Two wonderful books I have cherished because of how they integrate the range of facets of soils. Can’t change one part without having a cascading effect on other parts. So, change watering, and biology changes which changes pH and nutrient availability and productivity and soil “health.” And whatever else is going on in soil. I recently read that Pedro Sanchez died this year, the author of Properties and Management of Soils in the Tropics. Tropical soils are some of the most delicate and easily disturbed and if you can figure out how to manage them, you can care for any soil.
The other soil text I cherish is “Soils; An Introduction” by Don Munns and Mike Singer. Don is no longer digging with us, passing away in 2014, but Mike is going strong. The book explores how complex and integrated soils are. Instead of the traditional approach most soils texts take, it doesn’t just bring up a chapter on Nitrogen and leave it hanging, but shows how Nitrogen is related to pH, biology, infiltration, etc. and weaves the topics together. Wonderful book.
