Great Article on Robert Kourik
The Roots of Robert Kourik
by Linda Hopkins
Author, landscape consultant and horticultural researcher is always ahead of the curve
There are few people in the county—or, really, the country—who can lay claim to the title “greywater guru.” And there’s only one Sonoma County resident who earned that title in the 1980s, before most of the country even knew what greywater was.
“I installed greywater systems in 1978. Greywater only became well known in 1990. That is the classic pathway of my life: being ahead of the curve,” said greywater guru Robert Kourik.
Such is the story of the local author, landscape consultant and horticultural researcher. In person, Kourik comes across as an earth-oriented Einstein: wispy white hair, mustache, bright eyes. His face lights up with a keen intelligence when discussing lavender, edible landscaping, greywater and drip irrigation—all subjects on which he’s published books that are considered definitive works in their respective fields (and all subjects which are in some way related, if one approaches them with an ecological mindset, as Kourik tends to do).
Kourik has been passionate about sustainable gardening and farming for decades: before, in fact, the word “sustainable” was even used. “I’ve been doing for 30, 40 years what people say is sustainable now. We called it, in the early days, environmental horticulture, appropriate horticulture, organic gardening and a few other handles,” Kourik said.
Click here to read the entire article.
Reviews of new Drip Irrigation book
Drip Irrigation Conserves Water, Increases Yields
Jul 16th, 2009 by Tom Christopher of the New York Botanical Garden
In past posts I’ve alluded to the need to use our most essential natural resource— water—in a more sustainable manner. All over the United States (and across the world) the demand for clean, fresh water is booming, while the potential sources of supply are, thanks to pollution and mismanagement, actually shrinking. This is one of our society’s greatest challenges: how to make the water supply stretch to suit all of our needs without draining rivers, streams, and aquifers.
Gardeners can have a big impact on this situation, especially if they adopt Robert Kourik’s book Drip Irrigation for Every Landscape and All Climates as their irrigation operator’s manual.
Read the whole article
Reviews of Roots Demystified
Great review from one of the best sources for librarians:
Midwest Book Review, (Oregon WI USA)
"A compendium of practical, comprehensive, and exceptionally well organized information, advice, tips, and observations, March 10, 2008"
Gardening expert Robert Kourik is the author of ten books addressing topics that have ranged from drip irrigation, environmentally-sound homes, edible landscaping, and lavender. Now he turns his attention to the necessity of health roots (and thereby healthy plants) for successful gardening and agriculture. Superbly written and thoroughly 'user friendly', "Roots Demystified" is profusely enhanced with twenty-five illustrative graphics showcasing extraordinary illustrations of excavated root systems in their entirety. A compendium of practical, comprehensive, and exceptionally well organized information, advice, tips, and observations that will benefit novice gardeners and seasoned professionals alike, "Roots Demystified" is an excellent and strongly recommended addition to personal, professional, academic, and community library Gardening/Agriculture/Horticulture reference collections and supplemental reading lists.
Other great reviews:
From Pacific Horticulture, April 2008
We all know that there are roots beneath a plant, and we have a vague mental image of how they must look. We also know that roots need air, water, and nutrients, and we try to provide them. Kourik’s book shows us that we are often imagining root systems incorrectly; what he tells us about how roots operate should help us grow a better garden... (click link above to read the entire article as PDF)
Roots demystified by Jean English - Originally published in The Citizen (Belfast, Maine) and Village Soup (Camden, Maine) on Jan. 23, 2008, and The Maine Organic Farmer & Gardener, March-May 2008
Get to the Root of the Matter by Charlie Nardozzi, National Gardening Association
For this gardener, what's underground can't be ignored
By Pat Rubin - prubin@sacbee.com
Published Saturday, February 9, 2008 in the Sacramento Bee
Green Gardening: The root of thriving plants is in the soil
By ANN LOVEJOY
of the Seattle Times
National Garden Clubs Newsletter, May 2008
As a guide to the function and importance of roots, the text of this book explains biological terminology in language that is easy to comprehend for even the most novice gardener...
Opinion Pieces
Let Me Give Thanks
Heal the Earth
Lettuce Consider the Organic Garden: Personal Opinions on Some of the Misguided Myths of Organic Gardening
Research
Compost Activators, Myth or Reality?
Fog Drip Reseach Study
