The Market Gardener : A Successful Grower's Handbook for Small-Scale Organic Farming.
Material type:
- text
- computer
- online resource
- 9781550925555
- SB321 .F678 2014
Intro -- Cover -- Title Page -- Copyright -- Contents -- Dedication -- Acknowledgments -- Foreword -- Preface -- 1. Small Is Profitable -- Can You Really Live off 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.
As local organic agriculture continues to flourish, a cohort of young professional growers are leading the way with innovative ideas about farming. The Market Gardener provides hands-on information about growing for CSA and farmers markets. Based on low-tech, high-yield methods of production, this is a modern, micro-scale farming handbook.
Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.
Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2024. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.
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