Last month was a whirlwind at the Acres U.S.A. Bookstore! The 2022 August “Healthy Soils” Book Sale drew a lot of interest in the wide variety of titles we have across our site. We hope everyone got a chance to get a great deal on some books on farming, soil health, livestock, gardening, farm business and marketing, and more!
Curious which books garnered the most interest? Check out our August 2022 Bestseller list right here (and take note – many of these titles are still discounted):
1. When Weeds Talk
This is the 2nd edition of the book formerly titled Weeds and Why They Grow by James L. McCaman. Weed control lies in fertility management. Every weed grows in a somewhat narrow window of allowable soil conditions. For the first time, hundreds of weeds of commercial importance are detailed along with the chemical analysis of accompanying soils. For example, burdock grows in soils with very high levels of iron and sulfate, very low levels of calcium and manganese. Balance the soil, lose the weed. Get your copy here!
2. Hands-On Agronomy
The soil is more than just a substrate that anchors crops in place. An ecologically balanced soil system is essential for maintaining healthy crops. Hands-On Agronomy by Neal Kinsey is a comprehensive manual on effective soil fertility management providing many on-farm examples to illustrate the various principles and how to use them. The function of micronutrients, earthworms, soil drainage, tilth, soil structure, and organic matter is explained in thorough detail. Get your copy here!
3. Dirt to Soil
In Dirt to Soil, Gabe Brown tells the story of that amazing journey and offers a wealth of innovative solutions to our most pressing and complex contemporary agricultural challenge―restoring the soil. The Brown’s Ranch model, developed over two decades of experimentation and refinement, focuses on regenerating resources by continuously enhancing the living biology in the soil. Using regenerative agricultural principles, Brown’s Ranch has grown several inches of new topsoil in only 20 years! The 5,000-acre ranch profitably produces a wide variety of cash crops and cover crops as well as grass-finished beef and lamb, pastured laying hens, broilers, and pastured pork, all marketed directly to consumers. Get your copy here!
4. Restoration Agriculture
Around the globe most people get their calories from “annual” agriculture — plants that grow fast for one season, produce lots of seeds, then die. Every single human society that has relied on annual crops for staple foods has collapsed. Restoration Agriculture by Mark Shepard explains how we can have all of the benefits of natural, perennial ecosystems and create agricultural systems that imitate nature in form and function while still providing for our food, building, fuel and many other needs — in your own backyard, farm or ranch. This book, based on real-world practices, presents an alternative to the agriculture system of eradication and offers exciting hope for our future. Get your copy here!
5. Humusphere: Humus, A Substance or a Living System?
In this breakthrough work — now available in English for the first time — the independent German-Norwegian explorer of soil life, graduate permaculture designer and graduate engineer Herwig Pommeresche shares his lifetime of research into humus. Get your copy here!
6. Natural Sheep Care
In this comprehensive guide for all breeders of sheep, whether for wool, meat or milk, Pat Coleby draws on decades of experience in natural animal husbandry to provide essential information for both organic and conventional farmers. Coleby covers breeds of sheep, wool, meat and milk production, feeding requirements, poisonous plants, land management, minerals and vitamins, herbal, homeopathic and natural remedies, and more. Get your copy here!
7. Secrets of Fertile Soils
This stimulating book provides a highly practical window into the complex, interdependent relationships between soil, plants, animals, and human beings, including special insight into the fascinating life cycle of healthy soils and the imminent dangers we face should their existence become threatened. Author Erhard Hennig addresses all components of the soil — microorganisms, microbes, soil nutrients, and minerals — and explores natural fertilization techniques using compost and rock dust along with their roles in humus formation. Get your copy here!
8. Teaming with Microbes
By eschewing jargon and overly technical language, the authors Jeff Lowenfels and Wayne Lewis make the benefits of cultivating the soil food web available to a wide audience, from devotees of organic gardening techniques to weekend gardeners who simply want to grow healthy, vigorous plants without resorting to chemicals. Get your copy here!
9. Weeds – Control Without Poisons
“Low biological activity is inherent in each weed problem … Each weed is keyed to a specific environment slotted for its proliferation.” So says Weeds — Control Without Poisons author Charles Walters. Further, calcium, magnesium, potassium and other elements in equilibrium are likely to roll back more weeds than all the available herbicides on the market. Specifics on a hundred weeds, why they grow, what soil conditions spur them on or stop them, what they say about your soil, and how to control them without the obscene presence of poisons. All cross-referenced by scientific and various common names, and a pictorial glossary. Get your copy here!
10. Water for Any Farm
Written as a companion to the bestseller, Restoration Agriculture, this book by permaculture expert and Wisconsin farmer Mark Shepard will help farmers capture water in areas they want to, and avoid having water flow immediately to the low point. The result? Less water expense, healthier crops and livestock, and less erosion … just to name a few. Get your copy here!
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