Soil Science for Gardeners: Working with Nature to Build Soil Health

Written by Robert Pavlis

Narrated by David Skulski

Build healthy soil and grow better plants

Robert Pavlis, a gardener for over four decades, debunks common soil myths, explores the rhizosphere, and provides a personalized soil fertility improvement program in this three-part popular science guidebook.

Healthy soil means thriving plants. Yet untangling the soil food web and optimizing your soil health is beyond most gardeners, many of whom lack an in-depth knowledge of the soil ecosystem.

Soil Science for Gardeners is an accessible, science-based guide to understanding soil fertility and, in particular, the rhizosphere – the thin layer of liquid and soil surrounding plant roots, so vital to plant health.

Coverage includes:

• Soil biology and chemistry and how plants and soil interact


• Common soil health problems, including analyzing soil's fertility and plant nutrients


• The creation of a personalized plan for improving your soil fertility, including setting priorities and goals in a cost-effective, realistic time frame.


• Creating the optimal conditions for nature to do the heavy lifting of building soil fertility

Written for the home gardener, market gardener, and micro-farmer, Soil Science for Gardeners is packed with information to help you grow thriving plants.

• Language: English
• Publisher: New Society Publishers
• Release date: Mar 12, 2021
• ISBN: 9781897408490

Robert Pavlis

Robert Pavlis, a Master Gardener with 40 years of gardening experience, is owner and developer of Aspen Grove Gardens, a six-acre botanical garden featuring over 2,500 varieties of plants. A popular and well-respected speaker and teacher, Robert has published articles in Mother Earth News, Ontario Gardening magazine, a monthly Plant of the Month column for the Ontario Rock Garden Society website, and local newspapers.

Reviews for Soil Science for Gardeners

[Nita · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Informative and easy to listen to. The PDF the narrator refers to is not linked in the description or available from the book section. I am disappointed by this as it’s referenced often and makes it difficult to grasp some of the content. You really need to pause the audio and Google. Otherwise I would have given the book 5 stars.

***After further research I noticed that the ebook version of this is available March, 2024. I still feel referring to a PDF that is not available is poor form but let’s see if the ebook fills this gap.***