This is a less technical version of Jeavons's best-selling book on biointensive gardening: How to Grow More Vegetables . Written for both the beginner and the experienced gardener, this book is a great introduction to biointensive gardening theory, and includes information on preparing garden beds, composting, starting seeds, growing crops, and collecting seeds. They offer detailed instructions and equations showing how to calculate how many seeds to plant to get the necessary seedlings to fill the suggested garden plans and suggest ways to customize garden plots. Recommended especially for experienced gardeners interested in biointensive gardening.

This is an invaluable tool for anyone interested in growing food organically, and sustainably. This is the book we use to determine plant spacing, yields and planning our planting and harvesting schedules. A must-have for all organic growers! Note that the calculations and numerous charts may intimidate the beginner, who may also need more information on general gardening techniques. See The Sustainable Vegetable Garden for an overview treatment of biointensive techniques.

These are the basic books for learning the BIOINTENSIVE method; the results of thirty years of research and experience. All you need to know to raise your own food and care for your soil sustainably is here in these books, information sheets and pamphlets, written by John Jeavons, staff, and apprentices.

This video shows how to prepare your soil better and much more easily by following the techniques John Jeavons has developed while double digging all over the world for the last quarter of a century. Learn directly from the master. These techniques will improve your garden, and its soil, wherever you live. Double-digging should not be viewed as intimidating or drudgery, and Jeavons' video is the best way (next to a biointensive workshop) to see first-hand how the techniques are applied, and how easy double-digging really is. Have fun digging!

Biointensive Workshops and Ecology Action Workshops

with John Jeavons. These workshops are invaluable for gaining a real-world understanding of the biointensive growing techniques. At the workshops you will learn, observe and participate in all aspects of biointensive growing, from planning your garden beds, to starting seeds, transplanting, harvesting and creating your own compost.

(Mini Farm and Garden Log Book)

For those who want to develop more self-reliance, are considering earning an income from market gardening, or just want to learn how to become more effective food growers. This companion book to How to Grow More Vegetables is the result of ten years of practical garden research and covers such subjects as food from your backyard, beginning to mini-farm, tools you can make (including the U-Bar), plans to build mini-greenhouses, crop profiles and tests, calendars, essential bookkeeping, and much more. This book includes plans for the mini-greenhouses that we use for growing throughout the winter.

Bio-gardening combines the resources of science and nature to produce yield after yield of safe, abundant and nutritious crops. Noted agriculturist Lee Fryer tells the home gardener how to build perpetual soil fertility by: providing a comfortable home for the organisms that extract vital nutrients from the soil and supply them to the plants; growing fertilizer right in the garden by encouraging the mechanisms that capture nitrogen from the air; analyzing specific soil needs, then mixing and applying a well-balanced diet; borrowing the best, most productive organic farming and agribusiness methods; controlling pests with healthy plants - not with pesticides. The book also includes an A-to-Z vegetable growing guide.

Biological farming focuses on ways to reduce input costs and to increase profits while improving soil conditions. Skilled biological farmers learn how to take care of soil life they nurture it, feed it a balanced diet, and use tillage tools and methods to enhance soil life. Learn how to fertilize. Biological farmers learn proper fertilizer uses to correct mineral and nutrient imbalances and to feed plants and soil life. This is the farming consultant's bible. It schools the interested grower in methods of maintaining a balanced, healthy soil that promises greater productivity at lower costs, and it covers some of the pitfalls of conventional farming practices. Zimmer knows how to make responsible, sustainable farming practices work. His extensive knowledge of biological farming and consulting experience come through in this complete, practical guide to making farming fun and profitable.  

Covers 220 important weeds with illustrations, maps, botanical information, plant lore for each. Over 225 illustrations.

This book is full of valuable information on how to harvest fresh vegetables and salad ingredients literally year-round--yet without an expensive greenhouse or indoor light garden set-up. Coleman combines succession planting (small sowings three or more times, rather than one big endeavor) with cold-frame growing in the winter months. He includes how-tos for building simple cold-frames. The book concludes with an extensive chapter on the vegetables that he grows using these methods and charts for when to plant each type of vegetable. We use this book in conjunction with How to Grow More Vegetables and our mini-greenhouses to develop our planting successions for each season.

This is simply a gem of a book. Illustrated with beautiful color photos, many by the author, this is the ultimate guide to every conceivable insect or other arthropod you might find in your backyard. It also tells you what to expect from each of these creatures, and controls for each type. It is well written and authoritative (the author is a respected entomologist at Colorado State University) and very well illustrated.

This book explains all possible weather phenomena with basic descriptions and asides and then applies this information to gardens and to determining your own garden's microclimate. Chapters include: Weather Climate and Seasons, Developing Weather Sense, Reading the Sky, Reading the Night Sky, Winds Fronts and Storms, Rain Ice and Snow, Spring Weather, Summer Weather, Fall Weather, Winter Weather, Animal Clues to Weather, Birds Bugs and Butterflies.

The author takes the mystery out of this business, filling a near vacuum with this reference, but at the same time presents the potential hazards and attention required. This is a great book if you are considering growing herbs, or are considering putting in a greenhouse. We have had this book for several seasons and have used its recommendations for herbs with great success.

For more than a decade, gardeners have been turning to a beautiful little hardcover book called Gardener's Latin, by Bill Neal. Neal understood that as Latin terms began appearing with increasing frequency in gardening catalogs, gardeners would need help. So he weeded through the Latin words that describe and distinguish among plants and flowers and compiled a volume of select, brief, clear definitions.

The low-cost alternative to the greenhouse has arrived, and it’s between these covers. Learn all the practical information you’ll need about the construction or purchase of polytunnels and cloches, methods of cultivation, plant care, propagation, and problems from pests that might occur beneath the plastic. If you have room and the right conditions for a hoop house or solar greenhouse, this is a great book. If you do not, see The Backyard Homestead above for information on how to build the mini-greenhouses that we use.

Microfarms—or small acreage farms—are gaining popularity across the country for their astoundingly high yields and great tasting produce, as well as their profitability. This handbook reveals the secrets of successful micro eco-farming and explains what eco-farmers need to know to start their own small agribusiness. Questions such as What can be grown? How do farmers reach their markets? and What sustainable production methods can be used? are answered in detail and supported be hundreds of real-life examples. A variety of unusual uses for crops are also provided, including producing organic spa products, building an urban greenhouse, creating a heritage rose farm, or cultivating a connoisseur apple orchard.

Coleman's personable work draws together the experience and wisdom of his 25 years as a vegetable gardener in Maine. It includes information on soil structure, mobile greenhouses, tools and growing methods that expand the growing season.

This book focuses on the various ingredients of the contemporary salad bowl. Gardening basics are followed by specific information on the cultivation, harvesting, and recommended varieties of the traditional lettuce and tomato as well as such trendy ingredients as radicchio and arugula. 

Inspired by French intensive gardening techniques that originally utilized bell-shaped glass jars called cloches to protect tender plants and extend the growing season, the authors have developed solar gardening "appliances," including the Solar Cone, the Solar Pod, and the Pod Extenders. Use of these mini-greenhouses, combined with other gardening techniques such as intercropping, crop rotation, and careful site and soil preparation, can make it possible to harvest fresh vegetables year-round.

Includes descriptions of the major soil types, nutrient cycles and physical properties of soil, as well as lessons on composting and cover cropping. This book gives us the tools we need to understand the complex interactions that take place below our feet. 

This book covers the basics of what you need to know about organic soil preparation.  The information in the book ranges from producing good general soil with humus and compost to strategies of soil chemistry and fertility, as well as covering particular issues of "problem" soils and the special needs of vegetables, flowers, lawns, trees and potted plants. The book brings together some fascinating and practical material--about soil mixtures that will heighten color and aroma in flowers and increase production in plants bearing fruit, nuts and berries; a listing of the amazing arrays of manures and what they can accomplish; and the surprising materials that can serve as compost. Also, the charts and illustrations are wonderfully useful, and may alone be worth the price of the book.

This book, although out of print and fairly expensive is full of extremely useful information on a wide variety of vegetables.

Most gardeners and small growers don't think of growing garlic, because it is so plentiful and inexpensive at the local grocery store. The problem is that there is generally one kind of garlic available at most grocery stores and markets! There are over 72 different cultivated varieties of garlic! Each variety has its own distinct aroma, flavor, and level of spiciness. This book is an indispensable introduction to, and guide for growing garlic, and it even has some places listed where you can get the different cultivars of garlic.

The book is arranged into 3 parts. The introduction deals with the natural history of garlic. The second part deals with the different varieties, and the difference between the hardneck and softneck varieties. It also deals with the history of cultivated garlic. Examples of different garlic include Korean Red, which is a hot garlic, Spanish Roja, Polish, German Red, Inchilium Purple, Silver Skin (the variety usually found in stores), Montana Giant, etc. Each one has its own characteristics and each one has different storage time, growing time, and harvest time. This is the most comprehensive guide to growing garlic out there.

 

The book describes all aspects of a small commercial garden from growing transplants to marketing at a local farmers market. Information is provided on designing and building a high-tech intensively spaced commercial garden. The authors use raised beds, drip irrigation, and trellises to grow over $16,000 on 1/2 acre in Bismarck, North Dakota. Special emphasis is placed on the most profitable produce: tomatoes and cucumbers. They use cages and high hoops to increase tomato production, and cloches and trellises for cucumbers. Other crops included beans, cabbage, carrots, onions, peas, peppers, and zucchini. The book is profusely illustrated with over 150 pictures, and over 25 helpful charts and drawings
 

Backyard Market Gardening: The Entrepreneur's Guide to Selling What You Grow

Discover how easy and profitable it is to grow and sell vegetables, fruits, flowers, herbs and small livestock from your own backyard market garden. Learn how to: earn top dollar, with minimum effort and maximum profits; buy or build tools that speed your work and increase profits; enjoy a guaranteed salary from community supported agriculture or a membership garden.

Offers charts covering planting times, spaces, profits, and deductible expenses. He offers tips on harvesting to keep quality and profit high. There are even sample conversations to show how to deal with buyers. This book builds on the planting principles discussed in  Square Foot Gardening.

Interesting book for those who would like to be more self-sufficient and gain economic independence. It was written at a time when it was more feasible to be totally self-sufficient by going back to the land. Some of it is quite detailed and it has good ideas and most of the projects are easy to follow.

This book not only covers how to grow herbs for market, but also how to market them and contact potential customers.

This innovative, hands-on guide demystifies the start-up process and puts small-business power in your hands. It offers cutting-edge strategies and proven formulas for taking a business idea from inception to launch to profitability. This book is filled with inspirational stories from real entrepreneurs, time-tested tools, and out-of-the-box techniques. It will offer you the encouragement—and equip you with the know-how— to transform your dream business into a reality.

Like most small business owners, you probably can't afford to hire a lawyer to draft the legal documents you need in the course of your day-to-day business. Now there's an affordable solution -- Legal Forms for Starting & Running a Small Business, which provides you with over 60 legal forms and documents and all the step-by-step instructions you need to use them. This collection of essential legal and business documents helps you: create contracts to buy, sell, rent or store goods, hire employees and independent contractors, borrow and lend money, buy a business, lease commercial space, prepare corporate bylaws, record minutes of meetings, buy real estate and much more. The 3rd edition is completely updated with the latest legal documents, contracts and other forms, and includes a new checklist to help you through the start-up process.

This book is designed for the market gardener to help create a marketplace for what they produce. It covers virtually every area that produce can be sold from direct marketing, farmers markets, CSA's, and restaurant sales. He lists the advantages and disadvantages of most plans in detail. There is also an excellent resource section that lists a multitude of organizations for additional information.

Successful Small-Scale Farming introduces anyone owning (or planning to own) a small farm to both the harsh realities and the real potential involved in making a full- or part-time living on the land. Karl Schwenke's clear-eyed approach to the best farming methods covers a wide range of proven techniques and practical advice, including:

How to improve, conserve, and enrich your soil organically, to ensure the highest (and healthiest) yields.
What machinery you'll need and how to use it.
The best "cash crops" and specialty crops to grow for profit and how to raise them.
How to use innovative strategies to find or create a market "niche" for your farm's crops or services.
A concise overview of essential farmstead skills, such as haying, fencing, and managing a woodlot.
Numerous charts and tables that put useful calculations at your fingertips.

With today's increased concern for the quality of the food we eat and the health of our environment, Successful Small-Scale Farming offers a unique and invaluable perspective on the future of agriculture. Karl Schwenke's message -- that small-scale farms can be cleaner, smarter, and more efficient than corporate agribusiness -- has never been so relevant as it is today.
 

Selling Produce to Restaurants is the definitive guide for anyone considering expanding his or her marketing techniques. More than ever, restaurants and consumers are turning to local small acreage growers for farm fresh produce. This publication was written by a small acreage farmer who has been selling herbs, flowers and specialty produce to restaurants for over a decade. Diane Green shares some of her personal strategies that have helped her be successful. This was one of the first books we purchased when starting our market garden. It is full of useful tips you won't find anywhere else.

Dear Mr. Jefferson- (Letters from a Nantucket Gardener).

Although this isn't a book about farming or market gardening, it is still an enjoyable read for anyone who loves to grow. When garden writer Simon failed to find a communication outlet for her extensive interest in gardening, she decided to express her thoughts through letters. And what better recipient than the historical gardening enthusiast Thomas Jefferson? These engaging "letters," written during the course of a year from Simon's Nantucket garden, range from such topics as the demise of the kitchen garden in America to a fascinating account of the evolution of the seed catalog. Simon is also effective in using Jefferson's own writings to discuss how things have changed since his day. Whether extolling the benefits of manure or praising asparagus, Simon clearly shows a passion for gardening. Gardening fans will really love this book.

How and why has agriculture, an endeavor that for millennia involved intimate knowledge of and profound respect for nature and place, become so industrialized that it's wreaking havoc all around the world? And what can people do about it? Seminal thinkers such as Wendell Berry, Wes Jackson, and Ron Kroese make the distinction between agrarian and industrial agriculture, assess the treacherous divide between them, and chronicle the catastrophic unintended consequences of monoculture farming, genetically engineered seeds, and the massive use of toxic pesticides and fertilizers. Kimbrell and company not only testify to the myriad ill effects of agriculture based solely on profit rather than the well-being of people and the planet, they also discuss alternative farming practices and the prospect for a new agrarianism and a brighter future.

Gardeners who have learned to work with rather than against nature include Bill Mollison, an Australian devotee of permaculture, and John Jeavons, who discusses how to create good soil, the most important element of gardening. Wes Jackson advocates perennial polyculture to increase produce yield without using toxic chemical fertilizers that upset nature's balance, while Carol Deppe explains how to save seeds for breeding to create disease-resistant plants. The authors stress the critical need for restoring earth that has been badly damaged by current agricultural practices.

A dramatic pair of pictures opens this book: aerial shots of Fairview Gardens Farm, near Goleta, California, first in 1954, then in 1998. Once part of thousands of acres of farmland, Fairview Gardens is now entirely surrounded by tract homes, strip malls, and all the conveniences of modern suburban life. This 12.5-acre oasis exists only because Michael Ableman has steadfastly refused to let it be gobbled up by the relentless bulldozers. His story is funny, fierce, inspiring, and infuriating. His success, tempered by ample setbacks, will be of practical use to anybody seeking to preserve farmland from suburban sprawl.

Two decades ago, when author Gussow was giving fiery speeches about the importance of eating locally and seasonally, she realized that it was time to put her convictions into practice. In this combination memoir, polemic, and gardening manual, she discusses the joys and challenges of growing organic produce in her own New York garden. Initially, Gussow had planned to write about her misadventures in buying a 150-year-old house on a Hudson River floodplain. That story was incorporated into this book, but many of the boring remodeling details should have been omitted. Interesting points include a description of establishing her new garden, tips on making compost and on growing fruits and vegetables successfully in a northern climate, and various recipes using the garden bounty. Throughout, Gussow stresses the need to live responsibly "in a society where thoughtless consumption is the norm."

An engaging, informative, and often quite personal account of the founding and beginning years of Seeds of Change, a new company that sells organically grown seeds to gardeners. Much more than a narrative of a seed company and its founders, this is really a story about biodiversity. The author passionately believes that individual gardeners can play a vital role in saving uncommon yet meritorious varieties of fruits and vegetables, grains, flowers, and herbs.

In 1995, lured by a friend's enthusiasm for the pleasures of market gardening and his tales of the money to be made selling produce at greenmarkets, the authors, who lived in Brooklyn, decided to buy 30 acres of land in upstate New York. Schaye, who was an editorial writer for the New York Daily News, got herself reassigned as a reporter in the paper's Albany bureau so she could be close to the farm, and Losee gave up his failing construction business.

In lively alternating essays, husband and wife tell the story of their venture. He recounts the details of building a house, tilling the land, constructing a deer fence; she, bemused at her husband's grandiose plans and his unfailing confidence, goes along with everything, including spending the first winter with thousands of tomato and pepper seedlings growing in the bedroom of their temporary apartment in Albany. Increasingly dissatisfied with her job covering the static New York State government, Schaye finally gave it up and entered wholeheartedly into farm work. After the first summer, they sold their house in Brooklyn, took part-time jobs, and through backbreaking labor, made their farm work. Now they have a successful business selling flowers and fresh produce at greenmarkets. Without playing down the hardships of the endeavor-the authors have written an engaging and unfailingly optimistic book.

A compendium of the award winning columns Ward wrote for the Washington Post. He wrote about the joys and sorrows of producing organic food for body--and soul--at Flickerville Mountain Farm & Groundhog Ranch. "A little bit of all of us, and a lot of some of us, dream of doing something close to what Ward Sinclair and Cass Peterson did--pack it up, quit the big city, and fool around with the earth. These columns are fantastic..." Ben Bradlee, The Washington Post. If you are a farmer read this book and realize you are not alone, then give this to all your friends who think you are crazy. If you are a wannabe farmer and you read this and it makes your heart pound with anticipation you are bound to be a great success. If you don't get it, find another line of work.

This book looks deeply into the American food system and closely examines the need for change in the way food is grown and distributed in the United States. It is composed of twelve interviews with dynamic women who work on issues surrounding modern agriculture. These women are producers, academicians, advocates and activists. Some work in agricultural law and policy. All are devoted to changing the current system.

Within a framework that offers brief overviews of the development of U.S. agriculture, the interviews allow the reader to hear firsthand what has gone wrong and what we can do about it. Part One focuses on concepts of traditional agriculture, organic growing and market viability. Part Two discusses pioneering agriculture and the process of restoring our farms to thriving habitats of biodiversity with clean water and healthy soil. Part Three considers the issues of industrial agriculture, exploring the controversy of genetically modified foods, farm foreclosures, and the 2002 Farm Bill. Part Four returns us to sustainable agriculture and how we can make sustainability work for us. It includes discussions of farmers’ markets, co-ops, and local food systems.

Seeds and Supplies

We have ordered from all the seed companies listed below

and have had great experiences with all of them.