The Urban Farmer: Growing Food for Profit on Leased and Borrowed Land Paperback – December 1, 2015

When I first reviewed this book, times were different: restaurants were doing well, and there was a ton of demand growing microgreens/fresh produce for the restaurant market. I began following Curtis Stone shortly after buying his book, and he still has a spot sense of the changing times and a timely set of instructions on how to be prepared by living on the land. Yes, his message has pivoted from his days of working other people's urban plots, and he freely admits that now is not the time to focus on urban farming. But the knowledge in the book is timeless and since now It is better to get out of cities, with their ridiculous regulations, you still need a plan to grow your own food, and hopefully make a living as well. I would still buy this book because people need and want to eat fresh locally grown food. Whether you farm your 5 acre plot in the countryside for your family or garden as a business to make a living selling local produce to your community, the gardening knowledge in this book is invaluable and stands the test of time. I am excited to see if Curtis writes another book, to reflect our current situation, since he has done a fantastic job spreading the prepper self sufficiency messages that many other writers have spoken about, but with no actual road map to get there. A wonderful addition to this book is to join From the Field TV, which is Curtis' subscription forum website, where he posts helpful farming/gardening videos, answers reader questions, and goes on wonderful stream of consciousness discussions on resisting the efforts of bureaucrats, mostly Canadian and US, to try to force farmers off their land into cities. If you have any desire to know where your food comes from, be self sufficient, and thus not at the whims of big AG, this is the book for you. Again, Curtis is super entertaining and likable on video, so I encourage you to also search out his YouTube and other online content. Best farming/gardening writer out there today.

This is written with clear steps & instructions for everything. How to find & negotiate land to use, how to get funding, what to plant, how much to plant, how to sell to farmers markets & restaurants, How to set up temporary green houses, how to DIY processing equipment, how much $ to expect to net depending on plot size, how to plant for efficient harvest, etc.So many books focus only on the plants (and their advice is really only good for nearby the growing zone of the author), but this is all the mechanics & logistics of the business.The author is in Canada, & I'm in Alabama, so I have to adapt the planting times, but all of the how-to advice is transferrable to all growing zones.I highly recommend this as well as the author's video tutorials.

There are a lot of gardening books out there, and this book could help you a bit with that, but what this book gives you an overview of how to start a farming business.The level of detail for producing as efficiently as possible is here. The author does not want to spend time weeding, and has developed a system that works for him to minimize the unnecessary tasks. It is littered with real examples with actual numbers that Curtis Stone has done. Most authors shy away from giving financial details to this degree. Of course each situation is different, but giving real world examples I believe is very helpful.If you want a book that just deals with growing vegetables, look elsewhere. There is a little bit of that in here, but this book is about high production in minimal space. Becoming efficient in a number of ways to alleviate time for the important tasks. Finding markets and the thought process of decisions of what items to grow.I am happy to add this book to my library, and if you are after any of the things mentioned above, you will as well.

expected more info on growing

Man knows his stuff

Curtis Stone is an outstanding, high-energy, and enthusiastic proponent of urban farming.Living in the sticks, I'm inspired to up my game in my small garden plot. I'll obviously deviate from his selection of veggies as he's focusing on the local market while I'll be looking at my family's needs, but I'll also incorporate some of his plantings to take to local outlets as some cash income.Don't overlook his YouTube videos - they provide a lot of enthusiasm and energy, and a good physical look at what he's doing.The book I'm using more as a reference: How much of this to plant in a bed? How close to plant? Specifically what steps is Curtis following in this process? How is that vegetable spelled? How to keep track of the business - planting and harvesting information, watching my business (cash flow vs. crop availability), and other technical things to help me run a tighter ship.Other resources that make great companion books include Elliot Coleman (Maine) and J. M. Fortier (Quebec).

This guy knows what he's talking about, and he's motivated to help men and women MAKE MONEY AS FARMERS. (Or if you MUST call it "Market Gardening" or whatever term you're more comfortable with, so be it. He grows food to feed people, and with this book, he's helping others do the same.) Curtis' model requires no land ownership, and as long as a person is willing to work hard, these systems are incredible for growing product for customers. Thank you, Curtis, for this book, for your YouTube videos, and for your tenacity as an educator (and "entertainer" if you will). You've changed my life for the better by opening up my mind to agricultural possibilities that I'd never considered before listening to you on Permaculture Voices. My mind is open, my hands are working, and my taste buds are loving fresh food. To anyone reading this review, I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to make a damn good living while growing food in a city or suburb.