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Page Count:128
Images:Full Color
Dimensions: 5.25 × 7 × 0.31 in
Publication Date:September 16, 2025
ISBN:9781774060186
Editor:Pierre Nessmann
Translated:Laurie Bennett
Illustrated byFlore Avram
Sustainability:Printed on 100% recycled paper
Printed in:Canada

Living Soil

A Grower’s Guide

By:

Editor: Pierre Nessmann

Build and sustain fertile, living soil—the essential foundation for thriving crops—with Jean-Martin Fortier’s biointensive techniques.

Living Soil: A Grower’s Guide reveals the secrets to creating fertile, healthy soil—an essential foundation for abundant, nutrient-rich harvests. With Jean-Martin Fortier’s biointensive methods, gardeners and farmers alike can improve soil health while supporting thriving ecosystems.

This richly illustrated, full-color guide includes:

  • An overview of “The Market Gardener Method”—a proven formula for small-scale, high-yield farming
  • A deep dive into soil composition, including humus, microbes, and mineral content
  • Simple DIY assessments and advanced tests for understanding soil biology and structure
  • Low and no-till techniques to enhance soil fertility, including composting, mulching, crop rotation, and green manures
  • Strategies for regenerating and sustaining soil over time.

Living Soil is part of the Grower’s Guides from the Market Gardener series, offering practical knowledge for all growers. From beginner gardeners to seasoned farmers, these guides equip you with the tools and insights needed to grow sustainably using principles of biointensive, regenerative agriculture on a human scale.

Earn up to 20 Points.

Who This Book Is For

  • Gardeners: Individuals who want healthier plants and more consistent yields.
  • Market growers: Professional growers seeking durable, regenerative production systems.
  • Transitioning farmers: Those reducing tillage and external inputs.
  • Series readers: Readers of other Grower’s Guides from the Market Gardener looking to deepen their soil practice.

What You'll Learn

  • Assess soil health using practical ways ranging from simple field observations to basic testing.
  • Identify plant needs through do-it-yourself experiments.
  • Implement proven low- and no-till techniques that protect soil structure and biology.
  • Master long-term strategies for composting, mulching, crop rotation, and green manures.

Praise for the Grower’s Guides from the Market Gardener series

Jean-Martin Fortier’s incredibly beautiful manuals make it easy for anyone to start market gardening at a professional and regenerative level.

Matt Powers, author, Regenerative Soil and Regenerative Soil Microscopy

Improve your home garden yields and reduce work with this series from pioneer Jean-Martin Fortier.

Rob and Michelle Avis, Verge Permaculture / 5th World, co-authors, Building Your Permaculture Property

What Makes This Book Unique

This guide provides a tailored focus on each aspect of market gardening at a professional and regenerative level. It features 100 full-color illustrations that make soil science visually rich and practical. This curated handbook is part of the Grower’s Guides from the Market Gardener series, designed specifically to help growers take meaningful steps toward more resilient food systems.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Preface: Good Soil for Beautiful Vegetables

Chapter 1: What is Living Soil?
What is soil made of?
The mineral composition of soil
Organic matter in soil

Chapter 2: Know Your Soil
Do-it-yourself experiments
Identifying plant needs

Chapter 3: Work and Your Soil
Prepare your soil
Protecting your soil
Nourish and enrich your soil

Acknowledgments

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Book Extras and Resources

Explore the Grower's Guides from the Market Gardener Series

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this book suitable for beginners?

Yes. This curated collection of practical handbooks is designed to provide everyone from novice gardeners to seasoned horticulturalists with information to grow better.

Does this guide focus on organic methods?

Yes. The guide utilizes Jean-Martin Fortier’s principles of organic, biointensive, regenerative agriculture at a human scale.

What specific soil topics are covered?

The book covers soil structure, organic matter, minerals, microbial life, and ways to maintain fertility while reducing labor and inputs.

Meet the Author

author Jean-Martin Fortier

Jean-Martin Fortier is a farmer, author, and educator who has been at the forefront of the ecological, human-scale farming movement for more than two decades. Since 2004, he and his wife have operated Les Jardins de la Grelinette, a model two-acre microfarm celebrated for its remarkable productivity and efficiency. In 2017, Fortier founded the Market Gardener Institute, which has trained and supported over 11,000 farmers in 91 countries, helping them establish profitable small-scale organic farms rooted in regenerative practices. He is the bestselling author of The Market Gardener and co-author of The Winter Market Gardener, which together have sold more than 300,000 copies in 12 languages. His pioneering work has inspired a global shift toward resilient, soil-based food systems and earned him the Meritorious Service Cross from the Governor General of Canada. Fortier lives and farms in Quebec, Canada.

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1 review for Living Soil

  1. Carla Gesek

    Sounds like just what I’m looking for. Can’t wait to read the book.

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About the Publisher

New Society Publishers has been a leader in sustainable living books since 1980. Our books are printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper to support the health of the planet.

B Corporation, SDG, and FSC Mixed Paper.

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