Le jardinier-maraîcher (The Vegetable Gardener) - Growing organic vegetables−tips from a pro!

Summary

Organic farming is a major issue for human health and the environment. But is this type or agriculture viable? Is it possible to earn a living growing home-made organic vegetables on an acreage of one hectare or less? Jean-Martin Fortier, whom for the past ten years has run a microfarm in Estrie, is a prime example that it is indeed feasible. In this organic vegetable production guide, he is very generous with his advice on the principles, methods, and tricks that proved successful to him and made his farm profitable.

Chock full of useful information, this book is both for the amateur gardener and anyone wanting to start organic farming at the local level. In addition to providing growth information on 25 vegetables, you will learn the step by step approach on how to:
– select a site inspired by permaculture 
– minimize investments when starting your business 
– use a machine other than a tractor
– grow in permanent beds with minimal tillage 
– organically fertilize crops 
– efficiently manage diseases and pests
– weed with the best tools
– extend the season my "forcing" crops
– plan a growth calendar 
– do effective financial planning

Since it helps feed local communities with healthy food, organic farming on a small acreage is the perfect incarnation of the post-capitalist economy on the horizon.

Le jardinier maraîcher (The Vegetable Gardener) is the appropriate tool to trigger a small-scale agricultural revolution in Quebec!

This book is so convincing and well explained that after reading it, I even wondered if I should change my line of work! Not because life as an organic vegetable gardener looks easy, far from it, but because it has meaning. It promotes a healthy, environmentally friendly way of life, as well as complicity with nature, and it contributes in a very concrete manner to the emergence of a green, social economy absolutely necessary for our future. 
— Laure Waridel, extract from the foreword