Free Downloads Storey's Guide To Growing Organic Vegetables & Herbs For Market: Site & Crop Selection * Planting, Care & Harvesting * Business Basics
Keith Stewart covers everything you need to know to successfully grow and market your own organic vegetables and herbs. Offering expert tips on choosing a growing site, soil fertility, companion planting, irrigation, organic farming techniques, dealing with pests, and harvesting, Stewart also helps you design a business plan, manage employees, and find niche markets for your produce.
Hardcover: 560 pages
Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC (February 26, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1612120075
ISBN-13: 978-1612120072
Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 1.6 x 9.3 inches
Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #1,759,106 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #747 in Books > Science & Math > Agricultural Sciences > Sustainable Agriculture #789 in Books > Business & Money > Industries > Agriculture #830 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Gardening & Landscape Design > Herbs
I'm not likely to ever grow anything for market, but I thought I'd read some of this book, maybe a chapter or two. I ended up enjoying the entire book. Keith's engaging style of writing makes this an interesting subject. You get a feel not only for the complexities of farming, but sense of what drives these farmers to this way of life. And you get an appreciation for why organic food costs more!
As a new organic vegetable grower, I greatly appreciate Keith sharing his 30 years of practical experience. This book is the most comprehensive one I've read. It is spot-on, well written and full of very helpful information perfectly suited for any small scale organic vegetable operation. This book covers it all; from crop planning to marketing, equipment to greenhouses, soil health, even garlic and herbs. It has become the single book I recommend to any new farmer and all new farm employees.
As I have worked to get a small farm operation going, like many people, I have purchased and poured through numerous books. Everyone of them had something to offer, but many were not worth purchasing considering the amount of info I gleaned from them. This book beat them all, hands down. The Storey's Guides always seem to be chocked full of good, practical information, and this book is the perfect example. The book goes into great detail about how to set up your operation and states in simple, readable form. It discusses what type of farming is appropriate for different types of terrain. It explains exactly how successful farmers have laid out vegetable beds, with dimensions stated, and gives little bio's on real working farms, so you can read what they did and how they did it. I love this book. Although I am also referencing some other books as well, for me, this is my single best "go to" book on setting things up for my own small scale farming operation. And please note, they explain and use examples that are applicable to small farms that are only a couple of acres and much larger farms that are many tens of acres. Fabulous book. Thank you Storey's Guides!
How to-books about farming can seem as prolific as weeds. The latest, and one of the best, in this long line is from a transplanted New Zealander, Keith Stewart. This book will bear fruit for serious farmers or non-farmers considering organic markets. Among the latest crop of books that feed the fantasies of would-be farmers, this one is grounded in getting to work. Stewart, a celebrity garlic grower and greenmarket star, has produced a valuable guide for making a living--not just living on the land. Keith's book belies categorization. It's more than a how-to book, though there is a plenty of that. It's also a wry and keenly observed memoir. This guide reveals the many calculations, gambits, and losses and rewards that anyone starting to farm organically can expect. Tom Hatley, Environmental Consultant and Historian
This book has become a bible for us. It is a comprehensive, nuts-and-bolts resource for beginning market farmers who wish to follow the organic path, as well for those with years of experience under their belts. The book is organized in seven easy-to-read, information-packed sections, each with multiple chapters.The first section, “In the Beginning”, deals with making the plunge into farming and what to look for when buying or leasing land. The second, “Tools of the Trade” discusses various farm implements, points to consider when buying a tractor and then goes on to discuss greenhouses, high tunnels, and different approaches to irrigation.Section 3, “Looking After the Land”, addresses soil management, crop rotation, the use of cover crops, and building fertility, all viewed from a highly diversified organic farmer’s perspective. The 4th large section provides specifics on growing a wide range of crops, including about twenty different herbs.Then it’s on to “Harvesting and Marketing”, with heavy emphasis on selling in farmers markets. Section 6, “Competing Forces”, gets you started on dealing with weeds, pests, and diseases. Section 7, “Taking Care of Business”, discusses different ways to structure a farm business, keep records, become an employer, and gives valuable (and in some cases, hard learned) tips for maintaining your own health, well-being and sanity.Two-page write-ups on other farmers and how they operate are scattered throughout this wonderfully informative book. On top of all this, Storey’s Guide to Growing Organic Vegetables and Herbs for Market is carefully illustrated and a pleasure to read.
Keith Stewart's Guide for Growing Organic Vegetables and Herbs should be on every gardener's bookshelf - whether or not they grow vegetables and herbs. His chapters on soil, compost, and soil amendments are relevant to any garden. The book is packed with good information, and so well organized that it can be used as a quick reference guide. It's pretty surprising that such a practical book is also so enjoyable to read. I have read it cover to cover, and I refer to it on a regular basis. To me it's not just a guide - it's the bible of organic gardening.
I borrowed his book from my local library. I am more than 1/2 way done and have already placed it on my wish list as a future planned buy. Excellent intro, reference points, and personal hands on insights to delve into. We are only on 5 acres, but would love to pursue sustainable food production at some level in the future for personal family use and supplemental income. I also really enjoyed the short write-ups on other small scale farmer operations that are interspersed throughout the book. Well done, Mr. Stewart!
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