Sustainable Market Farming


Book Description

Growing for 100 - the complete year-round guide for the small-scale market grower. Across North America, an agricultural renaissance is unfolding. A growing number of market gardeners are emerging to feed our appetite for organic, regional produce. But most of the available resources on food production are aimed at the backyard or hobby gardener who wants to supplement their family's diet with a few homegrown fruits and vegetables. Targeted at serious growers in every climate zone, Sustainable Market Farming is a comprehensive manual for small-scale farmers raising organic crops sustainably on a few acres. Informed by the author's extensive experience growing a wide variety of fresh, organic vegetables and fruit to feed the approximately one hundred members of Twin Oaks Community in central Virginia, this practical guide provides: Detailed profiles of a full range of crops, addressing sowing, cultivation, rotation, succession, common pests and diseases, and harvest and storage Information about new, efficient techniques, season extension, and disease resistant varieties Farm-specific business skills to help ensure a successful, profitable enterprise Whether you are a beginning market grower or an established enterprise seeking to improve your skills, Sustainable Market Farming is an invaluable resource and a timely book for the maturing local agriculture movement.







The New Organic Grower


Book Description

With more than 45,000 sold since 1989, The New Organic Grower has become a modern classic. In this newly revised and expanded edition, master grower Eliot Coleman continues to present the simplest and most sustainable ways of growing top-quality organic vegetables. Coleman updates practical information on marketing the harvest, on small-scale equipment, and on farming and gardening for the long-term health of the soil. The new book is thoroughly updated, and includes all-new chapters such as: Farm-Generated Fertility—how to meet your soil-fertility needs from the resources of your own land, even if manure is not available. The Moveable Feast—how to construct home-garden and commercial-scale greenhouses that can be easily moved to benefit plants and avoid insect and disease build-up. The Winter Garden—how to plant, harvest, and sell hardy salad crops all winter long from unheated or minimally heated greenhouses. Pests—how to find "plant-positive" rather than "pest-negative" solutions by growing healthy, naturally resistant plants. The Information Resource—how and where to learn what you need to know to grow delicious organic vegetables, no matter where you live. Written for the serious gardener or small market farmer, The New Organic Grower proves that, in terms of both efficiency and profitability, smaller can be better.




Mastering the Art of Vegetable Gardening


Book Description

Mastering the Art of Vegetable Gardening is your "201" level course in cultivating produce. Expand your knowledge base and discover options that go beyond the ordinary! Prepare to encounter new varieties of common plant species, learn their history and benefits, and, most of all, identify fascinating new edibles to grow in your own gardens. Written by gardening expert Matt Mattus, Mastering the Art of Vegetable Gardening offers a wealth of new and exciting opportunities, alongside beautiful photography, lore, insight, and humor that can only come from someone who has grown each vegetable himself and truly loves gardening. More than 200 varieties of vegetables and herbs from the 50 most popular groups are featured in hands-on profiles that tell you how, where, and why to grow each one. Take artichokes for example: They are far from the most common edibles home growers choose, but when and if you choose to grow artichokes, you'll be fortunate to find more than one seed option, even at the better nurseries. In truth, there are nearly a dozen varieties of artichoke that are suitable for home growing in just about any climate, and each has its own unique benefits and characteristics. In Mastering the Art of Vegetable Gardening, you will find 10 types of artichoke described in through, loving detail—along with helpful tips on where and how to acquire seeds for each. And artichokes are just one item in this field-tested garden basket. Other popular and fascinating vegetables include: celtuce, Asian greens, cowpeas, carrots and parsnips, potatoes, parsley, and of course the tomato—you'll find over two dozen varieties discussed. If you are one of the more than 800,000 folks per year who has begun growing vegetables at home, Mastering the Art of Vegetable Gardening is the reference you need to pursue this rewarding activity to a whole new level of excellence, satisfaction, and success.




The Lean Farm Guide to Growing Vegetables


Book Description

At Clay Bottom Farm, author Ben Hartman and staff practice kaizen, or continuous improvement, cutting out more waste--of time, labor, space, money, and more--every year and aligning their organic production more tightly with customer demand. Applied alongside other lean principles originally developed by the Japanese auto industry, the end result has been increased profits and less work. In this field-guide companion to his award-winning first book, The Lean Farm, Hartman shows market vegetable growers in even more detail how Clay Bottom Farm implements lean thinking in every area of their work, including using kanbans, or replacement signals, to maximize land use; germination chambers to reduce defect waste; and right-sized machinery to save money and labor and increase efficiency. From finding land and assessing infrastructure needs to selling perfect produce at the farmers market, The Lean Farm Guide to Growing Vegetables digs deeper into specific, tested methods for waste-free farming that not only help farmers become more successful but make the work more enjoyable. These methods include: Using Japanese paper pot transplanters Building your own germinating chambers Leaning up your greenhouse Making and applying simple composts Using lean techniques for pest and weed control Creating Heijunka, or load-leveling calendars for efficient planning Farming is not static, and improvement requires constant change. The Lean Farm Guide to Growing Vegetables offers strategies for farmers to stay flexible and profitable even in the face of changing weather and markets. Much more than a simple exercise in cost-cutting, lean farming is about growing better, not cheaper, food--the food your customers want.




Farmers' Bulletin


Book Description




Handbook of Vegetable Science and Technology


Book Description

"Furnishes exhaustive, single-source coverage of the production and postharvest technology of more than 70 major and minor vegetables grown in tropical, subtropical, and temperate regions throughout the world. Provides comparative data for each vegetable presented. "




Breeding Vegetable Crops


Book Description

This text provides up-to-date treatment for the genetic improvement of 14 vegetable crops. Each crop has its own different requirements, opportunities and challenges. It should be of interest to advanced students who have already had training in genetics and plant breeding.