The Market Gardener: A Successful Grower's Handbook for Small-Scale Organic Farming (Spiral Bound)
Biographical Note: Jean-Martin Fortier is a farmer, author, educator, and advocate for regenerative, human-scale, profitable agriculture. For over 20 years he and his wife Maude-Helene Desroches have operated les Jardins de la Grelinette, a successful...
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Biographical Note: Jean-Martin Fortier is a farmer, author, educator, and advocate for regenerative, human-scale, profitable agriculture. For over 20 years he and his wife Maude-Helene Desroches have operated les Jardins de la Grelinette, a successful 2-acre microfarm.The Market Gardener, has sold a quarter million copies in nine languages, describes the biointensive principles used at his micro-farm. In 2015, he established a research farm, la Ferme des Quatre-Temps, where he trains apprentices and develops new strategies for market gardening, including year-round production. His methods of production are taught to a worldwide audience through the Market Gardener Masterclass, an online course of the Market Gardener Institute, which is tailored to small-scale food growers. He is the founder of Growers & Co., a tool and apparel company which celebrates sustainable, local, and equitable food producers. He is the co-author of The Winter Market Gardener and author of the Grower's Guides from the Market Gardener series. Jean-Martin farms and lives in Quebec, Canada. Brief Description: Translation of: Le jardinier-maraaicher. Marc Notes: Translation of: Le jardinier-maraicher.;Includes bibliographical references and index.;Issued also in electronic format. Jacket Description/Back: Grow better not bigger ...should be of great use to market growers everywhere. This is a fantastic addition to any aspiring market gardener's library... AS LOCAL ORGANIC agriculture continues to flourish, young professional growers like Jean-Martin Fortier are leading the way with their innovative ideas about how to start a farm. Growing on just 1.5 acres, he and his wife have been making a good living from their vegetable operation for over 10 years, feeding more than 200 families through their thriving CSA and seasonal market stand. Based on low-tech, high-yield methods of production, The Market Gardener is packed with practical information on:
The Market Gardener is a complete, modern, micro-scale farming handbook which shows that making a living wage growing food without large capital outlay or access to an acreage may be closer than you think. ... 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. JEAN-MARTIN FORTIER and his wife Maude-Hélène Desroches are the founders of Les Jardins de la Grelinette, an internationally recognized micro-farm known for its high productivity and 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 organic farming. Jean-Martin lives and farms in Southern Quebec, Canada, with his wife and their two children. Commendation Quotes: 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. 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. We are so excited that Le Jardinier-Maraîcher 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. 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. 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. Jacket Description/Flap: Grow better not bigger with proven low-tech, human-scale, biointensive farming methods ...should be of great use to market growers everywhere. ---Eliot Coleman, organic farming pioneer and author of the Winter Harvest Handbook This is a fantastic addition to any aspiring market gardener's library... Jean-Martin has laid out all of the basics for how we can farm more profitability, productively, and passionately on a more human-sized scale. --- Josh Volk, Slow Hand Farm, Portland, Oregon ... Les Jardins de la Grelinette is an owner-operated micro-farm which feeds more than 200 families through their thriving CSA and seasonal market stands. The secret of their success is low-tech, high-yield production methods which help them grow better rather than bigger, making their business more lucrative and viable in the process. The Market Gardener is a compendium of La Grelinette's proven horticultural techniques, packed with practical information on: - Setting-up a micro-farm by designing biologically intensive cropping systems, all with negligible capital outlay; - Farming without a tractor and minimizing fossil fuel inputs through the use of the best hand tools, appropriate machinery and minimum tillage practices; - Growing mixed vegetables systematically with attention to weed and pest management, crop yields, harvest periods and pricing approaches. As local organic agriculture continues to flourish, young professional growers like Jean-Martin Fortier and his wife Maude-Helene Desroches are leading the way with their innovative ideas about farming. Based on low-tech, high-yield methods of production The Market Gardener is a complete, modern, micro-scale farming handbook which shows that making a living wage growing food without large capital outlay or access to an acreage may be closer than you think. ... ... 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 In France, The Market Gardener has quickly become a book of reference for small-scale farming. Both visionary and practical, it is a work of rare intelligence. --- Charles Herve-Gruyer, permaculture teacher and grower at la Fermedu BecHellouin, France ... Jean-Martin Fortier is a passionate advocate of strong local food systems, and founder of Les Jardins de la Grelinette; an internationally recognized model for successful biointensive micro-farming. Table of Contents: Acknowledgments 1 Small Is Profitable 2 Succeeding as a Small-Scale Organic Vegetable Grower 3 Finding the Right Site 4 Designing the Market Garden 5 Minimum Tillage and Appropriate Machinery 6 Fertilizing Organically 7 Starting Seeds Indoors 8 Direct Seeding 9 Weed Management 10 Insect Pests and Diseases 11 Season Extension 12 Harvest and Storage 13 Crop Planning Conclusion: Farming for Ecology, Community, and Lifestyle Appendix 1: Crop Notes Index Description for Sales People:
Commendation Quotes: "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." "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." "We are so excited that Le Jardinier-Maraîcher 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." "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." " 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." Commendation Quotes: 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. 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. We are so excited that Le Jardinier-Maraîcher 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. 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. 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. Commendation Quotes: "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." "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." "We are so excited that Le Jardinier-Maraîcher 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." "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." "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." Publisher Marketing: Transform 1.5 acres into a 6 figure annual income through proven small-scale organic farming methods. Jean-Martin Fortier demonstrates how he and his wife built a thriving market garden operation feeding 200+ families while maintaining work-life balance using low-tech, high-yield techniques that work in any climate. Why This System Works Where Others Fail: Unlike industrial farming that requires massive acreage and equipment, this micro-farming approach maximizes profits per square foot through intensive, sustainable methods. Based on 10+ years of real-world success, these techniques have been replicated by thousands of growers worldwide. What You'll Master:
Proven Results from Real Farmers: Over 200,000 copies sold worldwide have helped farmers like you transition from hobby gardening to profitable small-scale agriculture. Jean-Martin's students report achieving financial independence on 2-5 acres using these exact methods. Start building your profitable market garden operation today. This isn't theory - it's a complete playbook from someone who's actually making a living from small-scale farming. |