The Bookworm

reading the best and weeding the rest

A REVIEW BY LEEANNA TATUM OF THE MARKET GARDENER BY JEAN-MARTIN FORTIER

The Market Gardener: A Successful Grower’s Handbook for Small-Scale Organic Farming written by Jean-Martin Fortier is packed full of practical information for anyone interested in growing food for profit.

Geared toward small-scale farming, this book covers all the bases from finding the right property to connecting with customers and all points in between. It is filled with charts, diagrams and definitions designed to help anyone considering a path toward market gardening make well informed decisions and have a good idea of what to expect.

You can enter agriculture professionally by replacing pricey equipment and infrastructure with a different skill set that is based on appropriate technology and innovative growing practices. My hope is that our experience and the information shared in this handbook will help aspiring farmers understand how this can be achieved.

Though the author and the farm this book details are located in Quebec, Canada; the information and experience shared can be applied to a market garden business here in Southeast Georgia.

Fortier shares the lessons he has learned while building a successful and profitable market garden on just 1.5 acres of property. Through careful record keeping of his own experience, he is able to provide very specific details and tips on everything from site selection to seed starting, pest management, soil building, crop planning, weed control, tool selection, and more.