This is book nine of my personal Top 10 Farm Books Of The Decade.
I’m presenting my Top 10 in order of publication.
Next up ,,,
The Greenhouse and Hoophouse Grower’s Handbook
Organic Vegetable Production Using Protected Culture
by Andrew Mefferd
In the spring of 2017, after the snow melted at Tourne-Sol farm, it started to rain, and rain, and rain.
And then it rained some more.
The ground was too wet to plant.
When we realized the rain wasn’t going to stop, we felt desperate and we planted anyway.
Without sun or much heat, the crops grew so slowly and matured weeks later than planned. We had to prioritize our weekly CSA baskets, which left us with a sparse market stall. (Not to mention the deep regret and shame and miserable clumpy soil clods that came with working the soil when it was wet.)
By the end of that year, we had put up a 42ft x 300ft greenhouse (just over 1/4 acre) to make sure we would always have dry ground to plant in the spring.
In 2019, this past spring, the weather was even wetter than 2017 had been.
We were not stressed, we were not panicking. We had 1/4 acre of lush crops growing under cover. We were able to start our CSA baskets as planned at the end of May with a bounty of beautiful vegetables. It was one of our best springs to date.
Because of that greenhouse we’d built.
If you’re new to farming, protected growing space is one of the best ways to make sure you have the crops you need to hit your financial goals.
But greenhouses are expensive things. And effective greenhouse growing can be very technical. If you don’t use your covered growing spaces wisely, all that money you spend on covered space might be for nothing.
That brings us to The Greenhouse And Hoophouse Grower’s Handbook.
Andrew Mefferd has written a thorough manual on how to grow tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and leafy greens in your greenhouse or hoophouse.
If you’re wondering whether to build your first greenhouse, the answer is yes.
But make sure you’ve read this book first!
