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Welcome to Growing for Market!

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Growing for Market is the magazine for local food producers. Available in print or online, Growing for Market brings you practical, useful articles written by growers and other direct-marketing experts. GFM keeps you informed about the business of growing and selling vegetables, fruits, cut flowers, plants, herbs, and other food products. Whether you're a farmer selling in 10 farmers markets per week or a backyard grower with an honor-pay stand, you'll find valuable information that will help you make your business more profitable and enjoyable. Please join us today!

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cover image of September 2010 issueSeptember 2010 Issue now available, featuring:

  • Richard Wiswall advises growers to step back, assess problems you’re experiencing now, and resolve that they won’t happen again next year. Richard is the author of The Organic Farmers Business Handbook.
  • Too many farmers markets? In some cities, growers say they are stretched too thin and losing revenued becasue of the proliferation of markets.
  • Pam Dawling writes about vegetables to plant now for late fall harvest or overwintering to harvest early next year.
  • Raymond Cloyd writes about managing caterpillars organically in the hoophouse or the field.
  • New tomato varieties to be available next year are resistant to late blight.
  • How to maximize your final tomato harvests of the season and clean up the crop when it’s done.
  • Josh Volk writes about experiments in crop spacing to get the best yield, quality, and comfort for the farmer.
  • Erin Benzakein writes about flowers and other ornamentals that can bring in big money in fall.
Subscribe now and start with the September issue — and get a 20% discount on all books! Or become a Full Access member and read this issue, plus get access to our searchable archive of more than 1,200 practical, how-to articles published from 2001 to the present.

Click here to start a print subscription.

Click here to start an online subscription.

Click here to buy a print copy of the September 2010 issue.

Click here to buy a PDF download of the September 2010 issue.

 
New Books and New DVD in the Online Store

Year-Round Vegetable Production with Eliot Colemam DVD

Eliot ColemanThis filmed workshop on year-round vegetable production offers farmers and gardeners the rare chance to sit in with Eliot Coleman, one of the pioneers of the organic farming movement and author of The New Organic Grower, Four-Season Harvest, and The Winter Harvest Handbook.

During his careers as commercial market gardener, director of agricultural research projects, developer of tools for organic growers, and teacher and lecturer on organic gardening, Coleman has studied, practiced, and perfected his craft, and while you can bring Coleman’s books with you into your garden, there’s nothing like getting the advice straight from the man himself.

Click here to pre-order now for shipment in September 2010


Crop Planning on Organic Vegetable Farms

Crop Planning Book

This book gives you a field-tested eleven step planning approach that will take some of the chaos out of your business and help you move towards profitability. In steps one and two, you’ll learn how to set realistic financial goals and figure out how to meet them through your marketing outlets. In steps three to eight, you will learn how to develop an actual crop plan. In step nine, you’ll learn how to implement your crop plan and record what actually happens in the field. In steps ten and eleven, you will analyze how your crop plan fared and start planning for next year.
Click here to order




These articles have recently been added to Growing for Market Online

  New farm planning software in the works (in: News Update)
Aug 26, 2010
Growers who attended the NOFA Summer conference in August were excited about a new farm planning software program that is expected to be released this winter.
  Senate committee amends food safety bill (in: News Update)
Aug 13, 2010
The Senate committee that has been working on food safety has agreed on numerous amendments that make food safety regulation more palatable for small produce farms.
  Farmers markets increase 16 percent (in: News Update)
Aug 4, 2010
Farmers markets continue their growth spurt, with a 16 percent increase reported from 2009 to 2010. Click on the headline to read the full story.
chart showing growth of farmers markets
  Take credit cards at farmers market with iPhone (in: Archive)
Aug 2, 2010
creditcard handsNew services allow farmers market vendors to accept credit cards and process the payments with an iPhone or other smart phone. Here's a summary of the top programs now available for mobile credit card payments.
  Wedding flowers, part 2: Prices, estimates, contracts (in: Archive)
Aug 1, 2010
Bridal bouquetsWith another wedding season fully underway I am reminded how a little extra planning can provide a tremendous amount of support and ease during the height of summer.
  Market scenes: Fayetteville, AR (in: Archive)
Aug 1, 2010
FayettevilleThe setting: The square in downtown Fayetteville. The historic Old Post Office in the center of the square is surrounded by gardens. Vendors back up to the sidewalk to set up tents and tables, and customers stroll along the broad sidewalk between the market stands and the gardens. With music, coffee, and baked goods available, the market is a weekly community event and there’s a lot of socializing.
  Keep Flowers from Wilting (in: Market Farming Basics)
Picking FlowersCut flowers are prone to wilting in summer, especially when they're on display at a farmers market or farm stand on a hot day. And nobody wants to buy a bunch of wilted flowers. To prevent premature wilting, follow good harvest and post-harvest procedures. Here are the basics.
  Choose the best spreader for your fertility needs (in: Archive)
Aug 1, 2010
drop spreaderAdding fertility to the farm comes in many forms: cover cropping, composting, and spreading of a variety of powders, pellets and potions.  To me, cover cropping and composting help address the greater fertility needs and long-term productivity of the soil. Spreading of certain minerals, such as lime, contribute to this same broad approach as well, and the combination of these practices forms the basis of a healthy soil where crops can thrive. In addition, there are the amendments that I add to specifically boost the following crop, including high nitrogen byproducts like blood meal and feather meal, and mined minerals like sulfate of potash. These are typically relatively concentrated (for organic) materials, chosen for specific known deficiencies.  
  Food Safety and the Heat (in: Market Farming Basics)
food safetyPathogenic bacteria thrive in warm temperatures, so pay particular attention to food safety when harvesting, washing, packing, and storing produce in the summer. The guiding principle in food safety should be to prevent pathogens from getting onto your produce in the first place. A set of standards known as Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) is designed to do just that.
  Set your financial goals (in: Archive)
Aug 1, 2010
CP bio picRead this excerpt (with permission) from Chapter 1 of Crop Planning for Organic Vegetable Growers by Frédéric Thériault and Daniel Brisebois
 
more articles >>
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