3 Books Published by New Society Publishers on AALBC — Book Cover Collage

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

Les Jardins de la Grelinette is a micro-farm located in Eastern Quebec, just north of the American border. Growing on just 1.5 acres, owners Jean-Martin and Maude-Helene feed more than 200 families through their thriving CSA and seasonal market stands and supply their signature mesclun salad mix to dozens of local establishments. The secret of their success is the low-tech, high-yield production methods they’ve developed by focusing on growing better rather than growing bigger, making their operation more lucrative and viable in the process.

The Market Gardener is a compendium of La Grelinette’s proven horticultural techniques and innovative growing methods. This complete guide is packed with practical information on:

• Setting-up a micro-farm by designing biologically intensive cropping systems, all with negligible capital outlay;
• Farming without a tractor and minimizing fossil fuel inputs through the use of the best hand tools, appropriate machinery and minimum tillage practices;
• Growing mixed vegetables systematically with attention to weed and pest management, crop yields, harvest periods and pricing approaches.

Inspired by the French intensive tradition of maraichage and by iconic American vegetable grower Eliot Coleman, author and farmer Jean-Martin shows by example how to start a market garden and make it both very productive and profitable. Making a living wage farming without big capital outlay or acreages may be closer than you think.

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.

Recreational boating is a pastime enjoyed by millions. Yet the waters and marine environment that boaters so love are in serious jeopardy from pollution, resource mismanagement, and misunderstanding. Boaters can help change that. Although a relatively small part of the problem of marine environmental degradation, recreational boaters can be a huge part of the solution, writes Clyde W. Ford, an avid boater of over twenty years, whose encounters with polluted waters galvanized him to explore workable solutions.

"Boat Green" provides a host of environmentally sound boating practices, based on scientific research and practical boating experience. In this book, boaters will learn ways to: Reduce vessel operation and maintenance costs Improve vessels performance Increase safety and health of vessel operators and crew Increase awareness of marine issues Enhance enjoyment of the marine environment

All of these steps will help lessen the impact of recreational boating on the marine environment. These are practical solutions that have been field-tested and refined on actual vessels cruising the Pacific Northwest waters.

"Boat Green" is an essential guide for recreational boaters and for all those concerned about protecting the marine environment.

Clyde W. Ford is the executive director of EcoMarine Institute and author of nine books, including the award-winning "The Long Mile" and the Charlie Noble series of contemporary nautical suspense novels. Ford enjoys cruising the waters of the Inside Passage aboard his single-engine biodiesel trawler.