The Intelligent Gardener

To grow produce of the highest nutritional quality, the essential minerals lacking in our soil from intensive agriculture must be replaced. The Intelligent Gardener is the practical, step-by-step guide for any serious gardener who wants to:

• Demystify this process
• Debunk much of the false and misleading information perpetuated by both the conventional and organic agricultural movements
• Re-mineralize our soil.

Accompanied with customizable web-based spreadsheets, this toolkit calls for far more attention to detail than the simple addition of composted manure or NPK fertilizers. It conclusively establishes the link between healthy soil, healthy food, and healthy people.

Vegetables, fruits, and grains are a major source of vital nutrients, but centuries of intensive agriculture have depleted our soils to historic lows. As a result, the broccoli you consume today may have less than half the vitamins and minerals that the equivalent serving would have contained a hundred years ago. This is a matter of serious concern, since poor nutrition has been linked to myriad health problems including cancer, heart disease, obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes. For optimum health we must increase the nutrient density of our foods to the levels enjoyed by previous generations.

The Intelligent Gardener goes beyond organic―it offers the essential tools for those who care about the quality of the produce they grow.

Copyright 2013, softcover, 336 pages.

About the Authors:

Steve Solomon is a well-known west coast gardener and author of five previous books, including Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades which has appeared in five editions.

Erica Reinheimer has nurtured a life-long passion for gardening. After plunging into organic vegetable gardening, she began to experiment with the use of seed meal, soil testing, and supplemental minerals-all with outstanding results. This in turn led her to start successful home greenhouse and garden design businesses, helping others nourish their soils. Erica tries to remember everyday that as one shapes the garden, so does the garden shape you.

Praise for The Intelligent Gardener:

"Sensible, practical methods to increase the nutrient density of the food we grow."  -Mark McDonald, West Coast Seeds

"Any agriculture or home gardening library will find this an accessible, popular lend." -James Cox, Midwest Book Review

"Gardeners in temperate climates should be very grateful to Steve Solomon for addressing the issues of soil testing for fertility in such an engaging and clear way. I look forward to spending time working with the technical methodology." ― Binda Colebrook, Horticulturist and author of Winter Gardening in the Maritime Northwest