For eight years, Lee averaged 110 cubic years of compost per season. Each year Lee added 5,000 square feet of garden. The idea was to cash in on new farmer markets in Boston Neighborhoods. In 1988, Lee had nearly one acre planted and grossed $36,000 and that average out to 50 hours a week or 12 an hour. Don't be afraid of creating too much competition. Growers are currently only serving 1 to 3 percent of the market with organic foods. The number of acres dedicated to growing organic foods amounts to less than 1 percent of the national agricultural land base. Organic foods include more than 200 varieties of vegetables, 1,000 varieties of flowers, and close to 100 different herbs, several distinct growing methods, and at least 10 prime marketing methods. 97 percent of the market buys from the supermarket.

Tomatoes grown organically have five times more calcium and 2,000 times more iron than conventionally grown tomatoes. 16 commonly known trace elements are: boron, calcium, carbon, chlorine, copper, hydrogen, iron, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, and zinc. Without the proper balance of soil pH, moisture, naturally occurring soil minerals, and biological activity, the nutrients may remain locked in the soil and usages of compost is one of the best ways to increase humus levels. Compost provides a healthy, nutrient-filled environment for the plant roots. You need 3 cubic yards of cow manure for every 1,000 square feet of garden. A 1,000 square feet of garden can grow 100 tomato plants. After three years of manure, tomato plants yield 14 pounds per plant; and in super rich soil, potatoes yield 5 pounds per plant. To get 65 yards of compost, 200 cubic yards of raw materials will need to be formed into a 4 foot piles, 10 feet wide, and 200 feet long.

In 1990 the farm had four hogs. After a year the hogs are moved and rock phosphate is added. Potatoes and strawberries are planted first; wood ash is added and two years of peas and beans replenish nitrogen in the soil; and in the fourth year the plot is ready for any crop.

After five years of backyard gardening and selling his produce, author Andrew W. Lee took in $36,000 from his one-acre garden. That is quite an increase from the $1,700 he made in his first year in addition to that being one VERY productive acre! This is a very good book, covering nearly everything a farm marketeer might want to consider before starting a garden and setting up a roadside stand. If you are considering venturing into the lucrative business of growing and selling your own produce, this book will be valuable.

There are over 200 pages on how to market your produce. "Fix the soil and get close to your customers", Lee advises. He shares many of his experiences and entertains numerous marketing ventures from setting out a curb-side table to community-supported farms, cooperatives, sales to restaurants and other farm markets, and peddling door to door (although today this works better through the pre-paid subscription method).

Even if you're not going to plant a garden, this book is well worth looking over as a clear and pragamatic account of how to start your own business. Lee tells how he successfully did that.

I found this book very informative, inspiring and motivational. I have been gardening for 7 or 8 years (started when corporate America was killing me)just for relaxation. Now I am retired and have a very big garden, but more than my family and my neighbors can eat. I'm seriously considering a greenhouse, but before such an investment needed some research. This book really helped me make the decision to proceed with the greenhouse. Our Farmers Market kicks in next week and I can't wait. This book will make you think of things you hadn't considered, the ups and downs. I really enjoyed it. Wish me luck!

It's not a step by step guide to how to do it, but more a collection of interesting articles on many aspects of market farming. I love all the conflicting ideas that leads one to believe there is no one way to do this. But you should do it and have fun and hopefully make some money!

As a person who is looking towards expanding my garden, I was looking for a kind of a 'how to' book. While the book does contain 'testimonials,' it is contains a great deal of information on getting your produce to market. The types of ideas that I had not considered prior to reading the book. The book reads fast and concerns itself primarily with marketing your produce. If you're looking for primer on marketing your produce, this is an excellent first choice.