Jean-Martin Fortier: A Model for Profitable Micro-Farming

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21

Does anyone besides me know where the phrase "lets get down to brass tacks" came from?
Anyway, 1 1/2 acre = 65,340 square feet.  For those of you who prefer the metric system,  too bad.

Being really aggressive, lets figure only 5% of the area is required for walkways, since I haven't read the book.  That leaves 62,073 square feet for intense square foot gardening.  Dividing 62,073 by 200 families (what is the average size per family?) leaves 310 square feet per family.  Since I do intense raised beds, I'll use that as an example.  310 square feet divided by 4 (foot wide beds), gives you 77.5 feet.

So the area available per family is equivalent of 4 beds 4 foot wide by 19 feet long.  I produce seasonal vegetables for my wife and I from 2 beds 5 foot wide by 14 feet long.  Tip: never make your beds 5 feet wide.  It's too much, even if you have long arms.  I am still paying the price for that mistake.

I'd have to say that it is possible to provide seasonal vegetables plus some canning veggies for 200 families using 1 1/2 acres.  I still question year around vegetables.  Plus, that doesn't include grains, coffee beans (a must), sugar, meat, milk, cheese, eggs, wine, beer, junk food, or porterhouse steaks.

But the point is, if they were talking about seasonal veggies only, for 200 families, the number is a lot closer than I would have thought.

Now I am wondering about their profit numbers.  Guess I'll have to get the book.

Clear skies. (A popular closing for amateur astronomy enthusiasts)

22

Did he say in the interview that he was the sole source for food for those 200 families? I didn't catch that if he did. I guess he meant he contributed to 200 families. I agree that it is highly unlikely that small patch of ground could feed 200 families. I read somewhere that it takes a football sized field (US) to complete one person diet. I'd be happy to make a living off my property. Not interested in making money, just interested in making a living! smiley

23

Second page of the book.  The statement is open to some interpretation.  
You can read the first chapter free on the above link.

24

you said,

. I read somewhere that it takes a football sized field (US) to complete one person diet.
I think that this urban homesteader would argue that it takes much less space than that if done properly;
25

If things were different, one could plant a corner of your land in marijuana, which would provide the income to finance any number of improvements in the production of food, which your pot customers would need to alleviate the munchies…Just goofin'.  Great interview.  I'm buying the book.  Aloha, Steve.

26

ALOHA!! Honestly I have never lived in a place that has so much year round food production at so little cost as Hawaii. The jungles that surround my five acre property are always loaded with food that nobody fertilizes or maintains. Every weekend families park along side of the road and gather food in their truck. The bounty is still as incredible as when Capt Cook first described it in 1778. So much of this free food is uneaten when it falls on the ground and rots. In fact the mango trees produce so much that they could probably supplement 1000 family diets and that's just from the ones that fall on the ground. The mango rot is so pungent that it smells like "mango wine"!
I believe that the State of Hawaii could easily be self sustaining if the government would get out of our way. For instance the ag department restrictions for shipping make a lot of the food unusable. I always ponder whether these interstate and intrastate restrictions are really for the public's benefit or is it for Big Agro corporate benefit? Wherever governments intercede "on our behalf" the truth is always obscured by the politrix of money.

Ulu(breadfruit) and bananas …

27

As a long time member of various CSAs and now trying to grow more of my own food, I think this is safe to say this micro-market garden of 1.5 acres provides some if not most of seasonal veggies for 200 families.  These families are not buying lettuce, brocolli, radishes, kale, chard, green beans, peas, peppers, tomatoes, even berries perhaps, etc.   But I am sure they still buy eggs, dairy, meat, grains, legumes, fruit, nuts, seeds, etc.  So  a bit of a mis-statement to say they feed 200 families. This is not to denigrate the significant achievement of Jean-Martin and Maude-Helene, but just to clarify and agree with the above posters that total sufficiency for 200 families is not realistic on 1.5 acres.
I am still in awe of what they coax from the land and how profitable they are.

Claire

28

I think it is quite a feat!
The profitability is what I find striking. What happens during an "off" year? Overly dry or wet? Hot (most unlikely up there) or overly cold? (more likely)
Most "kitchen farms" or "market farms" barely break even.
See, I think about all of the "idle" crop land around me. It is idle because the farmers have become too old to farm, and mono-cropping has depleted the soil. I also live in the "tobacco belt" so farmers have given up and "lease" their tobacco base. So, the land sits idle. What a shame. We would have no hunger in our state if that land was farmed.
My point? Even if the farm supplied 50%  of the veggie needs for 200 families, 10 - One and one-half acre farms could provide the needs for 2000. Double the size and half the output and there is still profit to be made yes? I dare say profit is not the word I am looking for. "Earning a living" is more like it. Investing locally by those who have the land resource to those who are willing to work the land (there is the catch) is another way to act locally.
Most interesting.

29

Does Gangia grow well in tobacco base land? LOL! the ultimate "cash crop!"
 

30

[quote=thatchmo]If things were different, one could plant a corner of your land in marijuana, which would provide the income to finance any number of improvements in the production of food… 
[/quote]
My neighbor to the east has complained about our neighbor to the north's marijuana growing and 'cooking'  (hash oil) operation.  This is an individual I don't always believe, so I checked Google Maps and yep, he's a grower.  This same neighbor claimed the grower made $300k in 2012 (2013 numbers aren't in yet), but I have no way to confirm this. Judging by the number of new vehicles on his property the income number could be in the ballpark.  That being said, it is widely known locally that he is a grower, but to date everyone is either fairly Libertarian about these things or they have a vested interest. 

31

Hey everyone, its Jean-Martin the author of the Market Gardener. I was reading in the forum that people were perhaps mislead by the statement that we feed 200 families. Here is are my explanation…
As a CSA family farmer, we supply our partnering families with a weekly vegetable shares (usually of 8 to 12 veggies grown in season) which, in most case, is enough vegetables for them not to have to buy some from the supermarket. We don't grow anything else than veggies at la Grelinette, so we don't supply our CSA partners with other staples (ie eggs, dairy, meat, grains, fruit, nuts, seeds, etc)

It would be more accurate to say that we provide more than 200 families with a seasonal share of weekly harvested vegetables for X number of weeks in the year…Its doesn't sound very good, but its more precise.

Perhaps we should fly with that in the future.

 

Best

Jean-Martin

32

Thanks for the clarification. I have purchased your book and can't wait to get it. Anything that is written from experience ranks high in my world. I am a doer like you and know that each season or cycle brings wisdom. I highly value your efforts over the years, and having had commercial gardens, I know how much work is involved. I am 62 and am positioning myself for a retirement from construction and will be doing a small scale garden and aquaponics business to serve my local community. I am looking forward to once again having my hands in the soil every day.
 

33

I have ordered the book as well and am looking forward to a good read.  I to am working to retire into a small scale for the remainder of my working years.  I am hoping to get some of my family involved as well.  Where I am having some trouble is getting land close by that is not taxed so high, I live in a suburb.  There is land available but because it could be used for homes, the taxes are through the roof.  I am looking at finding a 5 acre parcel that is contiguous, this way it can be considered as a green belt and is not taxed as high.  If anyone has any ideas I would appreciate it.  This was a wonderful podcast and is just what I needed.  Thanks so much.

34

Very inspiring! Love the website, and thank you for the clarifaction.

35

The book came yesterday. It has a lot of content. I've already found great ideas by just thumbing through. For example "flame weeding" is something totally new to me and it makes a lot of sense. The illustrations are well done. Succession Planting charts; new tools to think about; I'm very excited. This will be a cover to cover study, and reference book. Not just a casual read.
Thanks Jean-Martin.

36

"Flame weeding!" I read that too on one of the websites that promoted the book. (I haven't purchased the book-yet)
Glad to see someone else interested in "flame weeding." I guess it's such a "guy thing." My guess it is something like this. Open flame, a propane tank (of some sort) and a nozzle that is lit and burns the weeds ala mini - flame thrower! What's NOT to like!!
Time to get my keister over there and buy the book!!
 

37

…and indeed it is something my son and husband love to use.  We use it more to disinfect the chicken coop and their run 1-2x year, can also be used to disinfect beehives. We flame the decomposed granite patio every spring…but be forewarned it leaves a lingering burnt smell and the scorched surface takes a while to recover…don;t plan on having friends over immediately afterwards.  Wait a week.
Claire

38

I would caution anyone who thinks they can turn their suburban lot into your exclusive family food source.He is undoubtedly using TONS of inputs – probably manures, possibly mined rock phosphate. These have to come from somewhere.
One cannot extrapolate his numbers and think that we all could be doing this. His operation is the tip of an iceberg that involves probably ten to twenty times as much area in hay in order to feed the animals that provide his manure. And meanwhile, those acres of hay are being depleted if the manure is all going into people's gardens, instead of maintaining the hay field.
"If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."
I laud his effort and results, but we need to be up-front and transparent about the inputs when making fantastic claims about gardening productivity.
PS: we use about 60 tons of manure per acre, which is the equivalent of about ten acres of hay.

39

Flame weeding is fun and useful. Just remember that propane is not a renewable resource.

40

[quote=Jean-Martin Fortier]It would be more accurate to say that we provide more than 200 families with a seasonal share of weekly harvested vegetables for X number of weeks in the year…Its doesn't sound very good, but its more precise.[/quote]Thanks. I find it is better to under-promise and over-deliver in the long run.
We have 60 goat herd shareholders. But no way could we supply 60 people with all their dairy needs!