The Market Gardener: A Successful Grower's Handbook for Small-Scale Organic Farming

A lot of people that don't read this book are quick to say things like, "yeah, you say he makes 6 figures, but he's in a city and supplies restaurants", and that his method wont work in other locations. First off, yes, he does make 6 figures, but he lives in the country (60 min or so from the city), and while he does supply restaurants, he mostly supplies families and sells at farmers markets. Him and his wife also work about 40 hrs a week and he hires one or two people seasonally and shuts down for about 3 months in the winter. His book shows in excellent detail how he has achieved his success over time (not overnight), and the steps are very practical for other locations. OF COURSE there will be things you need to adjust if you apply this method in other areas (and any potential farmer should know that), but the information is extremely practical and relevant no matter where you are. If you want to do micro-intensive farming, this is a wonderful resource and shows you the things you need to do and start thinking about. I am currently looking for land where I will start my own micro-farm operation, and while I will not use this book exclusively (every farm is different), it's going to be a major reference. Of note, Jean Martin has recently started to integrate permaculture into his operation, and that information is not contained in this reference since he's just started in that endeavor. It is still an excellent reference for the aspiring organic grower. Personally, I very-much appreciate his common-sense approach on standardized beds and hand tools that are designed for those beds. His practices will not only give me fantastic food, but will also help me to become more physically fit through efficient manual labor, which as someone who works behind a desk, I am craving. He also shows how he looks at his crop value, crop rotation, how he works his greenhouse, transplants, and many examples of his spreadsheets that keep his business running a profit; the list goes on and on... I can't recommend this book enough.

I purchased this book many many years ago and still refer to it from time to time. It contains timeless information about starting a market garden and running a thriving small-scale farm. It gave us the push we needed to start the business we had been dreaming of.

This book, "The Market Gardener," feels like you're conversing with a fellow traveler on this journey of nurturing the land. As someone who’s been digging in the soil for many years and even taught my children the value of agriculture and farming, I appreciate the practical wisdom shared within these pages. This isn't just theory; it's real, hands-on advice from someone who’s clearly made it work. I like the focus on small-scale organic farming. It is a focused, intentional approach that yields rich results. The chapters are laid out clearly, much like a good lesson plan. You can tell the author has a deep respect for the land and a desire to share his knowledge. It’s inspiring to see how one can create a thriving market garden using organic methods. This book reinforces my belief that we can be good stewards of the earth while also providing for ourselves and our communities. It’s a valuable resource for anyone looking to cultivate not just vegetables, but also a more sustainable way of life. I'll be recommending this to my gardening friends and even my grandchildren who are starting to explore their own green thumbs.

Pros: Great information. Well written. Has already been extremely helpful as I start planning a small market garden. Nicely organized and plenty detailed with topics covered. Great information for the financial side of starting a market farm. Very, very helpful charts throughout including crop rotation, record keeping examples, and (my favorite) their sales by crop (with info on % of space used, price, profitability, and more!) Fun and helpful illustrations. Plenty if information on soil building and organic management of pests and fertilizing. Cons: Very light on business management of a small farm, which I don't need and can be found in other books. And very light on crop specific information. Very little more than what I had already found online. Some of the information is not relevant to my garden as I don't have seed starting room, cold storage room, nursery, or greenhouse/hoophouse. Overall: Love this resource! It has been so helpful with my planning, especially since they have a similar growing season (about 120 days). As I'm figuring out what to grow to maximize profitability in my garden I have referred to this book (especially sales chart on page 14) a lot. I purchased Sustainable Market Farming by Pam Dawling (review on that coming soon) along with this book and use that for crop specific management (I love and recommended it!!!). This book is primarily about producing a very profitable yield on small space without massive debt or damaging the local ecosystem. If I am able to expand from my backyard garden to a larger operation I will be digging into different areas of this book more and more.

A great book. Really insightful. Unlike other gardening books, this one goes into precise details as to the planning of market garden. Very straightforward and practical

Ever since I had an interest in organic farming and was searching for sustainable methods to maximize revenue while also caring for the environment, Jean-Martin Fortier's book was one that really interested me. After watching several of the YouTube videos which outline his method of approach in planning, operations and harvesting, I grew all the more curious and just needed to get my hands on his book. Bought it just about a week ago and have now gone through it from cover to cover and feel glad that I did purchase it. JM has written the book with good detail, in such a manner so as to make even a new entrant into farming / market gardening confident of success. Although it is obvious that majority of the practices, crops and market around which his operations are based have a world of difference to the same in India, it is his methodology and approach to the operations that are the real lessons to be learnt. The efficiency with which he runs his operations are described right down to the very details and this gives the reader confidence that success can truly be achieved even on a small scale. Would highly recommend this book to all newcomers (irrespective of location) to this field of work, in order to learn the approach required to make market gardening a success. Glad I bought it and am pretty sure it will be a good reference for me as I start on my journey in Market Gardening.

Es un libro muy bueno ya que te da muchos datos que necesitas para iniciar una granja con producción de hortalizas a pequeña escala, lo bueno es que te datos muy técnicos y que puedes replicar en cualquier momento, lo "malo" es que la mayoría de los datos son basados en condiciones canadienses o de EU y muchos de los productos no lo puedes conseguir en México. Muy recomendable.

Kann mich den Vorredner nur anschließen. Wirklich sehr gutes Buch mit vielen praktischen Tipps. Komme aus der "Ecke" der konventionellen Beerenlandwirtschaft. Wirklich erstaunlich, was alles so zu schaffen ist vor allem in kleinem Stil. Es gibt auch einen Film von Jean Martin Fortier - sehr empfehlenswert um die Sache zu veranschaulichen. Weitere TIpps in diese Richtung ist der "Urban Farmer" Curtis Stone ( sehr viel Material auf Youtube ) sowie Eliot Coleman ("Urgestein" in den USA )

Excellent!!!