Mycorrhizal Planet: How Symbiotic Fungi Work with Roots to Support Plant Health and Build Soil Fertility

by Michael Phillips, 256 pages, 8x10, hardcover. “Investing in species diversity begins underground,” says the orchard revolutionary. He’s alluding, of course, to the microbes and, most dearly, to mycorrhizal fungi. In this new book Phillips cultivates a fungal awareness by exposing just how deeply embedded mycorrhizal fungi are in plant physiology and in all healthy soils. You’ll enjoy plenty of scientific detail delivered through Phillips’ unique narrative, but the real gems are the three chapters that offer practical knowledge and a variety of regenerative practices—from mulches to cover crops, from the broad fork to the no-till crimper, from hedgerows to forest-edge orcharding. The Nondisturbance Principle guides the mycorrhizal steward in the garden, farm or orchard toward revamping fungal networks to restore soils, put away some carbon and begin to understand the dynamics of our future. This book will leave a subtle taste of hope on the palate, as do most mushrooms. -Aktan Askin