The Market Gardener – Make Money Farming on Small Acreage
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The Market Gardener: A Successful Grower’s Handbook for Small-Scale Organic Farming by Jean-Martin Fortier demonstrates that it is possible to earn a good living on a small piece of land, and provides the reader with the tools they need to do it.
With under 2 acres of cultivated land, Jean-Martin and his wife aren’t just small farmers, they’re micro-farmers. They have been supporting their family for the last ten years with just 1 1/2 cultivated acres , and achieving a profit margin of over 40%. I live in a state with large amounts of agriculture, and I know most farmers around here are struggling just to break even, let alone post that sort of profit.
How do they achieve these results? Through strategic planning.
Table of contents
The Market Gardener Success Strategy
- Garden Intensively – Maximize production by optimizing soil fertility, determining the best return per square foot of garden crop, reducing non-productive space and gathering multiple crops per season from the same soil
- Minimize Start Up Cost – Micro-scale production eliminates the need for large, expensive machinery, which is a huge expense for many produce growers. Additional tools/materials can be added over time and sometimes purchased used. Appropriate sizing and uniform sizing between beds allows production enhancers such as tarps, row covers and hoops to be moved within the garden with minimum effort, and allows a single item to be used in multiple locations over the course of the season.
- Minimize Production Cost – by operating on a micro-scale and planning for efficiency of labor, Jean-Martin and his wife minimize the need for outside labor, which typically accounts for 50% of costs of market growers.
- Sell Direct and Add Value – By cutting out the middle man, direct to consumer sales generate maximum return for the market gardener. Focusing on details that add value to the consumer, such as early season vegetables and unique vegetable cultivars, means that their produce can garner a premium price.
What’s In The Market Gardener
The book opens with a general overview, and then takes the reader step by step through the process of creating a successful market garden, including:
- Finding the Right Site
- Designing the Market Garden
- Minimum Tillage and Appropriate Machinery
- Fertilizing Organically
- Starting Seeds Indoors
- Direct Seeding
- Weed Management
- Insect Pests and Disease
- Season Extension
- Harvest and Storage
- Crop Planning
Planned Vacation!
One particular aspect of their cropping strategy that I found personally appealing was that they do not try to harvest a crop year round. This provides them with a couple of months in deep winter to relax and recharge – even take a vacation – before heading back to work with fresh enthusiasm. It allows reduces the need for supplemental light and heating. (They are located in Canada, so some supplemental heating for early season seed starting is a must.)
There are also detailed crop growing notes, sources for tools and supplies, planting schedules and crop rotation charts. Simple line drawings help to illustrate key points throughout the text.
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You can hear from the author himself talk about his inspiration for writing “The Market Gardener”:
Conclusion
If you’re ready to “grow better instead of growing bigger”, this may be the right book for you. It’s possible to make a living off the land without a large amount of land. Jean-Martin Fortier and his wife have proved it.
Buy The Market Gardener: A Successful Grower’s Handbook for Small-Scale Organic Farming now.
I received a copy of the book for review. As always, my opinions are my own.
If you have a favorite book for profitable small farming, please share your suggestion in the comments.
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Originally published in 2014, updated May 2016. Giveaway was held back in 2014 and is now closed.
This looks Very inspirational!
do heavy feeders just need lots of nitrogen?
Generally the term “heavy feeder” is used to refer to plants that have a high nitrogen demand, but enriching the soil with a more balanced fertilizer in addition to plenty of nitrogen will give the best results. Healthy soil contains millions of micro-organisms, all doing their part. For more detailed soil building books, check out https://commonsensehome.com/building-soils-naturally/ and https://commonsensehome.com/working-with-nature/
I would love to see their layout since this is my biggest issue. I didn’t plan well when I expanded the garden.
This looks a very informatve book. I would love to add it to my gardening library!!
What is the best companion planting guide?
My favorite is Great Gardening Companions.
We have a small farm and want it to be self sustaining and organic. We can use all the help we can get!
I am a North-Westcoast gardener who has just moved to semi-arid Colorado. This year is going to be a huge learning curve as far as gardening goes. Any tips on growing food at high-altitude in drought-like conditions?
Google “hugelkultur”, “sunken beds” and “keyhole gardening”. All of these strategies may be helpful for making the most of the water that you have.
We have been working on growing more of what we put on our table for the last 3 years. Last year was the worst year yet for our garden. What direction should rows be planned out in?
I don’t usually plant in just rows – too much wasted space and soil compaction – but when I plant in rows within blocks, it varies. Most of the time I plant east to west, and put taller crops to the north ends of beds. Sometimes I plant north to south and use taller plants to shade cool loving plants from later afternoon sun by planting the shorter plants to the east of the tall plants. Prevailing winds, if any, need to be considered, too. I find my corn is a little less likely to tip over in strong winds if I plant the rows in the direction of the winds, but it doesn’t make a huge difference.
If you could tell me when spring will arrive this year that would be most helpful.
That’s a million dollar question right there! I sure wish I knew, and that it would be soon!
Looking into starting a small CSA next year – very interested in this book!
I would love to win this book! Have wanted to run a profitable CSA for years and this looks like a good resource.
Now that I have a cow and chickens, I’m trying to learn the right and wrong ways of using their ‘fertilizer’ in the garden. I’d be interested in any tips regarding that.
Love your review!
Thanks for the giveaway! How do you clean your lettuce? I always find grit in my garden lettuce- especially after a good rain when the dirt is splashed deep up into the leaves. Yuck!
I have been seriously considering this so a book on the topic would help.
I’ve dreamed about selling my homegrown veggies & fruit at a farmers market, this sounds like a good resource!
This book sounds wonderful. I wonder what you see as the pro’s and con’s comparing traditional row gardening, square foot gardening, and container gardening. We don’t own our home/yard; I was thinking I’d like to keep things as non-permanent as possible, but I’m open to advice. Thanks for sharing your experience and expertise. (And I hope I win the book!) 🙂
This book sounds amazing for maximizing what you have, making the most of things!
This is great! As a fairly new gardener, I can use all the help I can get. We have lots of standing water in the springtime that, unfortunately, drowned 1/2 of my seeds last year. Any suggestions for dealing with excess water, besides trucking in a ton of dirt to make raised beds?
Looks like a great book!
That looks like an excellent book that I would love to read! I have too many questions to even start listing them! 🙂
I agree with Mandy. I could fill the page with questions and still not have them all answered, lol.