Acknowledgments
Foreword
Preface
1 Small Is Profitable
Can You Really Live ff 1.5 Acres?
Not Just Making a Good Living, but Making a Good Life
2 Succeeding as a Small-Scale Organic Vegetable Grower
A Biologically Intensive Approach
Minimizing Start-Up Costs
Minimizing Production Costs
Direct Selling
Adding Value to the Crops
Learning the Craft
3 Finding the Right Site
Climate and Microclimate
Market Access
Growing Space Needed
Soil Quality
Topography
Drainage
Access to Water
Infrastructure
Assessing Possible Pollution Problems
4 Designing the Market Garden
Buildings and Foot Traffic
Standardizing the Garden Layout
Locating the Greenhouse and Tunnels
Protection against Deer
Windbreaks
Irrigation
5 Minimum Tillage and Appropriate Machinery
Permanent Raised Beds
The Two-Wheel Tractor
The Broadfork (Grelinette)
Tarps and Pre-Crop Ground Cover
To Till or not to Till
6 Fertilizing Organically
Soil Tests
Crop Requirements
Managing Soil Fertility
Good Compost
Relying on Natural Fertilizers - Why?
Establishing Crop Rotation
Crop Rotation at Les Jardins de la Grelinette
Green Manure and Cover Crops
Connecting with Soil Ecology
7 Starting Seeds Indoors
Seeding in Cell Flats
The Soil Mix
Filling Cell Flats
The Seedling Room
The Evolving Plant Nursery
Heating and Ventilation of the Nursery
How to Water Seedlings
Potting up
Transplanting into the Gardens
8 Direct Seeding
Precision Seeders
Seedbed Preparation
Record Keeping
9 Weed Management
Cultivating with Hoes
Weeding with Tarps
The Stale Seedbed Technique
Flame Weeding
Mulching
Weed Control Technology
10 Insect Pests and Diseases
Scouting
Disease Prevention
Using Biopesticides
11 Season Extension
Floating Row Cover and Low Tunnels
Caterpillar Tunnels
Hoophouses
12 Harvest and Storage
Harvesting Efficiently
Harvest Help
The Cold Room
13 Crop Planning
Setting Farming Objectives
Determining Production
Establishing a Crop Calendar
Making a Garden Plan
Record Keeping
Conclusion: Farming for Ecology, Community, and Lifestyle
Appendix 1: Crop Notes
Appendix 2: Tools and Suppliers
Appendix 3: Garden Plan
Appendix 4: Annotated Bibliography
Appendix 5: Glossary
Index
About the Author
