Why is small-scale farming better? Profit margins are better, and intensive planting crowds out the weeds. Thus, Jean-Martin Fortier, in his book, The Market Gardener suggests that you don’t need all of the fancy tools or a lot of property to have a commercial farm.

I will write about some of the techniques that make that statement a reality.

1. Intensive Planting

When you plant things close together, the leaves touch and create a micro-climate. The canopy creates shade for the soil (retains water), reduces weeds and prevents wind damage.

The writers use permanent raised beds instead of rows.

• This allows them to build the soil.
• Also, they keep the structure of the soil intact, which is very important. (They don’t turn the soil at all).
• They use a broad fork to aerate the soil rather than tilling the soil.
• Succession planting – Once one crop is harvested, they plant another in its place.

2. Grow what is most profitable.

The writers said that tomatoes and mesclun lettuce are their biggest money makers, so they grow more of that. When determining this, they consider how much land it takes to produce it and how quick they can turn out the vegetables.

The least profitable fruits vegetables are those that have to sit in the ground for a long time (cauliflower and broccoli).

3. Find the right site.

You need a place that:

1. is near a farmers market or place where you can sell your produce.
2. is accessable to vehicles
3. has access to electricity and portable water
4. is not close to conventional crops
5. has healthy soil (no contamination)
6. good customer base for organic farming
7. has early planting dates
8. has low number of frost days
9. is in a mild hardiness zone.
10. has good soil (clay? sand? silt?)
11. just big enough (not too small or too big) – 2 acres is ideal (need 4 people+ for this amount of land)
12. doesn’t have too much of a slope.
13. has a good building
14. doesn’t have a water drainage problem. (No marsh land)
15. doesn’t have any valleys.
16. has clean water.

Ideal:

Climate/Microclimate

Use bioclimatic zone maps. These will show you different conditions affecting the plant growth – oil type, elevation, proximity to major bodies of water

Market Access

Do you have customers who will pay for organic food?

How close are you to farmer’s markets?

Ideal Soil

loose, drains well, high in nutritional content

Building Market Garden (plant right next to the house)

• Plan for how long you want to walk between places
• Have a place to wash and store vegetables
• Tool storage
• Bathroom

Tips for Storage

• Have harvest containers that you use

Location of the green house and hoop houses – North-South (If you are planting your garden, it needs to be on the south side, facing north-south).

Make sure your buildings are spaced out, one building with each.

Protection Against Dear

• Fencing (electric or mesh)
• Dog

Irrigation

• Drip

(stopped on page 81)

I decided to blog about my takeaways from How to Grow more Vegetables by John Jeavons.

Introduction – Building Soil, Building the Future

Deep soil preparation

Need good soil. Once you have that, you can maintain it.

Tools

Good tools are essential – https://homesteadiron.com is supposed to be a good place to buy them.

Things I don’t have:

1. D-handled flat spade
2. hula hoe
3. Dibber

Laying out your beds

Raised beds – access to water, 7-11 hours of direct sunlight, 3-5 feet wide and 3 feet longs

Double dig the soil in early morning or evening in spring or autumn. (Loosen the soil to a depth of 24 inches)

1. Mark the bed length.
2. Place a digging board on the bed.
3. Spread a 1/2 to 1 inch layer of compost over the entire area. Mix it thoroughly and evenly into the upper 12 inch deep trench.
4. Remove seven 5-gallon buckets of soil from the upper level. This will be used to make the compost.
5. Dig trenches the with of the bed.
6. Using a spade remove the soil from the trench 1 foot deep and 1 foot wide. Put the soil into buckets.
7. Loosen the soil an additional 12 inches with a spade fork.
8. For comp[acted soil, while standing in the trench loosen the soil an additional 12 inches with a spading fork.
9. By moving your arms upward in a small jerk, the soil will break apart as it falls downward,.
10. Dig out the upper part of the second trench 1 food deep and 1 food wie. Move each spadeful of soil.

Use Compost

Soil fertility and nutrients

Close Planting

This is what happens in nature.

Companion planting

They enhance each other.

Carbon Efficient Crops

Some of your garden should be used for grains, seeds and compost.

Calorie Efficient Crops

Plant crops that are calorie dense like potatoes, leeks, garlic, parsnips and artichokes.