The Soul of Soil 4th ed.
A Soil-Building Guide for Master Gardeners and Farmers
Grace Gershuny and Joe Smillie
Chelsea Green
1999
Soil is the beginning of life, it is where life ends up when
it is reclaimed by the earth. It is the organic matter of everything living,
the remains of what has passed, and the food for what is new.
The Soul of Soil: A Soil-Building Guide for Master Gardeners and Farmers was
written as an aid in repairing the damage caused to our soil by the chemicalized,
mass farming which has systematically depleted the health of our soil in a very
short period of time. Gershuny and Smillie understand the great importance of heathy
soil and have written a book of fantastic information and guidance about how to
improve soil, prepare it, and keep it healthy for the good of the earth, the
food we eat, and in turn, our health and the health of other creatures with
which we cohabitate.
As a person preparing to make the leap from urban to rural,
from reliance to self-reliance, from consumer to producer, The Soul of Soil is
a must-have in my library.
This book calls us to attention and gives us instruction on
how to dig in with our own two hands.
Carla Atherton is a writer and all-round compulsive creator. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master of Arts in English from the University of Saskatchewan, the work for which was squeezed between writing, mothering, building a house, and starting (ad)ventures. She founded and currently edits and manages Cahoots Magazine and is currently working at Athabasca University in their Women's Studies Department. She also develops and teaches creative writing workshops to people 6-75 and is presently working on a novel (isn't everyone?). Her creative work has appeared in various literary journals, and her thesis-turned-book was published in September 2008 under the title The Poetry of Motherhood. Carla has been a greeting card writer and designer, teacher, researcher, business owner, writer, editor, and publisher. She lives and works in Saskatoon with her three young children, Nicholas, Olivia, and Isabel, and husband, Brent. Carla can most often be found harried and haggard decked out in a babushka and yoga pants feeding watermelon to her children, niece, and the dozens of children in her neighborhood.
Along with acting as Cahoots Magazine's editor-in-chief, Carla writes an arts and entertainment column called Inspired (formerly known as Escapes) and a new column/blog/blurting-out-of-thoughts called Chronicles of a Wannabe Bushwoman for the magazine.
As the old wisdom states: in order to understand the future, you need
to understand the past. How true is that? The past entices learning,
reminds us of what to do and what not to do, teaches us valuable
lessons, and shows us from where we have come and how far. Women
suffragists have blazed trails for our future, herbal women have taught
us how to heal and nurture ourselves, our travels have taught us to
value what we have or to reach for a better future, and our innermost
desires poke to the surface reminding us to act, that there is more we
want to do. Of course, we need to look toward the future, but the
wisdom of the past must always be our companion.
Fittingly for our Passion themed issue, we welcome our newest Cahoots Community member, Saskatoon's Positive Passions, which has come on board to sponsor Sarah Stefanson's column, Sense and Sensuality. Through their retail location, home presentations, resource centre, and website, Positive Passions provides an open, welcoming, and healthy place to obtain information, resources, and products in regards to sex, sexuality, and sexual dysfunctions.
If your business or organization is interested in sponsoring one of our regular columns (we have seven other columns in need of sponsorship), please contact us at
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for more information.
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