Starting and Propagating Plants

Jean-Martin Fortier, a distinguished farmer, author, and educator, has been spearheading a movement in ecological agriculture for over twenty years. Since 2004, he and his wife have been operating Les Jardins de la Grelinette, an efficient and productive 2-acre microfarm. This farm is often referred to as a blueprint for effective human-scale organic farming.In 2015, Jean-Martin established La Ferme des Quatre-Temps, a research farm dedicated to training apprentices and developing new strategies for market gardening, including year-round production. His pioneering methods are taught worldwide through the Market Gardener Institute, which is present in more than 90 countries.Jean-Martin is the author of The Winter Market Gardener and The Market Gardener, which have sold over a quarter of a million copies in nine languages. His contributions to organic farming and regenerative agriculture have earned him the Meritorious Service Cross from the Governor General of Canada. He farms and lives in Quebec, Canada.Pierre Nessmann was born to a family of Strasbourg market gardeners and holds a degree from the École d'Horticulture de Genève, in Switzerland. He has worked as a landscape gardener and a journalist for over 40 years. He is the assistant editor of the popular French gardening magazines Rustica Pratique and Rustica Weekly, covers gardening and DIY stories for the French television Network TF1, and currently hosts a gardening segment on the show Nous Voilà Bien, on the French radio station RTL. He is the author of several books about vegetable growing, gardening, and landscaping. Pierre lives in Paris, France.Flore Avram is a freelance artist and graphic designer specializing in scientific and botanical illustration. She has collaborated extensively with the French language children's publisher KiloWatt Editions, and with Inserm Magazine, a quarterly journal which explores health and biomedical research. Flore has earned several professional certifications in graphic design and scientific illustration from L'Ecole Estienne, the Municipal Graduate School of the Arts and Printing Industry. She also works as a Médiatrice en botanique at Jardin des Serres d'Auteuil, a unique French natural heritage site and eco-garden. She is based in Paris, France.

• INTRODUCTIONMy Background What is the Market Gardener Method? Preface – From Seed to Plant Should You Produce or Buy Your Plants?SEEDLINGSEquip Yourself Well Choosing Your Seeds Harvest Your Own Seeds Collect Seeds from Fruit Vegetables Collect Seeds from Leafy and Root Vegetables The Right Sowing Substrate Seedling Containers The Seeders Accessories for SowingSOWING METHODSSowing under Cover Sowing in Trays Sowing in Multicellular Trays Sowing in Compressed Clods Sowing in Pots or Containers Care after Sowing under CoverSowing Outdoors Where to Sow in Open Ground? Manual Sowing in Open Ground Sowing in Open Ground with a Mechanical Seeder Care after Sowing in Open GroundOTHER MODES OF MULTIPLICATIONCuttings Herbaceous Cuttings Semi-woody CuttingsGrafting Grafting CleftDivision How to Divide a Plant CorrectlySeparating and Transplanting Shoots Successfully Separating ShootsPLANTINGAcclimatize the Plants Pre-plantingPrepare the Ground Prepare the BedsPlanting Plant in a Single Row Multi-row Planting TutoringPost-planting Care Irrigation Systems Mulching the Soil Protecting Plants Weeding