Books on Organics

Organic Weed Management Concepts, strategies, and methods of controlling, Weeds can be enemy, useful indicator, valued guardian, health-giving medicine. After reading this book, you're likely to see (and grow) things differently, perhaps viewing your weeds as distinctive, informative neighbors-not all of whom can stay! A commercial farmer, Gilman devotes several chapters to strategies of control: stale seedbed, use of the stirrup hoe and weedeating machines, mulching and timing. He helped pioneer the biostrip approach-periodically-mowed strips of biodiverse growth between cultivated rows which amount to intentional sod where weeds might otherwise grow and which beneficial insects can inhabit. Steve Gilman has been farming organically since 1976, growing herbs and vegetables in the Saratoga, New York area. He is a longtime presenter and writer on organic matters. Recently, he served as Managing Director of the North East Organic Network (NEON), a USDA research project administered through Cornell University. Steve has also served in numerous capacities on the boards of NOFA-NY and the NOFA Interstate Council. The first in the series of handbooks on organic principles and practices published by NOFA, by Steve Gilman, 2000. 58 pp. $12.95

Compost, Vermicompost & Compost Tea, Feeding the Soil on the Organic Farm, This book on the basic biology and expanding lore of composting explains the requirements of the National Organic Program (NOP) and offers a host of practical suggestions from professional composters for small-scale as well as larger-scale composting operations. The book lists materials used and their sources, plus recipes for soil mixes. It defines the elements of compost quality and stability, tells where, when and how to use compost, and explains its disease-suppressing properties. Part of a series of handbooks on organic principles and practices published by NOFA, by Grace Gershuny, 2004. 89 pp. $12.95

Organic Soil Management, There is a complex foodweb that makes mineral dirt into fertile, living soil. This Handbook reflects that understanding of soil as more than an NPK sponge-an organism-as revealed in the work of Dr. Elaine Ingham and many organic farmers and researchers. The farmer, for better or worse, consciously or unawares, influences the balance between bacteria and fungi, acid and alkali, air and water, between each of many minerals and between minerals and organic matter. Soil's health shows up in signs the farmer can either read or test for. As Gilman's book explains, soil responds readily to well-planned, well-timed tillage, cover cropping/resting and feeding. Second of the series of handbooks on organic principles and practices published by NOFA, by Steve Gilman, 2001. 66 pp. $12.95