Market Gardener

Jean-Martin Fortier and his wife Maude-Helene Desroches are the founders of Les Jardins de la Grelinette, an internationally recognized micro-farm famous for its high productivity-profitability using low-tech, high-yield methods of production. A leading practitioner of biologically intensive cropping systems, Jean-Martin has more than a decade's worth of experience in mixed organic farming. He has written articles about his work for popular magazines such as Canadian Organic Grower, La Terre de Chez Nous and Growing for Market. He also contributes occasionally as a tool and equipment advisor for companies such as Johnny's Selected Seeds and Dubois Agrinovation. The original French language version of this book, Le Jardinier-Maraicher, released in Fall 2012, has sold more than 15,000 copies.

"Jean-Martin's book is very well done and should be of great use to market growers everywhere. Exchange of ideas and information is so important because when we pass ideas on, the next person gets to start where we got to and take the ideas to another level."--Eliot Coleman, organic farming pioneer and author of the Winter Harvest Handbook "I've read this book in French and all I can say is that, if you want to engage yourself in the market gardening, The Market Gardener is far more than a simple manual, it's the story of a life and a major giveaway of knowledge without the shadow of a secret. A must have, nothing else."--Michel Michiels, Arlon / Belgium "We are so excited that Le Jardinier-Maraicher is finally translated in English! This book was an inspiration for many of our French members (we are a farmers' co-op) and now we can recommend it to all ... especially to the new generation interested in small scale farming...Thank you!"--Nicole Briand Communications, La Recolte de Chez Nous / Really Local Harvest "In his revolutionary book, JMF brings about a change of paradigm that couldn't come any sooner. New gardeners will find in this book a step-by-step recipe that almost guarantees success, while the more seasoned ones can use it as a steppingstone for future achievements. Ever since its release in Quebec, it has reached thousands of readers and caused a ripple of benefits: people of all ages, especially the young, can now aspire to buy or rent their own land and live a fulfilling--and profitable--life in the countryside, which a few years back was still a wild dream for most of us. Aside from being very technically dense, it offers viable solutions to social problems such as land access, unemployment in regions, and the unsustainable nature of modern agricultural practices. It has literally been training an entire army of Davids that is now starting to address the bulk of these problems, or Goliath. And it's happening all across the province! Most importantly, this book deeply inspired me and gave me hope for the future without having to consult an eco-therapist."--Alexandre J-Nicole, Biologist, graphic designer and illustrator "Jean-Martin Fortier extols the virtues of being small-scale, and expertly details the use of such scale-appropriate tools as broadforks, seeders, hoes, flame weeders, low tunnels, high tunnels, and many other unique tools, specifically designed for this brand of farming. He picks up right where Eliot Coleman has left us, applying many of his core principles, but doing it in such a brilliant way as to provide beginning farmers a solid framework of the information they need to start up and become successful small-scale organic growers themselves.--Adam Lemieux, Product Manager of Tools & Supplies, Johnny's Selected Seeds

• Acknowledgments Foreword Preface 1 Small Is Profitable Can You Really Live ff 1.5 Acres? Not Just Making a Good Living, but Making a Good Life 2 Succeeding as a Small-Scale Organic Vegetable Grower A Biologically Intensive Approach Minimizing Start-Up Costs Minimizing Production Costs Direct Selling Adding Value to the Crops Learning the Craft 3 Finding the Right Site Climate and Microclimate Market Access Growing Space Needed Soil Quality Topography Drainage Access to Water Infrastructure Assessing Possible Pollution Problems 4 Designing the Market Garden Buildings and Foot Traffic Standardizing the Garden Layout Locating the Greenhouse and Tunnels Protection against Deer Windbreaks Irrigation 5 Minimum Tillage and Appropriate Machinery Permanent Raised Beds The Two-Wheel Tractor The Broadfork (Grelinette) Tarps and Pre-Crop Ground Cover To Till or not to Till 6 Fertilizing Organically Soil Tests Crop Requirements Managing Soil Fertility Good Compost Relying on Natural Fertilizers - Why? Establishing Crop Rotation Crop Rotation at Les Jardins de la Grelinette Green Manure and Cover Crops Connecting with Soil Ecology 7 Starting Seeds Indoors Seeding in Cell Flats The Soil Mix Filling Cell Flats The Seedling Room The Evolving Plant Nursery Heating and Ventilation of the Nursery How to Water Seedlings Potting up Transplanting into the Gardens 8 Direct Seeding Precision Seeders Seedbed Preparation Record Keeping 9 Weed Management Cultivating with Hoes Weeding with Tarps The Stale Seedbed Technique Flame Weeding Mulching Weed Control Technology 10 Insect Pests and Diseases Scouting Disease Prevention Using Biopesticides 11 Season Extension Floating Row Cover and Low Tunnels Caterpillar Tunnels Hoophouses 12 Harvest and Storage Harvesting Efficiently Harvest Help The Cold Room 13 Crop Planning Setting Farming Objectives Determining Production Establishing a Crop Calendar Making a Garden Plan Record Keeping Conclusion: Farming for Ecology, Community, and Lifestyle Appendix 1: Crop Notes Appendix 2: Tools and Suppliers Appendix 3: Garden Plan Appendix 4: Annotated Bibliography Appendix 5: Glossary Index About the Author