Desert Terroir

Gary Paul Nabhan is an internationally celebrated desert explorer, plant hunter, and storyteller of the U.S.-Mexico borderlands, as well as a pioneer in the local foods movement. Nabhan is author or editor of twenty-four books, including Chasing Chiles: Hot Spots Along the Pepper Trail, The Desert Smells Like Rain, and Coming Home to Eat. This book reunites him with Paul Mirocha, the illustrator and co-conspirator of their award-winning Gathering the Desert. Nabhan has received a MacArthur “genius” fellowship and the Vavilov Medal, and he currently holds an endowed chair in sustainable food systems at the University of Arizona. At his home near the Mexican border, he tends an orchard of heirloom fruits and heritage crops.

• PrefaceChapter 1: Introduction to Organics Reasons to Go OrganicConverting to the Natural Organic ProgramChapter 2: Soil Building Basic Soil ScienceSoil BiologySoil TextureNutrientsSoil TestingSoil AmendmentsChapter 3: Planting Basic Bed PreparationSeed PlantingCuttingsTransplantsTree PlantingPotting SoilChapter 4: Fertilizing How Organic Fertilizers WorkFoliar FeedingProduct InformationRefractometerChapter 5: Pest and Disease Control The Real Purpose of Toxic Chemical PesticidesPests and Their Organic RemediesInsect PestsStructural Pest ControlHoneybees and Other PollinatorsDiseasesWeeds: The Disliked PlantsChapter 6: Compost Why Compost?Compost Types and MethodsCompostable MaterialsComposting ProcessWarning Signs in CompostVermicompostingUsing CompostCompost TeaChapter 7: Mulch Mulch TypesMulch Uses and ApplicationsPitfalls of MulchingThe Science of MulchThe Mulch BusinessMulches Not RecommendedChapter 8: Landscaping Landscaping ElementsLandscaping SpecificationsChapter 9: Commercial Growing Operations and Recreational PropertiesCommercial Growing OperationsRecreational PropertiesChapter 10: Organic Strategies and Global Climate Change Global Warming by the NumbersOrganic Methods Make a DifferenceThe Link to Soil LifeCarbon-rich Organic GlueOrganic Material, Organic Matter, and Soil CarbonSquashing the SymbiosisManaging Trees in Landscapes as Carbon SinksLandscape and Turf ManagementConclusionsAppendix 1: Organic Treatment FormulasAppendix 2: Sources for Organic SuppliesAppendix 3: Soil-Testing ResourcesAppendix 4: Conversion TablesInformation ResourcesIndex

One of Napa Valley’s most prestigious winemakers recently said that there is no such thing as terroir. He scoffed at the idea… that wine somehow captures the essence of place. A scientist by training, he insisted instead that wine is the result of chemical processes that can be analysed and controlled, nothing more. Gary Paul Nabhan’s new book, Desert Terroir: Exploring the unique flavors and sundry places of the borderlands, is an eloquent refutation of that assertion. Like other proponents of terroir, Nabhan argues that sunlight, wind, rain and minerals in the soil all affect the way a given food tastes. But for him there is more. Terroir is also an expression of the hands of the women who rhythmically pat out tortillas in the borderlands between the United States and Mexico, and of the labours of ranch hands who graze sturdy Corriente cattle. It is found, too, in the ancestry of both human and plants. If we attune ourselves to our own history, and to that of the natural world, we stand to gain a keen appreciation for our planet’s myriad distinctive tastes… Nabhan is a natural storyteller.(Times Literary Supplement)