Crop Planning for Vegetable Growers PDF Download

Author: Frédéric Thériault
Publisher: Acres USA
ISBN: 9780980898712
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : fr
Pages : 136

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Author: Ben Hartman
Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing
ISBN: 1603586997
Category : Gardening
Languages : en
Pages : 274

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At Clay Bottom Farm, author Ben Hartman and staff practice kaizen, or continuous improvement, cutting out more waste--of time, labor, space, money, and more--every year and aligning their organic production more tightly with customer demand. Applied alongside other lean principles originally developed by the Japanese auto industry, the end result has been increased profits and less work. In this field-guide companion to his award-winning first book, The Lean Farm, Hartman shows market vegetable growers in even more detail how Clay Bottom Farm implements lean thinking in every area of their work, including using kanbans, or replacement signals, to maximize land use; germination chambers to reduce defect waste; and right-sized machinery to save money and labor and increase efficiency. From finding land and assessing infrastructure needs to selling perfect produce at the farmers market, The Lean Farm Guide to Growing Vegetables digs deeper into specific, tested methods for waste-free farming that not only help farmers become more successful but make the work more enjoyable. These methods include: Using Japanese paper pot transplanters Building your own germinating chambers Leaning up your greenhouse Making and applying simple composts Using lean techniques for pest and weed control Creating Heijunka, or load-leveling calendars for efficient planning Farming is not static, and improvement requires constant change. The Lean Farm Guide to Growing Vegetables offers strategies for farmers to stay flexible and profitable even in the face of changing weather and markets. Much more than a simple exercise in cost-cutting, lean farming is about growing better, not cheaper, food--the food your customers want.

Author: Huw Richards
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0744066174
Category : Gardening
Languages : en
Pages : 637

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Garden efficiently and grow more food - Huw Richards shows you how. Following the success of Veg in One Bed and Grow Food for Free, in The Vegetable Grower's Handbook Huw shares his tried-and-tested approaches from his own garden so you can unearth your garden's potential. With simple yet effective methods, such as nurturing healthy soil, optimizing space, and following a planting plan, anyone can be a productive vegetable grower while working in harmony with nature. As well as Huw's recommendations on good planning and infrastructure, he has tips for plenty of quick wins too, such as how to attract beneficial pollinators. You'll be amazed at what you can achieve by setting goals, planning ahead, and trialling new ideas. Every successful business has a strategy. Why not apply one to your vegetable patch?

Author: Pam Dawling
Publisher: New Society Publishers
ISBN: 1550925121
Category : Gardening
Languages : en
Pages : 459

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Growing for 100 - the complete year-round guide for the small-scale market grower. Across North America, an agricultural renaissance is unfolding. A growing number of market gardeners are emerging to feed our appetite for organic, regional produce. But most of the available resources on food production are aimed at the backyard or hobby gardener who wants to supplement their family's diet with a few homegrown fruits and vegetables. Targeted at serious growers in every climate zone, Sustainable Market Farming is a comprehensive manual for small-scale farmers raising organic crops sustainably on a few acres. Informed by the author's extensive experience growing a wide variety of fresh, organic vegetables and fruit to feed the approximately one hundred members of Twin Oaks Community in central Virginia, this practical guide provides: Detailed profiles of a full range of crops, addressing sowing, cultivation, rotation, succession, common pests and diseases, and harvest and storage Information about new, efficient techniques, season extension, and disease resistant varieties Farm-specific business skills to help ensure a successful, profitable enterprise Whether you are a beginning market grower or an established enterprise seeking to improve your skills, Sustainable Market Farming is an invaluable resource and a timely book for the maturing local agriculture movement.

Author: Jean-Martin Fortier
Publisher: New Society Publishers
ISBN: 0865717656
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 243

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Grow better not bigger with proven low-tech, human-scale, biointensive farming methods

Author: Charles L. Mohler
Publisher: Natural Resource Agriculture and Engineering Service (Nraes)
ISBN: 9781933395210
Category : Crop rotation
Languages : en
Pages : 156

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Author: Andrew Mefferd
Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing
ISBN: 1603586377
Category : Gardening
Languages : en
Pages : 290

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The Greenhouse and Hoophouse Grower's Handbook shares best practices for both large- and small-scale production of the eight most profitable crops - tomatoes, eggplant, cucumbers, peppers, leafy greens, lettuce, herbs, and microgreens. Every year, more growers are turning to protected culture to deal with unpredictable weather and to meet out-of-season demand for local food, but many end up spinning their wheels, wasting time and money on unprofitable crops grown in ways that don't make the most of their precious greenhouse space. This book levels the playing field with decision-making framework that goes beyond a list of simple dos and don'ts. With comprehensive chapters on temperature control and crop steering, pruning and trellising, grafting, and more, Andrew Meffer's book is full of techniques and strategies that can help farms stay profitable, satisfy customers, and become an integral part of relocalizing our food system. From seed to sale, this book is the indispensable resource for protected growing.--COVER.

Author: Bryan O'Hara
Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing
ISBN: 1603588531
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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"No-till farming is the new best practice for preventing soil erosion, building soil biology, and providing growing conditions for vibrant, healthy crops. But for organic vegetable farmers and gardeners-and any farmer who wants to avoid herbicide use-the seemingly insurmountable dilemma with no-till has been how to control weeds without cultivating. In this thorough, practical guide, expert organic farmer Bryan O'Hara provide the answers. O'Hara systemically describes the growing methods he developed and perfected during a multi-year transition of his Connecticut certified organic vegetable farm to a no-till system. O'Hara asserts that this flexible, nature-friendly agricultural methodology is critical to vegetable farming success both economically as well as to maintain the health of the soil and the farm ecosystem. His methodology has proven itself over years of cropping on his home farm, Tobacco Road Farm, as well as other farms in his region, often with stunning results in yields, quality, and profitability. In No-Till Intensive Vegetable Culture, O'Hara delves into the techniques he has experimented with and perfected in his 25 years of farming, including making and using compost, culturing and applying indigenous microorganisms to support soil biology, reduced tillage systems, no-till bed preparation techniques, seeding and transplanting methods, irrigation, use of fertilizers (including foliar feeds), pest and disease management, weed control, season extension, and harvest and storage techniques. O'Hara also explores the spiritual understanding of the nuances of the soil and a farm ecosystem and how that influences practical production decisions such as when to plant, water, and fertilize a crop. O'Hara goal is to pass on his knowledge to those who feel the impulse to make their livelihood in harmony with nature, requiring a relatively small land base of a few acres or less and little capital investment in mechanization. Home gardener and large-scale farmers will also find value in his methods. This manual will provides farmers with an advanced agricultural methodology not available in any other single book on organic vegetable production, a methodology that will allow farmers to continue to adapt to meet future challenges"--

Author: John Navazio
Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing
ISBN: 1603584528
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 410

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Now in Paperback “A fantastic guide for organic seed breeders and producers. [Navazio] has taken organic seed production to a higher level.” —Suzanne Ashworth, author of Seed to Seed The Organic Seed Grower is a comprehensive manual for the serious vegetable grower who is interested in growing high-quality seeds using organic farming practices. It is written for both home seed savers and diversified small-scale farmers who want to learn the necessary steps involved in successfully producing a seed crop organically. Detailed profiles for each of the major vegetables provide users with practical, in-depth knowledge about growing, harvesting, and processing seed for a wide range of common and specialty vegetable crops, from Asian greens to zucchini. In addition, readers will find extensive and critical information on topics including: • Seed-borne diseases • The reproductive biology of crop plants • Annual vs. biennial seed crops • Isolation distances needed to ensure varietal purity • Maintaining adequate population size for genetic integrity • Seed crop climates • Seed cleaning basics • Seed storage for farmers • and more . . . This book can serve as a bridge to lead skilled gardeners, who are already saving their own seed, into the idea of growing seed commercially. And for diversified vegetable farmers who are growing a seed crop for sale for the first time, it will provide details on many of the tricks of the trade that are used by professional seed growers. This manual will help the budding seed farmer to become more knowledgeable, efficient, and effective in producing a commercially viable seed crop. Written by well-known plant breeder and organic seed expert John Navazio, The Organic Seed Grower is the most useful guide to best practices in this exciting and important field.

Author: Eliot Coleman
Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing
ISBN: 1603588183
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 306

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“Updated for its 30th anniversary edition; [This book] remains as relevant as ever.”—New York Times Book Review Since its original publication in 1989, The New Organic Grower has been one of the most important farming books available, with pioneer Eliot Coleman leading the charge in the organic movement in the United States. Now fully illustrated and updated, this 30th Anniversary Edition is a must-have for any agricultural library. Eliot Coleman’s books and innovative methods have helped innumerable organic farmers build successful farms in deep accordance with nature. The wisdom in this seminal book holds true even as the modern agricultural canon has grown—in large part due to Coleman’s influence as a wise elder with decades of experience. New information has been included in this edition to showcase the new tools and techniques that Eliot has been developing over the last thirty-five years. Inspired by the European intensive growers, The New Organic Grower, 30th Anniversary Edition, offers a very approachable and productive form of farming that has proven to work well for the earth and its stewards for centuries. Gardeners working on 2.5 acres or less will find this book especially useful, as it offers proof that small-scale market growers and serious home gardeners can live good lives close to the land and make a profit at the same time. The New Organic Grower is ideal for young farmers just getting started, or gardeners seeking to expand into a more productive enterprise. New material in this edition includes: Beautiful color photographs throughout, taken by master gardener and author Barbara Damrosch (Eliot’s wife and co-farmer) Updated information throughout on how Eliot’s practices have changed through his experiments over the years A new section from Damrosch about incorporating flowers on the small farm More information on new tools Eliot has invented that don’t appear in any of his other books "I was interested in the environment, farming, science . . . and there was Eliot’s book lying on the shelf. I remember grabbing it, and I just FELL IN. . . . I remember reading it like it was the Bible."—Dan Barber, chef