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Welcome to Growing for Market!

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Growing for Market is America's most respected publication about growing and direct marketing vegetables, fruits, herbs, cut flowers, plants, and other farm products. Growing for Market covers farmers markets, Community Supported Agriculture, the local food movement, organic growing, cut flowers, and much more. Growing for Market publishes 10 issues per year, in print and online, and offers memberships to our extensive online archive of articles. Become a member today!


cover of June 2010 issueJune/July 2010 Issue now available, featuring:
  • How to build and use an inexpensive caterpillar tunnel for season extension and pest control.
  • How to use a Cool-Bot to refrigerate a truck or trailer.
  • New resources to help you set prices.
  • Plow pan is surprisingly common on vegetable farms; it causes stunted plants and lower yields. Here's how to recognize and fix the problem.
  • Tips for using hoes to achieve the best possible weed control.
  • Have sweet corn for a long season each summer.
  • Weddings are a new and important market for flower growers; here's advice on how to tap the demand.
Plus news, classified ads, and new suppliers. Subscribe now and start with the June/July issue. Plus you'll get a 20% discount on all books!

Click here to start a print subscription.

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Click here to buy a print copy of the June/July 2010 issue.

Click here to buy a PDF download of the June/July 2010 issue.

 
New Books in the Online Store

Local HarvestLocal Harvest: A Multifarm CSA Handbook by Jill Perry and Scott Franzblau, looks at CSAs from a cooperative perspective.  As small growers take on more responsibility for feeding their communities, multifarm CSA emerges as an attractive way for growers and customers to work together to foster a healthy local economy. Click here to order


Building Soils for Better CropsBuilding Soils for Better Crops by Fred Magdoff and Harold Van Es, is one of the most practical guides on soil management available. As we confront a future of peak oil, climate change and depleted fresh water resources, restoring the health of our soils is more imperative today than at any time in history. This 3rd edition is an indispensable resource for farmers and gardeners everywhere.  Click here to order


These articles have recently been added to Growing for Market Online

  Heat tolerance in plants (in: Market Farming Basics)
"Is it hot enough for you?"
You've probably heard that question more than a few times during the dog days of summer. If you're like most growers, your main concern is not for yourself (you can get out of the heat!) but for your crops. Most vegetables, even those we think of as heat-loving vegetables, don't do well when temperatures soar into the 90s and stay there. In this article, we'll focus on production, harvest and postharvest solutions to summer's heat.
  Taking Care of Tomatoes (in: Market Farming Basics)
If you’re like most gTomatoesrowers, tomatoes are one of your most important crops, either because you make the most money from them or because your customers demand them. Such an essential crop deserves special treatment to enhance flavor, appearance, and yield. The best way to improve your tomatoes is to prune and train them. Here’s why.
  Scouting for Pests and Diseases (in: Market Farming Basics)
One of the fringe benefits of weeding is that while you are out there hoeing or hand pulling weeds, you can monitor crops for any signs of damage from pests or diseases.
  Extend your selling season with storage vegetables (in: Market Farming Basics)
Thanks to the local foods movement, many people want to buy locally grown vegetables long after the first frost, even after farmers markets close for the winter. In response, many market farmers are finding ways to sell produce throughout the winter. CSA winter shares, home delivery, and indoor winter markets are potential venues for cold-season sales. 
Storage vegetables are an important component of winter marketing. More than a dozen types of vegetables can be held for 30 days or longer — some as long as six months — given appropriate conditions.

Reprinted from JSS Advantage November 2009.
  More feedback on the growth of super-CSAs (in: Archive)
Jun 1, 2010
Thank you for your article in the April issue about the big vs. small CSA controversy. It is important for the CSA community to have this conversation out in the open, and now.
  Weed Control Stratagies (in: Market Farming Basics)
Here are some sobering statistics as you begin the weeding season on your farm or market garden: A Minnesota study found that a square foot of soil, 6 inches deep, contained from 98 to 3,068 viable weed seeds. Many seeds remain viable for decades; Jimsonweed has a 90 percent germination rate after 40 years in the soil and field bindweed seeds are viable for more than 50 years. All those seeds are just sitting there, in what is known as the “weed seed bank,” waiting for favorable conditions that will allow them to germinate.
  Wedding flowers profitable, but time-consuming; figure out the level of service you can offer brides (in: Archive)
Jun 1, 2010
Wedding FlowersJust the mention of doing flowers for a wedding will likely send most growers into a nervous sweat. When I said yes to my first wedding four years ago I had no idea how many details were involved.
  Plan a long season of sweet corn (in: Archive)
Jun 1, 2010
Sweet corn presents challenges for organic farmers. Some of these can be easily overcome; others warrant carefulSweet Corn
consideration. There’s no denying that sweet corn takes up a lot of space, so if  you are really short of land, you may decide to forego corn. On the other hand, corn doesn’t take a lot of work, so if you have the space, but are short of help, corn is a good choice. The rewards are probably obvious: devoted, satisfied customers! Organically grown hybrid varieties (such as Luscious, Sugar Pearl, Brocade) are available, which helps USDA Organic certified commercial growers.
  Using hoes for maximum weed control (in: Archive)
Jun 1, 2010
Selecting a good tool and keeping it in working order is only one piece of any job.  While it is a critical piece, it cannot be separated from the need to understand how the tool works. There are a lot of aspects to the way a tool works: timing, the physical manipulation of the tool, and also recognizing the limitations and even drawbacks of the tool, recognizing when not to use it.
  Plow pan may be cause of reduced yield, stunted growth in plants (in: Archive)
Jun 1, 2010
“Soil compaction is causing trouble for many vegetable farmers, even if they don’t know it. That
trouble may be in the form of reduced yields, excessive runoff and soil erosion, or an increase in root disease. Just because compaction is out of sight doesn’t mean it should be out of mind.”

So begins a publication from Vern Grubinger of the University of Vermont Extension
 
more articles >>
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