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Go deep, organic!
Coleman’s elegant year-round vegetable production blueprint
The June National Geographic features a story The End of Plenty which starts off saying that even though humans produced a record amount of grain last year, we still had to dip into stockpiles from past years to feed ourselves. Sobering stuff. But then for solutions it goes deep on the same tired green revolution song and dance, and notes GMOs and the Malawi Miracle (hybrid seeds and a bag of fertilizer for every farmer) as points of hope. But at least it notes all the ways Borlaug’s theory has failed and gives time later in the piece to Vandana Shiva and an alternative project in Malawi that’s producing great yields while improving soil with classic organic methods.
Echoing this latter wisdom is the new book from Eliot Coleman, The Winter Harvest Handbook. One of the original American organic farmers lays out his system for producing vegetables year-round, even in northern climes, using super-sustainable ‘deep organic’ methods.
Key to his system are movable unheated greenhouses, plastic covered frames 22 by 48 feet on tracks that are parked over crops as needed. For example in the fall he’ll leave the house over tomato plants to extend their season into November or later, and then slide it down to the next area on the track that has leeks and greens already growing, allowing them to thrive through the winter.
Read the whole article here.
Tumbledown Farmer's Blog
Thursday, June 11, 2009
The Winter Harvest Handbook: Year-Round Vegetable Production Using Deep-Organic Techniques and Unheated Greenhouses
The Winter Harvest Handbook: Year Round Vegetable Production Using Deep Organic Techniques and Unheated Greenhouses
, by Eliot Coleman, with Photographs and Illustrations by Barbara Damrosch, Chelsea Green Publishing Company, 2009.
Eliot Coleman has a new book out and it is a measure of his popularity with readers of all stripes that I had to wait from April to June on the waiting list at the Indianapolis Marion County Public Library(IMCPL) to receive a copy, and then promptly had the book recalled as soon as I got it home. I'll get back on the list as soon as I return the book, and eventually I'll spring for the cost of ownership. This book represents a significant advance in some of the production aspects over other books by Coleman, even those others from Chelsea Green. Especially delightful are the full-color photos of Coleman's garden operation. As we have come to expect, Coleman brings the same care and craft to writing that he so obviously brings to growing beautiful, healthy vegetables. For those who already own The New Organic Grower's Four-Season Harvest (1992, 2002) or Four-Season Harvest: Organic Vegetables from Your Home Garden All Year Long (1992, 1999) or The Winter Harvest Manual or The New Organic Grower (revised edition, 1995; see the previous blog entry), there will be much that is familiar here, but as Coleman points out, there has also been an evolution in his methods as he constantly seeks improvement. Those who own his other books will want the updates provided here. There are new varieties of vegetables, new techniques for gardening and building greenhouses, new tools and new resources.
The thing that fascinates me most about Coleman is that we have here a practitioner who is also very much historically aware and steeped in the literature of his craft. I would read and buy his books for their historical summaries (so aptly labeled "historical inspiration") and bibliographies (especially the annotated "historical reading list") alone, as much as for the lists of tried and true vegetable varieties and gardening techniques. Every last page has both instruction and inspiration.
I am not ready (yet) to launch a full-time operation, so some of what Coleman provides is beyond my ability to incorporate. For example, I can admire his greenhouse design, but I'm more likely to implement his "quick hoops" (maybe even this fall). His lists of succession planting dates and the yearly schedule are quite helpful in a suggestive way for those who would like to "go and do likewise." (And who wouldn't...like to go and do likewise?) And his gentle presentation of the more philosophical aspects of what he calls "deep-organic" gardening (a combination of local, sustainable, etc.) is winsome. Unlike many of the strident voices we hear today, Eliot Coleman's voice is one of experience tempered by the Maine winters. He knows whereof he speaks and he lets it permeate his writing. Thanks, Mr. Coleman, for sharing your gift with us.
Gaiatribe
Book Review: The Winter Harvest Handbook
by Elizabeth Barrette on April 21, 2009
Earth Day and Arbor Day are coming up. So I’ve been reading some books about gardening and climate change and related issues, courtesy of Chelsea Green. The following book explains how to grow organic vegetables year-round in unheated or minimally heated greenhouses.
The Winter Harvest Handbook: Year Round Vegetable Production Using Deep Organic Techniques and Unheated Greenhouses
by Eliot Coleman. Chelsea Green, 2009. Full-color trade paperback, 247 pages. ISBN: 978-1-60358-081-6. Five stars.
Most people think of gardening as a warm-season activity. They may also know of greenhouses as the “hothouses” used to grow tomatoes or strawberries in the winter. There are other options, however, and this book provides comprehensive and detailed instructions for those alternatives. I was surprised and impressed by how much can be done with how little.
First, Eliot Coleman introduces basic concepts: coldhouses (unheated greenhouses) and coolhouses (minimally heated greenhouses kept just above freezing); deep-organic farming; cold-hardy vegetables, succession planting, and protected cultivation; mobile greenhouses and movable row covers. These are the tools, techniques, and principles that underlie everything else.
Next, Coleman provides historic background from the French market gardens during the second half of the nineteenth century. This includes a look at the tools and techniques they used, and how those have been rediscovered or improved upon by contemporary growers. Much of this information had languished forgotten for years, until recently.
Then come detailed explorations of individual aspects of year-round gardening: how to get started, the yearly schedule, sunlight, coldhouses, and coolhouses. It’s fascinating to read about what factors really influence plant development and how; the available light seems to be more important than temperature in many cases. Winter crops, summer crops, and greenhouse design delve into the specific plants and structures most useful for this type of gardening. By choosing the right species and cultivars, and giving them basic protection from harsh weather, it’s possible to harvest year-round without requiring high-tech expensive greenhouses or costly heating. That information could be absolutely vital if the world goes in a direction that threatens food production and distribution.
Later chapters deal with specific techniques and processes of year-round cropping: soil preparation, sowing, weed control, winter harvesting, marketing, pests, diseases, etc. Finally there are discussions of tools useful in small-scale farming and the role of deep-organic principles on a small farm. Much is written down here that usually goes unspoken, like the idea that the best tool for the job may not be the same for two different people – you have to figure out what works for you and use that. Another excellent point is that soil feeds plants and plants feed people; deep-organic farming involves making the best soil possible, thus minimizing the need for pest/disease control and maximizing the flavor and nutrition of the crops.
The extensive resource section includes appendices on climate, temperature, tools, seeds, and sowing dates. There is also an annotated bibliography. The index is pretty good too.
On an aesthetic and philosophical level, this book also holds up well. It’s printed on chlorine-free recycled paper using soy-based inks, illustrated with many beautiful full-color photographs. The author’s voice is engaging and entertaining as well as informative.
There are thousands of gardening books on the shelves, but some of them stand out by virtue of doing something different. The Winter Harvest Handbook does this with precision and insight. First, it takes gardening into a new realm that few other books have explored. Second, it shows an intense and methodical examination of the many aspects of winter garden, in enough detail to give readers a high chance of duplicating the effects. The author has meticulously tested and recorded results for many types of plants and techniques, summarized into recommendations. He has also investigated as many aspects of winter gardening as possible, minimizing the chance of unexpected issues popping up. Third, this book treats its topic as a process to be shared, not a secret to be guarded. It vigorously encourages readers to try whichever of the ideas appeal to them – and then share their experiences with other people so as to advance the field.
The Winter Harvest Handbook chronicles the use of its techniques on a small commercial farm growing produce for sale to local restaurants and retailers. That makes it a treasure for anyone in small-scale organic agriculture. However, the concise focus also means these tools, techniques, and principles adapt fluently to homestead use. Movable row covers alone can expand the growing season in a small garden; a large family garden could incorporate an inexpensive movable coolhouse and gain even more use of the same space. So the book has very wide appeal for gardeners and farmers. Most highly recommended.
TheGreenhousePrimer.com
April 1, 2009
Choosing locally grown organic food is a sustainable living trend thats taken hold throughout North America. Celebrated farming expert Eliot Coleman helped start this movement with The New Organic Grower published 20 years ago. He continues to lead the way, pushing the limits of the harvest season while working his world-renowned organic farm in Harborside, Maine.
Now, with his long-awaited new book, The Winter Harvest Handbook, anyone can have access to his hard-won experience. Gardeners and farmers can use the innovative, highly successful methods Coleman describes in this comprehensive handbook to raise crops throughout the coldest of winters.
Building on the techniques that hundreds of thousands of farmers and gardeners adopted from The New Organic Grower and Four-Season Harvest, this new book focuses on growing produce of unparalleled freshness and quality in customized unheated or, in some cases, minimally heated, movable plastic greenhouses.
Coleman offers clear, concise details on greenhouse construction and maintenance, planting schedules, crop management, harvesting practices, and even marketing methods in this complete, meticulous, and illustrated guide. Readers have access to all the techniques that have proven to produce higher-quality crops on Colemans own farm.
His painstaking research and experimentation with more than 30 different crops will be valuable to small farmers, homesteaders, and experienced home gardeners who seek to expand their production seasons.
A passionate advocate for the revival of small-scale sustainable farming, Coleman provides a practical model for supplying fresh, locally grown produce during the winter season, even in climates where conventional wisdom says it just cant be done.
The Next Mini-Trend: Growing Your Own Food
By Lynn Andriani -- Publishers Weekly, 2/17/2009 6:00:00 AM
For the serious gardener who knows the meaning of succession planting and protected cultivation
The Winter Harvest Handbook: Year-Round Vegetable Production Using Deep Organic Techniques and Unheated Greenhouses by Eliot Coleman (Chelsea Green, Apr.)
Eliot, an experienced organic farmer with deep knowledge of field vegetables and greenhouse vegetables, describes the crops, tools, planting schedules and techniques he uses to manage his four-season farming operation.
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