

Read the first few pages

Author: Bernard Bertrand, Jean-Paul Collaert, Éric Petiot
Edition: Terran
Size: 16 cm x 24 cm
Color photos and illustrations
Pages: 128 pages
Softcover
Publication date: 2015-09-01
5th edition
ISBN: 978-2-35981-022-6

This presentation on biochar details its production, uses, and benefits for soil fertility and maintenance. Instructions are also provided for creating and using your own activated charcoal.

Author: Jeff Cox
Publisher: Ed. de Terran
Publication date: January 2021
Pages: 112
ISBN: 9782359811445
Size: 12 x 24 cm
Language: French

Those who are more curious will find concepts that will allow them to compost larger quantities than those, more limited, of home composting.

New edition!

More content, more photos, more answers to your questions, whether you choose to make your own compost or contribute to the municipal collection. Finally, you'll understand why, when, and how to use compost to fully benefit from its fantastic properties.

Those with a thirst for knowledge will discover concepts that will allow them to compost larger quantities than those available for home composting. Others will benefit from this knowledge to understand how the organic matter they put out for municipal collection is used.

Here you will find a detailed table of compostable materials according to different processing methods: a useful and unique tool. A significant section is also dedicated to home composting, which remains the most eco-friendly (economical and ecological) way to make use of organic matter.

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Author: Lili Michaud
Publisher: MultiMondes (Quebec, Canada)
Category: Environment
Publication date: 2016-04-14
Pages: 260
ISBN: 9782895446965
Language: French

A reference book that shows that permaculture is applicable to "conventional" farms, with a view to their ecological regeneration.

The book lays the foundations for the design and management of perennial agricultural systems (which rely primarily on perennial plants), with a view to reconsidering the main current societal challenges (food, energy, environment, climate) in light of their close relationship with crop and livestock farming activities.

The result is a more autonomous, diversified, sustainable agriculture, producing not only varied food resources (cereals, fruits, animal fodder, mushrooms, honey...), but also wood energy, medicinal plants, textile fiber, etc... from the plot to the territory.

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Author: Mark Shepard
Publisher: Imagine a Hummingbird
Publication date: May 2016 (French translation)
Pages: 302
Format: 21 x 21
Black and white with color photos at the end
ISBN: 9782953734492

Healthy soil teems with life – not just worms and insects, but a staggering amount of bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms.

Good gardeners know that soil is anything but an inert substance.

Healthy soil teems with life—not just worms and insects, but a staggering number of bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms. When we use chemical fertilizers, we damage the microbial life that normally sustains plants. At the same time, we become increasingly dependent on a whole arsenal of artificial substances, many of which are toxic to humans and other life forms. But there is an alternative: gardening to strengthen the soil and its food web, this fragile and complex network of living organisms whose interactions create a favorable environment for plants.

In this clear and concise book, which avoids jargon and overly technical terms, you will become acquainted with the various organisms that make up the soil food web. You will learn how to maintain and regenerate it to optimize soil quality through the use of compost, compost tea, and mulch, and which solutions to favor depending on the composition of your garden (lawn, vegetable garden, trees and shrubs, perennials and annuals, etc.).

In short, if you want to grow vigorous and healthy plants while cultivating your garden without using chemicals, this book is for you.

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Authors: Jeff Lowenfels and Wayne Lewis
Publisher: Rouergue
Publication date: 2016
Pages: 208
ISBN: 978-2-8126-1036-3
Language: French

A practical guide to creating beautiful gardens all year round through the use of effective microorganisms (EM), developed by Japanese researcher Teruo Higa.

A practical guide to creating little green paradises in your gardens and on your balconies using Effective Microorganisms (EM). A book that will become an indispensable ally in your gardening practice! Developed in the 1980s by Japanese researcher Teruo Higa, an agronomist and university professor of horticulture in Okinawa, Japan, Effective Microorganisms (EM) are composed of a balanced mixture of approximately 80 species of aerobic and anaerobic microorganisms, some of which live off the metabolites of others.

An effective alternative to chemical products, EM (Effective Microorganisms) regenerate soils and stimulate plant growth. They are also effective in a multitude of uses, ranging from natural fertilizer and pest control to all-purpose household cleaners, animal care products, and rust removers. This practical, illustrated guide is full of advice on how to best manage different parts of a garden using invigorating biological methods for the soil. It will accompany you through the seasons in the practice of sustainable gardening, with a wealth of new ideas, including on the use of EM.

Each season demands specific tasks from us gardeners. These are described in detail in the twelve chapters, each dedicated to a month of the year: what to do in the garden, month by month; numerous tips for sowing, using fertilizers, plant care, harvesting, storage, and overwintering; and information on fruits and berries, flowers, shrubs, and water features throughout the seasons. Delicious recipes for preparing your harvest are included at the end of each chapter.

Author: Anne Lorch
Publication date: July 2018
Publisher: Golden Breath
Pages: 384 pages
ISBN: 9782840586111

Today, it is more urgent than ever to review production methods based on the use of fossil fuels, pesticides and chemical fertilizers.

Today, it is more urgent than ever to rethink production methods based on the use of fossil fuels, pesticides, and chemical fertilizers. "EM," a mixture of microorganisms developed by Japanese researcher Teruo Higa, addresses this issue and proves to be invaluable allies for those who wish to be both active participants and beneficiaries in a natural biological system.

"Higa knew he had just made an extraordinary discovery [...]. What he could not yet guess was how universal the use of these microbial combinations would become," writes Anne Lorch.

This book, in which everyone can glean what interests them, is richly illustrated and clearly structured.

• A broad overview takes us from the current environmental situation to the world of EM, addressing topics such as soil life, water biology, microbiology, etc., and prepares us to better understand the role of these microorganisms.
• A very detailed description of the manufacture of EM products and their use (in fields, orchards and vineyards, meadows and stables, in our homes, gardens and bodies of water, in crafts and industry, for our health and that of animals) is then provided.
• User testimonials, with concrete examples, conclude this work.

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Author: Anne Lorch
Publisher: Le souffle d'or (France)
Publication date: 2011
Pages: 382
ISBN: 9782840584001