Jeff Lowenfels Teaming with Microbes (revised edition)

You already know that aquaponics relies on the bacteria that break down the fish wastes into plant food.  But there's so much more to it than that!

Just like regular soil gardens, the media beds are a whole world, teeming with microscopic life.  The more you learn about these microbes, the more you can team up with them to get the best out of your beds.

The principles that govern the microscopic soil food-web apply equally to the media beds in an aquaponics system.

The microbes form an interwoven food-web that enriches the growing environment for the plants.  The balance of this web can easily be disrupted, especially by harsh chemical fertilisers and pesticides, so you need to garden in ways that avoid harm and create a strengthening environment for the microbes.  

Using straightforward language, the authors introduce you to this fascinating world of microbes, and show you how to apply pro-microbe principles to your own garden to strengthen the soil/media food-web.

The written text is supported by plenty of full-colour pictures throughout the book, plus diagrams and tables.  

Part 1 introduces the players and the environment of the soil food-web

• What is the soil food-web and why should gardeners care about it?
• The background of soil science
• The life involved, in the soil/media and the wider garden - baceria, archaea, fungi, algae & slime molds, protozoa, nematodes, arthropods, earthworms, gastropods, reptiles, mammals, birds

Part 2 shows you how to apply gardening principles that support and strengthen the soil/media food-web.

• How to examine the current state of your garden
• How to restore/create the balance needed for a strong, productive food-web
• A simple calendar to help you maintain the food-web you've created

An appendix also includes the basic rules for gardening with the soil food-web.

This is a valuable book for any gardener - regular or aquaponic - who wants to enhance their understanding of the life in their garden.

Hardcover with dust jacket 

Published - 2010

ISBN - 978-1-60469-113-9

Pages - 220