• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Carol J. Michel

Award winner author of gardening humor books

  • About
    • Contact
  • Blog
  • Books
    • Shop
    • Gardening Humor
    • Children’s Books
    • New – The Halloween Hare
  • Speaking
    • Upcoming Speaking Engagements
  • Social
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
  • Gardening Humor
  • Children’s
  • All Books

May Dreams Gardens

Garden Bloggers Book Club January Meeting

January 31, 2007 By Carol Michel 12 Comments

Welcome to the 3rd meeting of the Garden Bloggers’ Book Club. Today we are sharing our thoughts on Teaming with Microbes: A Gardener’s Guide to the Soil Food Web by Jeff Lowenfels and Wayne Lewis. And as is becoming our custom, we also came up with a way for those who didn’t read the book to participate by writing a post about anything related to the soil or compost.

So today’s club meeting is all about soil and compost and the creatures that live within it. I think for dessert we should have one of those dirt cakes, don’t you?

But since this is the Internet, I can’t personally serve you food and drinks, so grab your favorite drink and snack and give yourself some time to go through this post. As usual with the Garden Bloggers’ Book Club meeting posts, there are all kinds of links to explore.

Let’s dig in!

First you can go to Jeff Lowenfel’s web site to get some more information about who he is. I could not find information on Wayne Lewis on the Internet, but on the back flap of the cover, he is described as a lifelong Alaskan gardener who has worked with Jeff on various projects over the past 20 years, including the national Plant a Row for the Hungry program, which Jeff started in Alaska. Check the media guide for the book for more information on Jeff.

And I found Jeff’s lecture notes for gardening with the soil food web, which might be a helpful refresher if you read the book or a glimpse of what the book is all about if you didn’t read it. Once you get to his lecture notes, there are many more links to various web sites with information about the soil food web and composting. But don’t get too lost in those links, because you want to have time to read all the posts from the book club members.

And here are those links!

Kathy has two posts. Her original review and a follow up to clarify some of her thoughts.

Tyler joined us for the first time with this post from his Chicago garden.

Colleen will be teaming with microbes as well with her review.

Old Roses also read the book and provided a review.

Bill did not have a chance to read the book, but wrote about another book related to compost and soil.

Jenn also did not have a chance to get the book, but wrote about two soil-related books she has in her library.

Annie didn’t think she would have time to read and write about the book, but did include a lot of compost info in another post on her blog.

Phillip, a real soil scientist, is also a first time participant in the book club, and wrote about the book, which he had just received.

I also wrote about the book and previously wrote a story about finding something in my compost which is an old post that might be interesting to those who have just recently been reading my blog.

El stayed up late last night to post her review; she just got the book last Thursday!

Tracy provided a nice rundown of what she learned from the book, a good synopsis for those who haven’t yet read the book.

And I was sort of expecting a review from Genie, but haven’t seen it yet, so I’ll include her pre-post about reading the book. *Update* Genie’s post is now live on her blog

The other interesting thing about choosing this book is that this is the first time we’ve heard from the author of the book we selected, either via comment or email to some. (I know it helps to choose a book by someone who is still living!) I assume he’ll find and read this post, too. At least I hope he does because we’ve given him great insight into what “regular gardeners” like and don’t like about this book.

Thank you to all who participated, some for the third time, others for the first time! I hope you enjoyed all the reviews and comments from the book club members. Remember that any and all are welcome to participate, so if you were intending to post something on your blog, but just didn’t get around to it, please post anytime, let me know about your post via a comment or the email address on the sidebar, and I’ll add you to this post.

Note Feb. 12th… Gloria has now posted her review of the book.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: garden bloggers book club

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Rusty in Miami says

    January 31, 2007 at 4:08 am

    Hi Carol, yes we are having a great time with the super bowl festivities and yes we are rooting for the Colts after all the Dolphins and Colts are in the AFC and all the locals want to see Payton get his ring and not be like Dan Marino that never did.

    Reply
  2. Carol Michel says

    January 31, 2007 at 4:10 am

    Bless you, Rusty in Miami!

    Reply
  3. Anonymous says

    January 31, 2007 at 4:27 am

    Hi Carol!

    You’re right…a post was coming from me, but I was behind schedule this month! My post is live now, and thanks for including my pre-post!

    Genie
    The Inadvertent Gardener

    Reply
  4. Kathy says

    January 31, 2007 at 12:03 pm

    Carol, I want to say how much I appreciate that you took this task on this winter. It gives me something to look forward to and makes me feel like part of a group, even though I’m out in the middle of nowhere!

    Reply
  5. El says

    January 31, 2007 at 12:26 pm

    Hello Carol

    Well done! I think this book was useful, and I think it is very interesting that one of the authors is keen on helping out us lowly gardeners.

    But the Colts? You’re going to need help on Sunday! Hwahwahwahwa!!

    Reply
  6. Kathy says

    January 31, 2007 at 12:30 pm

    I just went to Lowenfels website and read the three newspaper articles about him. Wow! Imagine carrying a bullet in your neck for the rest of your life. His comment on my blog was very gracious. I couldn’t believe what a good sport he was. And I see I was confirmed in my feeling he was a zealot.

    Reply
  7. Anonymous says

    January 31, 2007 at 5:45 pm

    Carol – Once again, you’ve done a wonderful job! The winter of 2006/2007 is a lot more interesting because of the Garden Blogger’s Book Club – thank you.

    Reply
  8. Unknown says

    February 1, 2007 at 10:05 pm

    Mmmm. Dirt cake. You sure know how to through a party!

    Reply
  9. Gary says

    February 1, 2007 at 11:31 pm

    I am really impressed with what you are doing with this blog. I haven’t read this book, but I think I will try to find it.

    Reply
  10. Carol Michel says

    February 2, 2007 at 1:46 am

    All… thank you for the kind comments! I enjoy moderating the book club and hope you’ll join me in February and bring a friend!

    Reply
  11. Jenn says

    February 4, 2007 at 12:00 am

    The Renegade Gardener recommends this book. His review is here:

    http://www.renegadegardener.com/

    Reply
  12. Gloria says

    February 12, 2007 at 8:48 am

    Sorry I missed the deadline. I did read ‘Teaming with Microbes’but was unable to post until now if anyone is interested.

    http://pollinators-welcome.blogspot.com/

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Categories

  • Blog (3,047)
  • Internal (2)

Blog Tags

annuals Blogging books bulbs dr. hortfreud embrace fairies fall family flowers fruits garden bloggers bloom day garden bloggers book club garden design gardeners gardening gardening geek gardens hoes holidays hortense hoelove houseplants humor indoor gardening insects lawn letters to gardening friends perennials rabbits reviews Secrets seeds shrubs spring tools trees vegetable garden vegetable gardening vegetables weather weeding weeds when a gardener wildflower wednesday winter

The Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Footer

Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Connect

  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • maydreams icon

Quick Links

  • Home
  • Contact
  • Books
  • May Dreams Gardens
  • Podcast

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Newsletter Archive

Copyright © 2023 · CarolJMichel.com · Sitemap · Privacy Policy

Book purchase links are affiliate links and Carol earns a small commission if you make a purchase.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT