Gardening

US $24.95

Revised, Updated, And Expanded—With New Chapters And More Information . . .

With more than 80,000 sold since 1988, The New Organic Grower has become a modern classic. In this revised
and expanded edition, master grower Eliot Coleman continues to present the simplest and most sustainable ways
of growing top-quality organic vegetables. Coleman updates practical information on marketing the harvest, on
small-scale equipment, and on farming and gardening for the long-term health of the soil. The new book is
thoroughly updated, and includes all-new chapters such as:

Farm-Generated Fertility—how to meet your soil-fertility needs from the resources of your own
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land, even if manure is not available.

The Moveable Feast—how to construct home-garden and commercial-scale greenhouses that
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can be easily moved to benefit plants and avoid insect and disease build-up.
The Winter Garden—how to plant, harvest, and sell hardy salad crops all winter long from
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unheated or minimally heated greenhouses.

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Pests?—how to find “plant-positive” rather than “pest-negative” solutions by growing healthy,

naturally resistant plants.
The Information Resource—how and where to learn what you need to know to grow delicious
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organic vegetables, no matter where you live.

Written for the serious gardener or small market farmer, The New Organic Grower proves that, in terms of both
efficiency and profitability, smaller can be better.

“I know of no other person . . . who can produce better results on the land with an economy of effort and
means than Eliot. He has transformed gardening from a task, to a craft, and finally to what Stewart Brand
would call ‘local science.’ ” —Paul Hawken, from the Foreword

“This is the best book on small-scale farming I’ve read in years.” —Pat Stone, Mother Earth News

“Anybody seriously tempted to try . . . raising healthful food on healthy land . . . must first read The New
Organic Grower. Coleman, who has been a quiet leader in the American organic movement for several
decades, presents a balanced, logical exposition of his subject.” —Horticulture

“Eliot Coleman’s book will help market gardeners establish the vital and profitable link between farm and
city. Every small-scale grower and serious gardener should have a copy.” —Robert Rodale

Eliot Coleman is a garden tool consultant and was co-host with his wife Barbara Damrosch of the popular
television series “Gardening Naturally,” on the Learning Channel. He is also the author of Four-Season Harvest and
The Winter Harvest Handbook, both also published by Chelsea Green Publishing. He and Barbara presently operate
a commercial year-round market garden, in addition to horticultural research projects, at Four Season Farm in
Harborside, Maine.

Chelsea Green Publishing

CHELSEA GREEN

White River Junction, Vermont

802-295-6300
www.chelseagreen.com

cover photo by Richard Brown

cover design by Ann Aspell

NOG final cover.indd 1 3/30/10 8:29 AM

 the new organic grower 307

block. Place the blocks in bread trays with mesh bottoms to get air to all sides and
prevent root emergence. Transplant at two weeks of age.
Peas need to be harvested frequently (at least every other day) for highest
quality. They should be rapidly cooled to 32°F. (0°C.) as soon as possible after
picking. I suggest selling them the day they are picked. Old peas are bad business.
My favorite varieties: ‘Strike’ (early), ‘Lincoln’ (best flavor), and ‘Sugar Snap’
(hard to beat).

Pepper. This is another warm-weather crop that will repay the grower for any
climate improvement he or she can provide. Floating covers, plastic mulch, and
field tunnels will all aid the production of the pepper crop. I have used the spaces
between greenhouses to provide a warm microclimate for a rotation of peppers,
melons, and celery.
I start peppers in mini-blocks at 72°F. (22°C.). They are potted on to 2- and
then 4-inch blocks in order to grow the finest early transplants. Nighttime
temperature minimum is 62°F. (17°C.). I do not let fruit set on the plants before
the blocks are transplanted to the soil. I get much greater production later on by
reducing that early strain on the plants. It is best to avoid highly nitrogenous soil
amendments like chicken manure. The extra nitrogen makes the pepper plants
go more to leaf than to fruit.
After harvest, peppers should be stored at 50°F. (10°C.) at a humidity of 90 to
95 percent. Temperatures below 45°F. (7°C.) predispose these hot-weather fruits
to bacterial decay.
My favorite varieties: ‘Ace’ or ‘Red Knight’ (for very short seasons).

Potato. The best return in potato growing comes not from the main crop but
from extra-early harvest of baby new potatoes. That is especially true if one of the
yellow-fleshed varieties like ‘Charlotte’, ‘German Fingerling’, or ‘Yellow Finnish’
is chosen. The gourmet market will pay handsomely for the crop, and the field
is then made available for a succession planting of another vegetable or a green
manure.
I plant potatoes in 30-inch rows at a spacing of 8 to 12 inches, depending upon
the variety and the size desired. I pay a great deal of attention to the rotational
position and soil fertility for potatoes. I do not grow them at a low pH, but I try
to prevent scab by providing excellent potato-growing conditions and preceding
them in the rotation with a scab-suppressing crop. The most destructive pest in
my part of the world is the potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata). Up until
1987 it was the one pest problem I had not figured out. In that year we began
specific trials to determine the stresses on potatoes and what cultural practices

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