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 Praise for
The Market Gardener

This is a thorough farming manual that lays out In France, The Market Gardener has quickly be-
a human-scale farming system centered on good come a book of reference for small-scale farming.
growing practices and appropriate technology. Both visionary and practical, it is a work of rare
Had I read this book when I was a starting farmer, intelligence. By sharing a way to work the land for
I would now be farming with a walking tractor abundance of growth in respect of ecological prin-
on an acre and hailing Jean-Martin as my market ciples, Jean-Martin offers a new way of connecting
gardening guru! This book is going to inspire new to the earth and we thank him for it.
farmers to stay small and farm profitably. — Charles Herve-Gruyer,
— Dan Brisebois, author, Permaculture teacher and grower at
Crop Planning for Organic Vegetable Growers, la Fermedu BecHellouin, France
farmer at Tournesol cooperative farm, Canada.
How do we encourage a new generation of ecolog-
Jean-Martin’s book is very well done and should ical, small-scale farmers? By showing that farming
be of great use to market growers everywhere. Ex- can be a viable, stimulating, and respected career
change of ideas and information is so important choice. This book offers the hope that a small-
because when we pass ideas on, the next person scale diversified market garden can be both prof-
gets to start where we got to and take the ideas to itable and personally fulfilling and then goes on to
another level. give practical advice on just how to do it. I would
— Eliot Coleman, organic farming pioneer and author, offer this book to any new or wannabe vegetable
The Winter Harvest Handbook farmer as well as to my seasoned mentors. I can’t
wait to see how the practices I’ve read about mani-
The Market Gardener is a very technical yet prac- fest on my own farm this coming growing season
tical book. What Jean-Martin has done with his and in the years to come. This is an important new
micro-farm requires a great deal of planning, good book in my farm library.
management practices and tough full reflections
— Shannon Jones,
about new (renewed) horticultural practices, small-scale organic market gardener
which he shares generously. For ether the home or Broadfork Farm, River Hebert, NS
market garden this book might be as useful as. . .
la grelinette!
— Joseph Templier, French master grower and co-author,
ADABIO guide de l’auto-construction
This is a fantastic addition to any aspiring market Jean-Martin Fortier takes our hands and our
gardener’s library, and even has a few new ideas hearts in his, as he recounts the lessons, practices
for old hands. Jean-Martin has laid out all of the and motivations behind his incredibly productive
basics for how we can farm more profitability, and profitable market garden business.
productively, and passionately on a more human As he leads us through his packing, potting
sized scale. This book goes beyond the theoretical, and work sheds, his greenhouses, his fields and
providing valuable details from his own market his markets we come to know the grounded rea-
garden and his experiences over the years. All of sons behind his choices, the surprisingly relaxed
this is made even more valuable because of his ac- rhythm of their lifestyle and work and the simple
knowledgement of the importance of place and yet efficient techniques he and his partner employ
also that there is an evolution to any endeavor. on their farm. Through his tale, he inspires new
Grounding us with an explanation of his own and older famers alike to continue to learn how to
small farm history and location makes it easier for farm better, and to continue to question the logic
us to learn from his experiences and apply them to of getting ‘bigger’.
our own small farms. In his frank, unassuming style, Jean-Martin
— Josh Volk, creates an infallible argument for the sound eco-
Slow Hand Farm, Portland, Oregon nomics and the appealing lifestyle of his small
farm operation. And as he shares all of his farms
Jean-Martin Fortier extols the virtues of being “secrets of success” he convinces us that any-
small-scale, and expertly details the use of such one — who is smart, determined and hard-work-
scale-appropriate tools as broadforks, seeders,
ing — can build a farm like his.
hoes, flame weeders, low tunnels, high tunnels,
As Jean-Martin points out, new farmers to-
and many other unique tools, specifically de-
day have both the choice and ability to build vi-
signed for this brand of farming. He picks up right able small farm operations. But, as he places their
where Eliot Coleman has left us, applying many of choices in the context of a world with increasing
his core principles, but doing it in such a brilliant complex and fragile ecological, food and financial
way as to provide beginning farmers a solid frame- systems, with the distance between each other
work of the information they need to start up and and our natural world growing, it is clear that
become successful small-scale organic growers farmers not only have the choice but they have
themselves. an imperative to take up the calling and build
— Adam Lemieux,
meaningful farm livelihoods that will continue to
Product Manager of Tools & Supplies
Johnny’s Selected Seeds
sustain themselves and all of us.
— Christie Young,
Founder and Executive Director of FarmStart
the market gardener

A successful grower’s Handbook

for Small-Scale Organic Farming

Jean-Martin Fortier
Foreword by Severine von Tscharner Fleming, The Greenhorns
Illustrations by Marie Bilodeau
 Copyright © 2014 by Jean-Martin Fortier. All rights reserved.
© Les Éditions Écosociété, 2012, for the original French edition, Le jardinier-maraîcher,
Manuel d’agriculture biologique sur petite surface. www.ecosociete.org
Cover design by Diane McIntosh. Illustration by Marie Bilodeau. All interior illustrations by Marie Bilodeau.
English translation by Scott Irving, Edgar Translation. www.edgar.ca
Printed in Canada. First printing January 2014.
New Society Publishers acknowledges the financial support of the Government of Canada
through the Canada Book Fund (CBF) for our publishing activities.
Inquiries regarding requests to reprint all or part of The Market Gardener
should be addressed to New Society Publishers at the address below.
To order directly from the publisher, please call toll-free
(North America) 1-800-567-6772, or order online at www.newsociety.com
Any other inquiries can be directed by mail to:
New Society Publishers, P.O. Box 189, Gabriola Island, BC V0R 1X0, Canada, (250) 247-9737
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Fortier, Jean-Martin, 1978–
[ Jardinier-maraîcher. English]
The market gardener : a successful grower’s handbook for small-scale
organic farming / Jean-Martin Fortier ; foreword by Severine von Tscharner
Fleming, The Greenhorns ; illustrations by Marie Bilodeau.
Translation of: Le jardinier-maraîcher.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Issued in print and electronic formats.
isbn 978-0-86571-765-7 (pbk.). — isbn 978-1-55092-555-5 (ebook)
1. Truck farming. 2. Organic farming. 3. Permaculture. I. Title.
II. Title: Jardinier-maraîcher. English.
SB321.F6913 2014 635'.0484 C2013-907877-0
C2013-907878-9
New Society Publishers’ mission is to publish books that contribute in fundamental ways to building an ecologically
sustainable and just society, and to do so with the least possible impact on the environment, in a manner that
models this vision. We are committed to doing this not just through education, but through action. The interior
pages of our bound books are printed on Forest Stewardship Council®-registered acid-free paper that is 100% post-
consumer recycled (100% old growth forest-free), processed chlorine-free, and printed with vegetable-based,
low-VOC inks, with covers produced using FSC®-registered stock. New Society also works to reduce its carbon
footprint, and purchases carbon offsets based on an annual audit to ensure a carbon neutral footprint. For further
information, or to browse our full list of books and purchase securely, visit our website at: www.newsociety.com
 Contents

Acknowledgments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
Preface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv

1 Small Is Profitable. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Can You Really Live off 1.5 Acres? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Not Just Making a Good Living, but Making a Good Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2 Succeeding as a Small-Scale Organic Vegetable Grower . . . . . . . 5
A Biologically Intensive Approach. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Minimizing Start-Up Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Minimizing Production Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Direct Selling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Adding Value to the Crops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Learning the Craft. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3 Finding the Right Site. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Climate and Microclimate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Market Access. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Growing Space Needed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Soil Quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Topography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Drainage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Access to Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Infrastructure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Assessing Possible Pollution Problems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
4 Designing the Market Garden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Buildings and Foot Traffic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Standardizing the Garden Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Locating the Greenhouse and Tunnels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Protection against Deer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

v
 Windbreaks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Irrigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
5 Minimum Tillage and Appropriate Machinery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Permanent Raised Beds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
The Two-Wheel Tractor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
The Broadfork (Grelinette) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Tarps and Pre-Crop Ground Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
To Till or not to Till . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
6 Fertilizing Organically. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Soil Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Crop Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Managing Soil Fertility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Good Compost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Relying on Natural Fertilizers — Why?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Establishing Crop Rotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Crop Rotation at Les Jardins de la Grelinette. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Green Manure and Cover Crops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Connecting with Soil Ecology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
7 Starting Seeds Indoors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Seeding in Cell Flats. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
The Soil Mix. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Filling Cell Flats. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
The Seedling Room . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
The Evolving Plant Nursery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Heating and Ventilation of the Nursery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
How to Water Seedlings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Potting up. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Transplanting into the Gardens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
8 Direct Seeding. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Precision Seeders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Seedbed Preparation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Record Keeping. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
9 Weed Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Cultivating with Hoes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

vi the market gardener

 Weeding with Tarps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
The Stale Seedbed Technique . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Flame Weeding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Mulching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Weed Control Technology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
10 Insect Pests and Diseases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Scouting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Disease Prevention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Using Biopesticides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
11 Season Extension. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Floating Row Cover and Low Tunnels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Caterpillar Tunnels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Hoophouses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
12 Harvest and Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Harvesting Efficiently . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Harvest Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
The Cold Room. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
13 Crop Planning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Setting Farming Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Determining Production. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Establishing a Crop Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Making a Garden Plan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Record Keeping. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Conclusion: Farming for Ecology, Community, and Lifestyle . . . . 143
Appendix 1: Crop Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Appendix 2: Tools and Suppliers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Appendix 3: Garden Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Appendix 4: Annotated Bibliography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Appendix 5: Glossary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
About the Author. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

Co n t e n t s vii
 D edication

Dedicated to the organic pioneers

who have paved the way before us. With deep gratitude.

And to young agrarians who are now changing the face of agriculture.
We have not only the choice to do things differently, but the means as well.

viii the market gardener

Acknowledgments
to the English edition of
Le Jardinier-Maraîcher

Writing this book was no small feat, and I offer my thanks to Severine von Tscharner
I have sunk countless hours into it. This writing Fleming, who so kindly agreed to write the fore-
adventure would never have been possible with- word. It is the work of people like her that fosters
out the support of my family, the collaboration of a hospitable climate for us small-scale growers.
our farm employees, and all the many volunteers Finally, I would like to renew my recognition
who passed through to lend a hand. The long to everyone who helped out with the original
Quebec winter also played its part... French edition. Naming everyone here would be
Different people have given their time to help too long, but I cannot express enough gratitude
in reviewing this book. I would especially like to to Marie Bilodeau for her great art work, Laure
thank my long-time friend Kory Goldberg for Waridel for such an inspiring foreword, and the
his dedicated and reflective comments and for whole team at Écosociété who believed in this
his help in editing the manuscript. Ian LeChemi- book from the very beginning. The success of Le
nant’s sharp copy-editing, Scott Irving’s skill in Jardinier-Maraîcher is a result of your collabora-
translation, and John McKercher’s proficiency in tion. Merci.
layout and design have all contributed to this final In closing, I would like to thank two people
product. Working with such talented people is a for contributing to the person I am. First, my fa-
real blessing. ther, who taught me at a very young age the im-
This book would not have been possible with- portance of being well-organized. This has been
out the help of FarmStart Ontario, an organiza- the best arrow in my quiver. And finally, thanks to
tion dedicated to supporting a new generation of Maude-Hélène Desroches, my work partner, my
entrepreneurial, ecological farmers. Their crowd- best friend, and the love of my life.
funding project kick-started this translation. Spe-
cial thanks to Christie Young for taking on the
idea of bringing my work to a broader audience. — Jean-Martin Fortier

ix
 FarmStart is a charitable organization in Canada enterprise, at an affordable and accessible scale,
that provides tools, resources, and support to help but most importantly about how to make it both
a new generation of entrepreneurial, ecological very productive and profitable.
farmers to get their farms off the ground and to We are thrilled that now a new generation of
thrive. We need young farmers, new farmers, and farmers will be able to read and reread what will
more farmers to revitalize our rural communities, be a beloved must-have in a vegetable grower’s
root resilient and sustainable food systems, and library. We are excited to see how farmers will
provide careful stewardship of our agricultural adopt and continue to adapt the ideas, techniques,
resources for generations to come. and practices that Jean-Martin and Maude Hé-
We can’t make starting a farm easy, but Farm- lène have proven to work on their farm and have
Start works to make it a little less risky, a little shared with us in this fantastic guidebook.
more accessible, and a lot less lonely. We are grateful to all the donors who sup-
In the winter of 2013, FarmStart began an ported the fundraising campaign and made this
online fundraising campaign to translate Le Jar- translation possible. And we are thankful for all
diner-Maraîcher, the original French version of the passionate, pioneering, and dedicated farm-
The Market Gardener. We felt it was important to ers who are finding innovative and sustainable
make available in English this transformational ways to grow delicious food on less land and
guidebook that can inspire young and new veg- with fewer resources. To have vibrant and resil-
etable farmers. This book provides practical infor- ient food systems in the future, we will need more
mation not only on how to start a market garden of them.

x the market gardener

Foreword
by Severine von Tscharner Fleming,
The Greenhorns

Taking the first step towards a better fu- And most of it could probably be stuffed into and
ture is always the most difficult. Forty years ago, onto their big white van. Talk about low-tech.
economist E.F. Schumacher offered us Small Is Les Jardins de la Grelinette is a place of tre-
Beautiful, an accessible and appropriate treatise mendous productivity—the gardens bursting with
to help us take such a step in the chaotic global huge cabbages, humming bees, and wheelbarrows
economy. Poet and agrarian philosopher Wendell darting in and out of permanent vegetable beds
Berry suggested that “there is no big solution,” neatly tucked into their remay and black mesh.
only many small ones, and that we must rebuild The couple has transformed a derelict rabbit barn
the economy from the ground up. into a compelling, comfortable, beautiful home,
I met Jean-Martin at a Greenhorns Grange hall farm and workspace. La Grelinette is a place of
mixer in the Adirondacks of New York. He arrived beauty with its ample wild berries, ferns, and for-
with his wife, Maude-Hélène, and their two lively, est interspaced with swimming holes, hand-built
delightful children in a vegetable delivery van piled cabins for visiting interns, and a wood-powered
high with bicycles and camping gear. After the sauna. Every aspect is modest, functional, well-
workshops on oxen, soil life, and fermentation, fol- designed, and well-considered, with happy farm-
lowed by a puppet show, dance party, and pig roast, ers to boot! It’s a living testament to the opinions
the whole family quietly mounted their bikes and and operations described in The Market Gardener.
returned to the tent they’d set up in a nearby field. They have pulled it off, and so can you!
There were quite a few words spoken about these Aspiring young farmers are currently con-
charming Canadian interlopers, and we made sure fronted with tremendous structural odds, such as
to get them on our mailing list. I later visited the an economy that undervalues food, but where real
couple’s farm in rural Quebec, about 60 minutes estate pressure forces land prices up. In this chal-
north of Burlington, Vermont. Beyond the incred- lenging climate that discourages small business
ible gardens, I was astounded that the farm had as startups, big businesses set the terms of trade and
much recreational gear as farming equipment! benefit from unfair labor practices, while subsidiz-

xi
 ing production costs and externalizing environ- The corporate food system is now fully central-
mental ones. Industrial agriculture has dominated ized and controls many factors that undermine the
the landscape for the last 40 years, polluting the sector’s ultimate resilience. It is energy dependant,
water, and skewing the marketplace, while warm- highly concentrated, and ultimately unsustainable
ing the climate for future generations. The only on any long-term evaluation. Unfortunately, it also
“price” agribusiness will pay is to lobby hard in controls much of the land base. Where then, in this
order to keep their status quo. These business in- landscape of monocultures and degraded soils, are
terests might be mega-sized and intimidating, but the spaces of opportunity? We have already seen
let us not underestimate the cumulative power of good economic traction from CSAs and farmers
many small initiatives. Like the humble acorn that markets mushrooming all over the US, Canada,
grows into a mighty oak, we have the power to and Europe. In some places, especially progressive
grow up from underneath. cities like New York, San Francisco, and Boulder,
My experience documenting and interview- these markets may seem close to saturated. But in
ing the growing young farming community over many more areas, these foods are still not avail-
the past 7 years connects me with a dense fabric of able, and the market is untapped.
personal and professional narratives around farm As I travel around North America, I keep an
startup. I have heard hundreds, if not thousands, eagle eye out for the places of strategic opportu-
of personal farm startup stories, from romance to nity for further farm development. Here, again,
breakup. I believe that the information, advice, Jean-Martin has identified an opening in peri-
and content in this book, based on Fortier’s ex- urban areas, in and around smaller cities and larger
perience, is invaluable precisely because it is ap- towns, especially where the built environment has
proachable and doable without a lot of money, contracted from the exit of industry, or the break-
or land, or debt, or infrastructure—major stum- down of previous industrial agricultural sectors
bling blocks for a young person to confront. A (e.g., poultry, tobacco, cut flowers, horticulture,
frustrated farm apprentice, evaluating these and equine). In these contexts, there are many small
other challenges, may decide to drop out of agri- parcels, and small broken-down farm properties
culture to pursue a more secure, reliable income perfectly suited to intensive cultivation by La Gre-
in other fields. By laying out a micro-sized enter- linette-type market gardeners. Vacant urban lands,
prise, Jean-Martin is not only giving these aspi- fractured farming landscapes that have been split
rants the how-to of vegetable production, but has up by development, institutionally owned land,
laid out an accessible, simple economic plan that and peri-urban marginal lands may be some of
interprets the feasibility of success in small-scale the most affordable options for owner-operators,
organic farming. This in turn represents a power- as a full-time or part-time occupation. This could
ful leverage point in increasing the numbers of be a “starter farm” that helps the farmers save up
farmers overall, as well as pointing to a “way in” of money to move operations further out into the
economic opportunity for the rest of us. countryside after a few years, or else a way to live

xii the market gardener

a farming life in the city—the best of both worlds! unfair waged labor in the mainstream economy.
The growing strategies and know-how presented Small-scale farming is the right tool, precisely be-
in this book are important in this regard. cause it’s compatible with a set of opportunities in
The Williamson Act, recently enacted in the our current economy (in both the developing and
State of California, is a legislative victory point- developed worlds), and is adapted to the possibil-
ing to the potential for transforming the terms of ity of a new economy that will inevitably emerge
development. Under this legislation, marginal, as conditions (in both energy and transportation),
blighted, or under-utilized lands within the urban scale, and control are forced to contract.
boundary can be rented to commercial farmers. If The modest scale of such operations may not
the landlords make a 5-year lease agreement with match contemporary culture’s obsession with
farmers, the City will waive their property taxes. size and economy of scale, but following a differ-
This kind of law gives new farmers a bargaining ent narrative, one that is more suitable in the long
chip to be used in negotiations with landowners, run, is both profitable and possible. The guidance
and the possibility of small-scale startup. This is given in this book, especially around limiting me-
only one example among many other initiatives, chanical investments and overhead costs, might
particularly in urban gardening, urban greenways/ prove to be a more successful business mandate,
urban land trusts, for food security purposes. as well as a more beautiful way to live.
It may well prove that micro, low-cost, low-in- This handbook is a testimony to such ideas,
put, high-diversity and high-productivity systems made manifest in a real place. It’s an amazing first
have a major role to play in rebuilding regional food read for beginners because it’s comprehensive,
security. The example set out at La Grelinette is liv- holistic, and succinct. While the nuance and de-
ing proof of this security. Jean-Martin and Maude- tail of sustainable agriculture may take a lifetime
Hélène’s work follows in a tradition of appropriate to master, the lessons, experience, and skill-set
growing practices established by Alan Chadwick, shared in this volume are sufficient to get started.
John Jeavons, Eliot Coleman, and Miguel Altieri The straightforward approach, transparent eco-
in the US, as well as Cuban Farmers, the Basque nomic considerations, and clear instructions
Farmers union, and others from the Via Campesina presented by Jean-Martin should enable anyone
peasant movements from all over the world. Small- willing to commit to a few years of apprenticeship
scale biological farming is making a comeback— and outdoor handcraft adventure a certitude that
the right-sized tool for the job—helping individu- they can start their own career in farming. And
als and families wiggle free from a dependency on start now—our world needs more farmers!

Severine von Tscharner Fleming is an organizer, filmmaker and farmer living in the Champlain Valley of New York.
She runs the Greenhorns, a 6-year-old nonprofit network for young farmers in the US (thegreenhorns.net). Severine
is also co-founder and board member of Farm Hack, an open source platform and workshop for appropriate farm
technologies (farmhack.net) and co-founder of National Young Farmers Coalition (youngfarmers.org).

Foreword xiii
xiv the market gardener
Preface

After finishing my university studies at learned about permaculture and intensive crop-
the McGill School of Environment in Montreal, ping systems. Soon enough we built up a very
my wife Maude-Hélène and I set out on a two- productive market garden on less than two culti-
year journey to Mexico and the United States to vated acres. We named the farm after the grelinette
work on small organic farms. Coming from a sub- (“broadfork” in English), a tool that epitomizes
urban background disconnected from nature, this efficient hand labor in ecological gardening.
newly discovered rural lifestyle changed the way I Maude-Hélène and I began this venture to-
saw the world. Spending long hours each day out- gether, and the success of our micro-farm is the
side not only made me rethink my political and result of our collective intelligence and hard work.
philosophical positions, but it nourished my soul. So, while The Market Gardener represents my own
After spending so many years — indoors — reading opinions and suggestions, I use the pronoun “we”
about how the modern global economic system throughout the book when describing the horti-
is destroying our planet’s ecological integrity, cultural methods and techniques we used on our
it felt great to finally find a direct way to impact farm.
the world in a positive manner. The farmers and The Market Gardener grew out of a desire to
the farming communities where we stayed were provide aspiring farmers with a tool to help them
amazing and we felt blessed to have the oppor- start their businesses. For a number of years I had
tunity to take part in their way of life. I had found worked with Montreal’s Équiterre, a non-profit
practical idealism. organization dedicated to sustainable develop-
Coming back home to integrate our les- ment, serving as a mentor for beginning farmers.
sons from abroad, Maude-Hélène and I spent a It became clear to me that although persistence,
few years as self-employed market gardeners on determination and hard work are all key ingre-
rented land. We started a family and eventually dients for successful farming, these qualities on
felt the need to have our own home. By then we their own are not enough. Careful planning and
knew we wanted to get established in farming. design, good management practices, and ap-
Once we found our ten-acre site in Saint-Armand, propriate choices of equipment are all essential
in the Eastern Townships of Quebec, we immedi- components for developing an understanding
ately began to put into practice the things we had of the farm as a whole system. And since it has

xv
 been uncommon in Quebec to grow vegetables ferent cropping systems than the one I describe.
on a micro-scale level using hand tools, I felt that There are many great books about organic garden-
our experience contained valuable information to ing and farming and I have recommended addi-
pass along. tional texts in the annotated bibliography.
To this end, I set out to describe the horticul- Finally, it’s important to state that the prac-
tural practices used in our market garden, chapter tices described in this book and used on our mi-
by chapter, in as much detail as possible. The learn- cro-farm are not set in stone. We read voraciously,
ing curve in growing crops commercially is steep, visit as many farms as possible, and constantly
and I have always believed that a seasoned grower communicate with other growers. From time
is in the best position to impart the know-how re- to time, our research leads us to discover better
quired for the tasks at hand. Personal experience tools and more effective growing techniques. Our
has also taught me that having a clear guide on production system is a constant work in progress,
what to do at each stage of the growing season, and and our methods will undoubtedly be further re-
a good example to follow, are both essential when fined with time. Nonetheless, I am confident that
you don’t have much experience in a given field. I if you plan on starting an organic market garden
believe this handbook provides valuable guidance. then you will find the accumulated knowledge
One of the guiding principles in writing this we are presenting to be a useful point of depar-
book was to share only growing methods that we ture and reference. I wish you the best along your
successfully practiced for many seasons on our agricultural journey and look forward to hearing
farm. This assures the reader that the informa- how you give shape to your market garden, in new
tion presented is both accurate and proven. This places and in different ways.
being said, I have not touched upon many other
practices and techniques used by other successful — Jean-Martin Fortier,
growers and I encourage the reader to explore dif- Saint-Armand, Quebec, September 2013.

xvi the market gardener

Small Is Profitable

Nearly everywhere we look, the stirrings of a revolution are becoming increasingly

clear: people are farming differently; and we see signs of landowner resistance
with a focus on local production, concern for the environment, and citizenship.
— ​Hélène Raymond and Jacques Mathé
Une agriculture qui goûte autrement. Histoires de
productions locales, de l’Amérique du Nord à l’Europe, 2011

Everywhere around the world, people’s Équiterre, which oversees one of the largest net-
eyes are being opened to the ravages of industrial works of organic farmers and citizens in support
agriculture: pesticides, GMOs, cancer, agribusi- of ecological farming, has brilliantly comple-
ness. Along with this growing awareness is an mented the notion of the family doctor with that
increasing consumer demand for healthy, local, of the “family farmer.” Alternative modes of food
organic food. Alternative modes of selling and distribution now represent a growing niche, and
purchasing food are also gaining ground, visible moving out to the country to make a living in ag-
not only in the mushrooming farmers’ markets riculture is now a viable option for young (and
but also through community-supported agricul- not-so-young) aspiring farmers.
ture, or community-shared agriculture (CSA) My wife and I began our farming career in
schemes. This system is a direct exchange be- a very small market garden, selling our veggies
tween producers and consumers. The consumer through a farmers’ market and a CSA project. We
buys a share in the farm’s production at the be- rented a small piece of land (¹⁄₅ of an acre) where
ginning of the season, thus becoming a partner in we set up a summer camp. It didn’t take much
the endeavor. In exchange, the farm commits to investment in the way of tools and equipment
providing quality produce, usually harvested the to get us up and running, and our expenses were
day before, or even the same day. In addition to low enough that we were able to cover our farm-
issues of quality, this model of food distribution ing costs, earn enough money to make it through
addresses people’s desire to have a relationship the winter, and even do some travelling. Back then
with the farmers who grow their food. we were content just to be gardening and to be
These ideas are making headway in Quebec: making ends meet.

1
 Eventually, however, there came a time when lifestyle has remained the same. We don’t work for
we felt the need to become more settled; we the farm; the farm works for us.
wanted to build a house of our own and put down We decided to brand ourselves specifically
roots in a community. Our new beginning meant as market gardeners (jardiniers-maraîchers in
that our market garden would have to generate French) to emphasize the fact that we work with
enough income to make payments on the land, hand tools. Unlike most contemporary vegetable
pay for the construction of our house, and keep producers, who grow in vast fields, we work in gar-
the family afloat. dens where our fossil fuel input is relatively low.
To accomplish this, we could have followed a The features that characterize our operation — ​
route similar to that taken by all the other grow- high productivity on a small plot of land, intensive
ers we knew: invest in a tractor and move towards methods of production, season extension tech-
a more mechanized growing system. Instead, we niques, and selling directly to public markets — ​
opted to stay small-scale and continue relying are all modelled after the French tradition of
on hand and light power tools. From the outset, ­maraîchage, although our practices have also been
we had always believed that it was possible — ​and influenced by our American neighbors. The great-
even preferable — ​to intensify production through est influence on our work has been the American
gardening techniques. To grow better instead of vegetable grower Eliot Coleman, whom we have
bigger became the basis of our model. With sim- visited and met on several occasions. His book
plicity in mind, we began researching horticultural The New Organic Grower guided us and helped
techniques and tools that could make farming on us see that it truly is possible to turn a profit on
our one-and-a-half-acre plot a viable reality. less than two cultivated acres. Coleman’s shared
After much research and many discoveries, experience and his innovation in techniques for
our journey led us to what is now a productive and growing vegetables on small plots were a gift to
profitable micro-farm. Every week, our market us, and we owe him a great deal.
garden now produces enough vegetables to feed Of course, most established farmers would
over 200 families and generates enough income probably tell us that farming without a tractor is
to comfortably support our household. Our low- too much work and that we are too young to ap-
tech strategy kept our start-up costs to a minimum preciate how much easier our lives would be with
and our overhead expenses low. The farm became mechanization. I disagree. The cultivation tech-
profitable after only a few years of production, and niques described in this book actually reduce the
we have never felt the pinch of financial pressure. amount of work required for field preparation,
Just like in the beginning, gardening is still our and planting crops more closely together greatly
main focus, and even though there have been a reduces weed pressure. And though most of our
lot of changes around the farm over the years, our gear and tools are hand-powered, they are quite
sophisticated and designed to make tasks more

2 the market gardener

efficient and ergonomic. All in all, apart from har- demonstrating the impressive potential of biolog-
vesting, which accounts for the bulk of our work, ically intensive cropping systems geared towards
our productivity and efficiency are extremely direct selling. Our farm in Quebec, Les Jardins de
high. The manual labour we do is pleasant, lucra- la Grelinette, is living proof of this. In our first year
tive, and very much in keeping with a healthy life- of production on rented land, our farm brought
style. More often than not, we enjoy the sound in $20,000 in sales with less than one quarter of
of birdsong as we work, rather than the din of an acre under cultivation. The following year, our
engines. sales more than doubled on the same garden size,
None of this is to say that I object to all forms rising to $55,000. In our third growing season, we
of mechanization. Of the most successful farms invested in new tools and land, settling on our own
I have visited, the majority were highly mecha- farm site in Saint-Armand. By increasing our area
nized — ​Eliot Coleman’s being the exception. under cultivation to one and a half acres, we were
I would simply put it this way: using a tractor able to increase our gross sales to $80,000. When
and other machinery for weeding and tilling our sales broke the $100,000 mark the following
does not by itself guarantee that farming will be year, our micro-farm reached a level of production
more profitable. When choosing between a non-­ and financial success that most people in the agri-
mechanized approach and machinery such as a culture industry believed to be impossible. When
two-wheeled tractor, aspiring farmers must al- our sales figures were made public through a farm-
ways weigh the pros and cons, especially if they ing competition, our business won a prize for its
are just starting out. outstanding economic performance.
For the last ten years, my wife and I have had
no other income than the one we obtain from
Can You Really Live
our 1½-acre micro-farm. Many other small-scale
off 1.5 Acres?
growers make better than a living wage on small
When it comes to commercial vegetable growing, intensively cultivated plots, and there should not
the idea of a profitable micro-farm is sometimes be any doubt that it is possible to have a career in
met with scepticism by people in the farming market gardening. In fact, one can imagine mak-
world. It is even possible that some naysayers ing a pretty decent livelihood. A well-established,
would try to discourage an aspiring farmer from smoothly running market garden with good sales
starting an operation like ours, stating that pro- outlets can bring in $60,000 to $100,000 per acre
duction simply won’t be enough to make ends annually in diverse vegetable crops. That’s with a
meet for a family. I encourage aspiring farmers to profit margin of over 40% — ​a figure that stacks up
take this kind of scepticism with a grain of salt. favorably against margins in many other agricul-
Attitudes are beginning to shift as micro-farming tural sectors.
in the United States, Japan, and other countries is

c h a p t e r 1 : S m a l l i s p r o f i ta b l e 3
Our daily life in the anyone who pictures farm life as endless drudg-
garden is in tune with ery, I would assert that I feel quite fortunate to
the passing seasons live in the countryside and work outdoors. Our
and in line with work offers us the opportunity to become part-
how we want to live. ners with nature on a daily basis, a reality that not
Market gardening is many other professional careers can offer. Unlike
hard work, but also employees of big companies living with the con-
­rewarding and fun. stant threat of layoffs, I have job security. That’s
saying a lot.
Not Just Making a Good Living, After having spent so much time at the com-
but Making a Good Life puter writing this book, I would also add that the
physical demands of market gardening are actu-
The popular myth of family farms persists: we are ally easier on one’s health than sitting in front of
tied down to the land, we work seven days a week, a computer screen all day. By saying so, I hope to
we never have time off, and we just barely scrape reassure some readers that gardening as a living
by financially. This image probably has its roots in is not so much a question of age as one of will.
the real-life struggles experienced by most con- Whether or not you have a background in farm-
ventional farmers, who are caught in the strangle- ing, you can learn everything you need to know
hold of modern agriculture. It is true that being in this time-honored vocation if you are serious
a mixed vegetable grower is hard work. Rain or and motivated. You need only invest your time
shine, we are up against the vagaries of a highly and enthusiasm.
unpredictable climate. Bumper crops and seasons Since our farm began hosting interns just get-
of plenty are far from guaranteed, and a hefty dose ting their feet wet in the world of agriculture, I
of pluck and commitment is required to make it have noticed that most aspiring farmers I meet are
through — ​particularly during those first few years, drawn to the fields for one fundamental reason.
when one is still building infrastructure and a cus- It’s not just that they want to be their own boss and
tomer base. get out in the fresh air as much as possible — ​most
Our vocation is nevertheless an exceptional of them are looking for work that brings mean-
one, defined not by the hours spent at work or ing to their lives. I can understand this, because
the money earned, but by the quality of life it af- I have found much fulfillment in being a family
fords. Believe it or not, there is still plenty of free farmer. Our toil in the garden is rewarded by all
time left over when the work is done. Our season the families who eat our vegetables and thank us
gradually gets started in the month of March and personally every week. For anyone looking for a
finishes in December. That’s nine months of work; different way of living, market gardening offers a
three months off. The winter is a treasured time chance not only to make a good living, but also to
for resting, travelling, and other activities. To make a good life.

4 the market gardener

Succeeding as a Small-Scale
Organic Vegetable Grower

To obtain the best yield from the soil, without excessive

expenses, through the judicious selection of crops, and through
appropriate work: such is the goal of the market gardener.
− J. G. Moreau and J. J. Daverne,
Manuel pratique de la culture maraîchère de Paris, 1845

Because our micro-farm has garnered so stand when one stops to consider the obstacles
much media attention in recent years, farmers that beginning farmers must face when they are
of all stripes and many agronomists have been just getting started. For us, the decision to grow
coming to meet us and visit our gardens. These vegetables on a small plot of land, while minimiz-
people, most of them only familiar with modern ing start-up investments, simply had to do with
large-scale conventional farming, are curious our financial reality at the time. When we were
about our work because we challenge the belief in our early twenties, our financial resources were
that the small family farm cannot stay afloat in to- limited and we felt strongly about the importance
day’s economy. Despite our decade of experience of minimizing our debt load. Ten years later, our
in proving the viability of a micro-farm, most of strategy of starting a farm without a large capital
these visitors remain unconvinced. They find it expense, while still producing high yields of veg-
difficult to wrap their heads around the fact that etables for direct sales, has proved to be lucrative.
we have no plans to make major investments and Our market garden demonstrates that high profits
that we intend to stay small and continue working can be earned without high costs.
with hand tools. A bank loan officer who visited For beginning farmers, there are a number of
us adamantly declared as she left that we were not advantages to “starting small” — ​but there is also
real business people, and that our farm was not a much to be said for staying small in the years that
real farm! follow. That being said, whatever the size of the
Our farming choices may be easier to under- planned operation, it is important to understand

5
 When crops are closely spaced on a bed, the plant leaves come to rapidly touch
one another, creating a beneficial microclimate. This canopy reduces weed growth,
helps retain moisture in the soil, and protects the crop from wind damage.
In some circles, the
word “biointensive” the implications of different production strategies There is now a whole literature on biologi-
refers to a very in order to make wise choices about how to best cally intensive vegetable growing methods, and
narrowly defined succeed as an organic vegetable grower. This chap- although the techniques most often discussed in
set of practices and ter touches on a few factors which, in my opinion, these works (see bibliography for recommended
techniques. Some are at the heart of our market gardening success. reading) are geared towards home gardening, a
people have even number of the practices can be useful in the con-
tried to trademark text of commercial production. We took one such
A Biologically Intensive Approach
the approach. I approach in developing our cropping system.
generally prefer The term “biointensive”* broadly refers to a horti- To begin with, we have not arranged our gar-
the expression cultural method in which growers maximize crop den in the rows typically used in mechanized
“biologically yields from a minimum area of land, while seeking farming where crops are spaced according to the
intensive,” and I will to preserve — ​or even improve — ​the quality of the dimensions of the tractors and weeding machin-
use it more often in soil. Drawing on the experience of 19th-century ery. Instead, we grow our crops in permanent
this book, but both French vegetable growers and Rudolph Steiner’s raised beds. While establishing the beds, we in-
refer to the same biodynamic principles, the biointensive method vested in a large quantity of organic matter with
ideas and principles. was refined in northern California beginning in the idea of quickly creating a rich and living soil.
the 1960s. We effectively built our soil this way. Since then,

6 the market gardener

 Mechanized farming, whether conventional or organic, spaces the rows of crops
according to the dimensions of the tractors and the weeding machinery. Since we use
only hand-powered tools to control weeds on our farm, we do not have this limitation.

we’ve continued to add compost regularly while high yields per square foot) has two main advan-
limiting any turning of the soil to just the surface, tages. The first is that it greatly cuts down on the
thereby keeping the structure as intact as possible. amount of weeding required, and the second is
For deep soil cultivation, we use a broadfork (gre- that it renders many day-to-day gardening tasks
linette in French) which allows us to aerate the soil more efficient. These benefits will be explained in
without turning it. The purpose of this cultivation detail throughout this book.
is to create loose, fertile soil, which encourages In our gardens, it is the quality of the soil struc-
the crop roots to spread downward rather than ture, combined with the microbe- and nutrient-­
sideways. This in turn makes it possible to plant rich compost that we use, which allows intensive
the crops quite close together without them run- spacing to work well. It took us a few years of trial
ning into each other at the root level. and error to determine the proper spacing for
The goal is to space the crops such that their each crop — ​so that they are planted as densely as
leaves touch each other when the plants reach possible without limiting their size at maturity — ​
three quarters of their full size. At maturity, the but it was a worthwhile effort. We also sought to
foliage will cover all of the growing area, effec- further maximize our growing space by planting
tively creating a living mulch. This strategy of as many succession crops as possible. This means
closely spacing the crops (in addition to allowing that we must determine the length of time each

c h a p t e r 2 : S u cc e e d i n g a s a S m a l l-Sc a l e O r g a n i c V e g e ta b l e G r o w e r 7
 If the growing area is, for example, five times more densely planted, covering
crops with a row cover will take one fifth of the time and use one fifth of the
material to do the same job, saving both time and money. Similar efficiencies
are also true for irrigation, mulching, and weeding.

crop spends in the garden and plan our seedings we developed a good regime for making our mar-
so that harvested crops are replaced by new ones ket garden highly productive in a cold Canadian
as soon as they are out of the garden. Using our climate while favoring an approach that sustains
crop plan, we succeed in producing multiple suc- soil quality.
cessive harvests each season in the same space.
Most of the thinking behind biologically in-
Minimizing Start-Up Costs
tensive methods is not so very different from the
principles of organic agriculture. In both cases, Starting a farm requires investing in tools and
the objective is to build rich, loose, fertile soil. equipment, but by starting small and growing
But biointensive practices stress the importance crops intensively, it is possible to do so without
of building soil in order to achieve this. Planting a large capital outlay. Here is a list of the invest-
closely spaced crops in permanent beds is what al- ments I feel are necessary to run an efficient vege-
lowed us to establish ourselves in farming without table operation on less than two acres (1 ­hectare).
mechanizing our operation. These are not new The approximate dollar amounts listed are in
ideas, and we do not pretend to have invented ­Canadian funds and are for new equipment which
them. If we can take credit for anything, it’s that should last many years.

8 the market gardener

The start-up costs total $39,000. This may
sounds like a lot of money to start a micro-farm, Start-up Costs for Market Gardening
but one should consider the following. Firstly, a
bank loan of $39,000 spread out over 5 years at 1 greenhouse (25' × 100') $11,000
8% interest per year means that the annual in- Two-wheel tractor and accessories $8,500
vestment is about $9,500 — ​which is little enough
2 hoophouses (15' × 100') $7,000
compared to the potential revenue of a market
Cold room $4,000
garden. Of course, these will not be one’s only
Irrigation system $3,000
business expenses. This figure does not include
Furnace $1,150
certain necessities such as a delivery vehicle, land
rental/purchase fees, mortgages, or other variable Flame weeder $600
costs (inputs, administration fees, supplies, etc.). Indoor seeding equipment $600
But even so, initial costs are still relatively small, Hoes and wheel hoe $600
especially when compared to the cost of equip- Broadfork $200
ment used in mechanized vegetable growing. Seeders $300
Secondly, some of these items can be pur- Rakes, shovels, spades, wheelbarrow, etc. $200
chased secondhand or gradually with time. We Harvest cart $350
were fortunate enough to find used hoophouses Floating row cover, anti-insect netting, and hoops $600
for a fraction of their original price. Also, we didn’t
Sprayer $100
buy our rotary harrow and flame weeder until sev-
Harvest baskets, scales, other equipment $300
eral years into our operation. When we began, we
Electric fencing $500
committed to producing 30 CSA shares in our first
season and 50 in our second. At that time, we did Total $39,000
all our harvesting on the morning of delivery day,
which saved us the problem of having to refriger-
ate our vegetables. Later, when we upped our pro-
duction to 100 shares and had to take a whole day long jobs. But when we started using the seeders
to harvest them, a cold room became necessary. described later in this book, we were able to seed
Having said that, even though certain tools on beds two or three times longer in one fifth of the
this list may not be absolutely necessary in your time. When you stop to consider the extra work-
first season, they do make the work much more load required the first few seasons, it makes sense
efficient and pay for themselves quickly. This is to make the optimization of operations a priority.
why we have never shied away from trying out In my opinion, it is best not to hold off too long on
new equipment. When we first began, we seeded getting the right equipment for the job.
by hand all the crops that do not transplant well In most countries, there are different kinds of
(e.g., carrots, radish, mesclun mix). Those were government assistance programs in the form of

c h a p t e r 2 : S u cc e e d i n g a s a S m a l l-Sc a l e O r g a n i c V e g e ta b l e G r o w e r 9
 loans and grants for new farmers that can help out of ways to maximize the amount of land under
with the financing for agricultural equipment. We cultivation when mechanized, this is not the case
were lucky to have received financial aid when we when using the tools and techniques described
started Les Jardins de la Grelinette. With this kind in this handbook. The production model itself is
of added support, the chances of succeeding at the limiting factor. So returning to the equation
market gardening will greatly improve. But grants above, if the revenue is finite and you still want
or no grants, one fact remains: keeping costs low profit to be high, this means expenses must be low.
when starting a business reduces financial risk and This is the logic that market ­gardeners should fol-
ensures profitability over the short term. This is a low: keep operating at low cost.
winning business model in and of itself. Reducing start-up costs is a good first step.
Avoiding mechanization and machinery-related
costs (purchase, fuel, maintenance, etc.) is an-
Minimizing Production Costs
other one. But the most important step of all is
Revenue minus expenses equals profit. This sim- limiting dependence on outside labor, which gen-
ple equation must always be kept in mind. Obvi- erally accounts for 50% of the production costs of
ously no one goes into farming to get rich, but one a diversified market farm.* In a market garden
should always aim for profitability when starting such as ours, the bulk of the work is usually done
a farm. Having a profitable operation spares you by the owner-operators with the help of one or
from daily financial stresses, prevents you from two seasonal workers, depending on the area un-
needing to find off-farm employment during the der cultivation and the number of greenhouses.
winter, and allows you to set aside money for re- The major operating costs are thus reduced to in-
tirement. (Yes, this is possible with a micro-farm.) puts (amendments, seeds, plant protection prod-
Profit is ultimately what keeps the operation sus- ucts), which are generally quite minimal.
tainable. Many people get into organic farming In the last 15 years, Lynn Byczynski, the edi-
for philosophical reasons or as part of a search for tor of the American magazine Growing for Market,
meaning, but at the end of the day, market gar- has had the chance to meet with many small-scale
dening is a business, and it is important to treat vegetable growers. In her book Market Farming
it like one. Success, she discussed the potential revenues of
Most vegetable growers today increase busi- market gardening and found that the net profit
ness revenue by upping production and sales in or- margin of most of these farmers is about 50%. This
der to see a return on the cost of their equipment. means that if the total sales revenue is $80,000,
Scaling-up your operation has become a popular about one half goes to operating costs, including
topic at conferences and in magazines on organic
* In 2005, Équiterre released a study of the production costs
market farming. But when operating a market gar- on various farms that used the CSA approach. The study re-
den, one needs to look at ­economics from a dif- port is very helpful when it comes to writing a business plan
ferent point of view. While there are many kinds and can be found in the Bibliography section of this book.

10 the market gardener

external labor and fixed costs. She points out that
while the 50% margin depends on many factors, it Advantages of the CSA Model
is still relatively consistent regardless of farm gross
sales. This percentage is in line with the figures GUARANTEED SALES: The main advantage of the CSA model is that produc-
on our farm and is very telling of how profitable tion is prepaid at the start of the season, often before the first seed has been
market gardening can be. It goes to show that it is sown. This model allows the farmer to budget with greater precision. There
possible to maintain high productivity with little is nothing better for a solid business plan than guaranteed sales.
in the way of costs.
SIMPLER PRODUCTION PLANS: Since members have already purchased
the produce, the farmer can plan production based on the sales. Once the
Direct Selling number of customers has been determined, the contents of each share can
be planned out beforehand. This is all the more important for growers who
Direct selling of local products is at the heart of
do not yet have much farming experience to go on.
today’s renaissance of non-industrial-scale farm-
ing. Essentially, it allows producers to recover part RISK SHARING: The idea behind CSA is that the risks inherent to agriculture
of the profit commonly scooped up by distribu- are shared between the family farmer and the members. When members
tors and wholesalers. Most grocery stores or food sign up, they sign a contract inviting them to be tolerant in case of hail,
markets take a cut of between 35% and 50% of the drought, or any other natural catastrophe. If the season is good, the mem-
selling price. The distributor, which transports bers will receive more than planned, but if the season is bad, they will
and handles the product, takes another 15% to receive less. It is like taking out an insurance plan on the harvest.
25%. So, for a salad that sells for $2 in the store, CUSTOMER LOYALTY: CSA allows farmers to build not just customer loy-
the vegetable grower selling through conven- alty but tangible relationships between consumers and the farm. On our
tional distribution channels makes about $0.65. farm, many members have been receiving vegetables from us for many
This effectively means that if this grower doesn’t years now. These people know us, have come out to visit the gardens, and
participate in selling, he or she is missing out on greatly appreciate the work we do. As its name suggests, CSA really does
two thirds of the value of his product — ​a sizable have the power to build community.
chunk. By comparison, market farmers who use
direct selling channels make the full amount with NETWORKING: CSA is even more advantageous when a third organization
every sale. We can conclude that these producers can play a coordinating role. This is the case in Quebec, where Équiterre
can afford to produce one third as much volume promotes CSA through publicity campaigns and finds members for the
and still earn the same income. farms through its network. In addition, Équiterre provides training on pro-
There are several forms of direct selling (also duction planning for new farmers, links them with more experienced grow-
known as short supply chains). Examples include ers through mentorships, and organizes visits to other operations. These
community-supported agriculture (CSA), farm- are very helpful and useful services for any beginning vegetable farmer.
ers’ markets, solidarity markets, and farmgate For more information visit equiterre.org
sales. Vegetable growers who are just getting es-
tablished in farming should consider these niches

c h a p t e r 2 : S u cc e e d i n g a s a S m a l l-Sc a l e O r g a n i c V e g e ta b l e G r o w e r 11
 The development of farmers’ markets and CSA are a sign that citizens are taking back
the agricultural economy. Once people get a taste for real food, most don’t want to rely
on supermarkets anymore. This creates a lot of opportunity for new farmers.

if they hope to prosper over the long term. More- the preferred option since it guarantees sales and
over, the work we do as farmers addresses a need simplifies our production plan. In my opinion,
felt by a growing number of people who want to the many advantages of CSA make it a sales outlet
support and get to know local producers. One tailor-made for new market gardeners.
of the benefits of direct selling is that it provides Whatever model one chooses, the point of
confidence to consumers by ensuring safe, nutri- direct selling is to build a loyal base of c­ ustomers
tious, and responsibly produced food, which is and develop an interdependent relationship with
not always readily available in today’s globalized them. When it comes to customer loyalty, the
food system. quality of the products is very important. One
That being said, one could ask which mode of should never neglect the importance of presenta-
direct selling is better than others. This is hard to tion (for instance, always washing the vegetables)
answer, since each model has its advantages and and the importance of identifying your produc-
disadvantages, and each farm has its own needs. In tion with a distinctive logo. Another key to suc-
our particular case, although we sell our produce cess with direct selling is to be welcoming and
at two farmers’ markets, CSA has always been open to sharing information with people who

12 the market gardener

may be — ​for the first time in their lives — ​asking der to plan the succession of crops in the same
questions about where their food comes from. beds. The table on page 14 shows our results. Us-
This is why we have always felt it important to be ing this as a reference, we can observe, for exam-
present at market stands and drop-off points. As ple, that growing greenhouse cucumbers is four
growers it is important that we never lose sight times as profitable as growing turnips. Or, that a
of the fact that small-scale production is viable bed of lettuce brings in as much as leeks, but in
today because there is a movement among con- half the time. This practical tool makes it easy to
sumers to support artisan producers. Putting our see which crops can perform best in the market
faces alongside the vegetables helps to make this garden.
possible. While prioritizing the most profitable crops
is an important factor for deciding which ones to
grow more of, there are other means of maximiz-
Adding Value to the Crops
ing potential sales from the garden. Investigating
In 2012, a five-pound bag of organic carrots sold for various options and strategies is essential when
about $6 in the grocery store ($1.20 per pound), competing with supermarket vegetables ­produced
while the same carrots in a bunch sold for $2.50 in the industrial agri-food system (where prices
per pound. The value of the carrots more than are sometimes very low) and with other vegeta-
doubled simply by leaving the leaves on to indi- ble growers selling directly (where freshness and
cate freshness. This is an example of adding value quality are excellent).
to the crops. Not all vegetables grown are of equal The box on page 15 lists some of the strategies
market value, and it is wise to invest one’s ener- we have adopted at Les Jardins de la Grelinette.
gies in producing the ones that command a higher These strategies are neither original nor guaran-
price. The first step in this regard is determining teed to succeed on their own, but have helped our
which crops are the most profitable. For explor- business significantly.
ing these ideas, there are a number of resources Since prices vary depending on quality, grow-
out there for diversified vegetable ­growers. The ing top-notch vegetables represents the greatest
book Crop Planning for Organic Vegetable Growers, challenge for a beginner. But once this goal is
written by Dan Brisebois and Fred Thériault, two achieved, prioritizing certain crops and finding
young growers from Quebec, is one that I highly creative ways to differentiate products will make
recommend. any market garden significantly more profitable.
At our farm, we went through the exercise of
quantifying the value of our production by mea-
Learning the Craft
suring not only the total sales of each crop, but
also the space and time it took to grow them. We If you are reading this book, chances are that you
looked at space since it is a limited resource that are interested in market gardening as a livelihood.
must be used efficiently; we looked at time in or- Whether you want live in the countryside, work

c h a p t e r 2 : S u cc e e d i n g a s a S m a l l-Sc a l e O r g a n i c V e g e ta b l e G r o w e r 13
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