The Garden Crew are back! And their 'pop pop' friend Corny is in trouble. Oh no! How far would you go to save a friend? Would you face getting squashed, or falling off the rafters, or digging through a barrel full of spiders and fleas? The Garden Crew must decide! Plus, you will meet Broccolita, a diva broccoli! With dreams in her head of living in a castle and being treated like a Queen, she finds herself on a dirty floor in the Market complaining to a mouse. Will she survive? Find out in this latest story of The Garden Crew.

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.

Adorable little characters come together to save their most prized possession- their garden. In the beginning, they are full of doubt about themselves. They come in all shapes, sizes, colours, and abilities. However, they work together as a team and accomplish something amazing!

Explores the novel, environmentally friendly organic-gardening system of the Three Sisters Farm, which centers around a bioshelter--a solar greenhouse that integrates growing facilities, poultry housing, a potting room, storage, kitchen facilities, compost bins, a reference library and classroom area. Original.

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.

A majority of the world’s population lives in cities. Urban areas have largely been disconnected from the processes associated with producing food. A broad range of community efforts have emerged to reconnect people in urban areas to fresh foods with expected benefits for public health. These efforts can be found in cities across the country and cross both economic and ethnic lines. They have been led by the non- scientific community and are best characterized as social movements. Expansion of agriculture to non- traditional areas including community or kitchen gardens in urban or peri- urban environments has the potential to provide a range of ecosystem services as well as reduce stressors on non- urban environments. These services/benefits include improved public health, improved human nutrition and diet, large-scale production of renewable resources, increased food security with less resilience on traditional agricultural landscapes and seascapes, enhanced ecosystem function in urban areas, and increased public appreciation for and understanding of ecosystem services. ​

A comprehensive manual for small-scale farmers raising organic crops sustainably on a few acres in every climate zone.