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The Market Gardener: A Successful Grower's Handbook for Small-Scale Organic Farming Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Jean-Martin Fortier (Author), Diego Footer (Narrator), WCP Media (Publisher)
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 2,265 ratings
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Growing on just one and a half acres, owners Jean-Martin and Maude-Helène feed more than 200 families through their thriving CSA and seasonal market stands and supply their signature mesclun salad mix to dozens of local establishments. The secret of their success is the low-tech, high-yield production methods they've developed by focusing on growing better rather than growing bigger, making their operation more lucrative and viable in the process.

The Market Gardener is a compendium of proven horticultural techniques and innovative growing methods. This complete guide is packed with practical information on:

  • Setting-up a micro-farm by designing biologically intensive cropping systems, all with negligible capital outlay
  • Farming without a tractor and minimizing fossil fuel inputs through the use of the best hand tools, appropriate machinery, and minimum tillage practices
  • Growing mixed vegetables systematically with attention to weed and pest management, crop yields, harvest periods, and pricing approaches

Inspired by the French intensive tradition of maraichage and by iconic American vegetable grower Eliot Coleman, author and farmer Jean-Martin shows by example how to start a market garden and make it both very productive and profitable. Making a living wage farming without big capital outlay or acreages may be closer than you think.

Jean-Martin Fortier is a passionate advocate of strong local food systems and founder of Les Jardins de la Grelinette, an internationally recognized model for successful bio-intensive micro-farming.

Previous slide of product details
  1. Listening Length
    7 hours and 3 minutes
  2. Author
    Jean-Martin Fortier
  3. Narrator
    Diego Footer
  4. Audible release date
    December 20, 2016
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    WCP Media
  7. ASIN
    B01MQ0TV9F
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
Next slide of product details
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Product details

Listening Length 7 hours and 3 minutes
Author Jean-Martin Fortier
Narrator Diego Footer
Audible.com Release Date December 20, 2016
Publisher WCP Media
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B01MQ0TV9F
Best Sellers Rank #49,231 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#29 in Gardening & Horticulture (Audible Books & Originals)
#35 in Agricultural & Food Sciences
#67 in Sustainable Agriculture (Books)

Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
2,265 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book super informative, in-depth, and digestible. They describe it as a well-thought-out, nice read with easy-to-understand prose. Readers also appreciate the helpful methods and tips for beginners and intermediate farmers. Overall, they describe the book as a practical, hands-on guide that makes market gardening easier.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

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InformativeReadabilityAdviceValue for money
196 customers mention "Informative"190 positive6 negative

Customers find the book informative and in-depth. They say the author does a great job at providing easily digestible information and good resources. Readers also appreciate the practical, how-to information for intensive, small-scale farming. In addition, they mention the explanations are good and thorough.

"...If you want to do micro-intensive farming, this is a wonderful resource and shows you the things you need to do and start thinking about...." Read more

"...This guy makes a lot of sense...." Read more

"...topic, walking you through the entire operation and then following with very good resources on where to find the materials used and mentioned in the..." Read more

"...(many of them newly designed innovations I'd never heard of) are much more nimble and require less investment than a large tractor designed for..." Read more

190 customers mention "Readability"190 positive0 negative

Customers find the book well-thought-out, nice, and comforting. They say it's written in an easy-to-understand prose. Readers also mention the book is well organized and written with common sense.

"...his success over time (not overnight), and the steps are very practical for other locations...." Read more

"...Nicely organized and plenty detailed with topics covered. Great information for the financial side of starting a market farm...." Read more

"...This guy makes a lot of sense.Many charts, planning tools, crop rotations soil, pest, cropping, harvest techniques and insight to..." Read more

"...The chapters are laid out well and it reads naturally (especially considering the book was translated from French)...." Read more

56 customers mention "Advice"56 positive0 negative

Customers find the book full of helpful methods and tips. They say it's a practical, hands-on guide that makes market gardening a lot easier. Readers appreciate the common-sense approach on standardized beds. They say the information is low-tech and highly accessible to novices. Additionally, they mention the step-by-step instructions on soil mixes and what, when, and how to plant are invaluable.

"...Personally, I very-much appreciate his common-sense approach on standardized beds and hand tools that are designed for those beds...." Read more

"...Overall: Love this resource! It has been so helpful with my planning, especially since they have a similar growing season (about 120 days)...." Read more

"...The book is full of helpful methods/tips and full of very important figures such as how densely you can plant the seedlings/seeds...." Read more

"...to the stage of having truck patches yet, this is an invaluable resource for learning the in's and out's of layout, soil prep, organic fertilization..." Read more

20 customers mention "Value for money"20 positive0 negative

Customers find the book well worth the money. They say it provides information on ways to save money, produce a very profitable yield on small space, and earn a decent living. Readers also mention the book gives information such as start-up costs for green houses and markets that you can sell your product on.

"...This book is primarily about producing a very profitable yield on small space without massive debt or damaging the local ecosystem...." Read more

"...are much more nimble and require less investment than a large tractor designed for large fields...." Read more

"...Just the introduction to the few tools of his trade was worth the price of the book...." Read more

"...It's interesting to see how such a small farm can be productive and profitable. The importance of the business model is also stressed...." Read more

Bought a farm got a plan!
5 out of 5 stars
Bought a farm got a plan!
This is an educational gem. We are first generation farmers getting our plan together. We moved out of the city during the pandemic and bought a farm. This is a roadmap to all of our values and goals with statistical backing to leverage. Really appreciate the fact based approach, as it works well with my analytic brain. That’s said the layman language for ANY grower- plot land or bed - is super valuable.
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Top reviews from the United States

T.J.
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Resource for the aspiring farmer
Reviewed in the United States on April 15, 2016
Verified Purchase
A lot of people that don't read this book are quick to say things like, "yeah, you say he makes 6 figures, but he's in a city and supplies restaurants", and that his method wont work in other locations. First off, yes, he does make 6 figures, but he lives in the country (60 min or so from the city), and while he does supply restaurants, he mostly supplies families and sells at farmers markets. Him and his wife also work about 40 hrs a week and he hires one or two people seasonally and shuts down for about 3 months in the winter. His book shows in excellent detail how he has achieved his success over time (not overnight), and the steps are very practical for other locations. OF COURSE there will be things you need to adjust if you apply this method in other areas (and any potential farmer should know that), but the information is extremely practical and relevant no matter where you are. If you want to do micro-intensive farming, this is a wonderful resource and shows you the things you need to do and start thinking about. I am currently looking for land where I will start my own micro-farm operation, and while I will not use this book exclusively (every farm is different), it's going to be a major reference. Of note, Jean Martin has recently started to integrate permaculture into his operation, and that information is not contained in this reference since he's just started in that endeavor. It is still an excellent reference for the aspiring organic grower. Personally, I very-much appreciate his common-sense approach on standardized beds and hand tools that are designed for those beds. His practices will not only give me fantastic food, but will also help me to become more physically fit through efficient manual labor, which as someone who works behind a desk, I am craving. He also shows how he looks at his crop value, crop rotation, how he works his greenhouse, transplants, and many examples of his spreadsheets that keep his business running a profit; the list goes on and on... I can't recommend this book enough.
32 people found this helpful
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Shantelle Dein
5.0 out of 5 stars LOVE LOVE LOVE
Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2014
Verified Purchase
Pros: Great information. Well written. Has already been extremely helpful as I start planning a small market garden. Nicely organized and plenty detailed with topics covered. Great information for the financial side of starting a market farm. Very, very helpful charts throughout including crop rotation, record keeping examples, and (my favorite) their sales by crop (with info on % of space used, price, profitability, and more!) Fun and helpful illustrations. Plenty if information on soil building and organic management of pests and fertilizing.

Cons: Very light on business management of a small farm, which I don't need and can be found in other books. And very light on crop specific information. Very little more than what I had already found online. Some of the information is not relevant to my garden as I don't have seed starting room, cold storage room, nursery, or greenhouse/hoophouse.

Overall: Love this resource! It has been so helpful with my planning, especially since they have a similar growing season (about 120 days). As I'm figuring out what to grow to maximize profitability in my garden I have referred to this book (especially sales chart on page 14) a lot. I purchased Sustainable Market Farming by Pam Dawling (review on that coming soon) along with this book and use that for crop specific management (I love and recommended it!!!).

This book is primarily about producing a very profitable yield on small space without massive debt or damaging the local ecosystem. If I am able to expand from my backyard garden to a larger operation I will be digging into different areas of this book more and more.
5 people found this helpful
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DAC
5.0 out of 5 stars Well done- saving me a year of research and countless cost and mis-steps
Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2019
Verified Purchase
I learned about the author and this book via cozy circle of internet focused marketers seemingly trading off each other's internet brand for commercial gain. What could possibly go wrong with this purchase? Nothing does, the author hits it out of the park and my cynicism skulks back to its dank lair. If you are a market gardener unhappy with how things are going or considering being a market gardener read this book. It is partly story of authors successful market farm and and humble beginnings but is mostly about intensive market garden techniques, practices, underlying principles author adapted or developed over 10+ years of focus, diligent planning, intelligence, practical sense and clarity on what is important in life to the author. This guy makes a lot of sense.

Many charts, planning tools, crop rotations soil, pest, cropping, harvest techniques and insight to marketing approach(es) throughout the book as they apply to author's situation. Series of 20 minute recordings on Youtube that roughly follows the book without the book's detail.

Is not intended to be a market gardening recipe book but I believe that with a decent work ethic, clear understanding of yourself and life goals plus judicious application or adaptation to local conditions solely of author's techniques and practices as described in the book an inexperienced market gardener with limited capital could easily become sufficiently successful in 2 growing seasons regardless of location.
39 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Asha
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in Canada on June 30, 2023
Verified Purchase
A great book for learning about gardening and scaling a home garden to sell your harvest
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Luis Fer
5.0 out of 5 stars Es un libro muy didáctico y justo lo que necesitas.
Reviewed in Mexico on April 27, 2022
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Es un libro muy bueno ya que te da muchos datos que necesitas para iniciar una granja con producción de hortalizas a pequeña escala, lo bueno es que te datos muy técnicos y que puedes replicar en cualquier momento, lo "malo" es que la mayoría de los datos son basados en condiciones canadienses o de EU y muchos de los productos no lo puedes conseguir en México.

Muy recomendable.
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Jacques Cordeiro
5.0 out of 5 stars Better than I ever thought!!!
Reviewed in Brazil on June 5, 2021
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Excellent!!!
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Pierluca.Gioia
5.0 out of 5 stars Permacultura e redditività!
Reviewed in Italy on April 17, 2023
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Testo immancabile nella biblioteca di chi si occupa di orticoltura. Questo libro parla di un progetto assolutamente avveniristico ma allo stesso tempo estremamente redditivo per le superfici su cui è realizzato.
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Savio Shawn Gonsalvez
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for Organic farming practices
Reviewed in India on December 7, 2017
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Ever since I had an interest in organic farming and was searching for sustainable methods to maximize revenue while also caring for the environment, Jean-Martin Fortier's book was one that really interested me. After watching several of the YouTube videos which outline his method of approach in planning, operations and harvesting, I grew all the more curious and just needed to get my hands on his book. Bought it just about a week ago and have now gone through it from cover to cover and feel glad that I did purchase it.

JM has written the book with good detail, in such a manner so as to make even a new entrant into farming / market gardening confident of success. Although it is obvious that majority of the practices, crops and market around which his operations are based have a world of difference to the same in India, it is his methodology and approach to the operations that are the real lessons to be learnt. The efficiency with which he runs his operations are described right down to the very details and this gives the reader confidence that success can truly be achieved even on a small scale.

Would highly recommend this book to all newcomers (irrespective of location) to this field of work, in order to learn the approach required to make market gardening a success.

Glad I bought it and am pretty sure it will be a good reference for me as I start on my journey in Market Gardening.
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