Weeds: Guardians of the Soil by Joseph A. Cocannouer

Has anyone read this book "Weeds:Guardians of the Soil"?

I haven't read it cover-to-cover, but have read portions of it. It is full of useful info for natural growing.

It is available as a free download (110 pg PDF) from:
http://www.soilandhealth.org/01aglibrary/01aglibwelcome.html

I read it a few months ago and really enjoyed it. I like the author's style of writing and the information in it is quite useful. It incorporates many methods and concepts that would fit in here. It gives some useful facts on the weeds that are needed for different situations, and stresses the needs to have a controlled weed population. I've been taking his methods to heart this season, though weeds can get out of hand (for me buttercups mostly, but the clover is doing great). I'd suggest giving it a read, plus it's free. I'll list the contents below:

Contents
1. Weeds and Youth
2. Weeds and Weeds
3. Weeds and the Soil World
4. The Fertility Chain and Soil Balance
5. Plant Roots
6. Weeds as Mother Crops
7. Weeds in the Rotation
8. Weeds and Pasture Improvement
9. Weeds in the Compost
10. Weeds as Food
11. Weeds and Wildlife
12. Sponge Structure versus Dams
13. Here and Yon
14. Nature's Togetherness Law

i wanted to thank you for posting this, and thank the person who posted a link, its been a very good read full of useful information, though i disagree with his plowing ideas its definately useful:)

Hi, no but I think I'd like to.

The download can be found here:  Weeds:...

John Polk wrote:

It is available as a free download (110 pg PDF) from:
http://www.soilandhealth.org/01aglibrary/01aglibwelcome.html

This link is no longer active.  The download page has been moved to https://soilandhealth.org/copyrighted-book/weeds-guardians-of-the-soil/

Thank you for posting the link.  I have had this title on my Thriftbooks.com wishlist for a very long time and have never seen it come into stock.  Having been written in 1950 and long out of print, it is almost non-existent today.  Having access to a PDF version is very handy.  I will be downloading it today.

Trace Oswald wrote:The download can be found here:  Weeds:...

This link opens directly into the PDF!  Thank you for posting it, Trace.

Revisiting the link in my previous post revealed that you have to 'request' a copy for 'personal study' as part of a copyright clearance through some Australian agency.  That's fine, I suppose, as it is still free.  I prefer to cut out all the middle parts, though.

Here it is in html: webpage

I just wanted to comment to bump this post, because this book is so great. Such a good read, never dry or boring, and never over my head, yet so informative. I love how he takes the reader along through his learning and discovery; it's not just science, it's also kind of an adventure. Apparently he's written other books as well, which I am going to try to find and read, because I really like his style.

The above, more recent comments give the current, active link to read it online, but here it is again to make it simple; this link is active as of today http://journeytoforever.org/farm_library/weeds/WeedsToC.html

The incredible thing is the copyright for this book is 1950, yet these ideas are still not mainstream. Pretty sad, but I am glad to be learning this information now, anyway.

Thanks for the link, looks like an interesting read!

If you love the wonders of life and David Attenborough as much as I do, you might enjoy this recent little clip on weeds: