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Page Count:128
Images:Full Color
Dimensions: 5.25 × 7 × 0.31 in
Publication Date:February 09, 2027
ISBN:9781774060278
Editor:Pierre Nessmann
Translated:Laurie Bennett
Illustrator: Flore Avram
Sustainability:Printed on 100% recycled paper
Printed in:Canada

Starting and Propagating Plants

A Grower's Guide

By:

Editor: Pierre Nessmann

Save money and ensure high quality by producing your own plants from seed to transplant.

Discover the proven plant propagation methods of Jean-Martin Fortier, renowned market gardener and pioneer of bio-intensive organic farming. This practical guide reveals how to grow strong, healthy seedlings and master advanced techniques, allowing you to gain independence and produce top-quality crops naturally.

Grounded in the Market Gardener Method, this book provides an essential roadmap for producing your own plants—whether indoors, under cover, or directly in the field. By choosing the right sowing substrates and containers, you can eliminate the risks of damping off and ensure your crops get the best possible start.

The guide covers the entire biological journey from seed selection to post-planting care. You will move beyond simple seed starting to explore sophisticated modes of plant multiplication, such as grafting and semi-woody cuttings, while learning how to acclimatize and harden off your plants for success in open ground.

This item will be released January 8, 2027.

Earn up to 16 Points.

Who This Book Is For

  • Home gardeners: Dedicated growers looking to save money and grow their own food with professional-grade results.
  • Market farmers: Professionals refining their multicell tray systems and soil block techniques.
  • Beginner propagators: Individuals looking for step-by-step guidance on indoor seed starting and damping-off prevention.
  • Sustainable growers: Readers interested in gaining independence from commercial nurseries through seed saving and division.

What You'll Learn

  • Start your own seedlings using trays, multicell trays, and compressed blocks.
  • Apply advanced propagation methods like herbaceous cuttings, plant division, and grafting techniques.
  • Execute every step of the planting process, including bed design, acclimatization, and multi-row planting.
  • Master post-planting care through efficient irrigation systems, mulching, and natural weeding.

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 features specialized instruction on collecting your own seeds from fruit, leafy, and root vegetables—a rare focus that empowers growers to close their own production loops. It contains 100 full-color illustrations that make technical tasks like grafting and cutting division visually intuitive. As an integral part of the Grower’s Guides from the Market Gardener series, it bridges the gap between simple home-gardening advice and professional-scale bio-intensive efficiency.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION
My Background
What is the Market Gardener Method?
Preface – From Seed to Plant
Should You Produce or Buy Your Plants?

SEEDLINGS
Equip 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 Sowing

SOWING METHODS
Sowing under Cover
Sowing in Trays
Sowing in Multicellular Trays
Sowing in Compressed Clods
Sowing in Pots or Containers
Care after Sowing under Cover

Sowing 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 Ground

OTHER MODES OF MULTIPLICATION
Cuttings
Herbaceous Cuttings
Semi-woody Cuttings

Grafting
Grafting Cleft

Division
How to Divide a Plant Correctly

Separating and Transplanting Shoots
Successfully Separating Shoots

PLANTING
Acclimatize the Plants
Pre-planting

Prepare the Ground
Prepare the Beds

Planting
Plant in a Single Row
Multi-row Planting
Tutoring

Post-planting Care
Irrigation Systems
Mulching the Soil
Protecting Plants
Weeding

Accessibility Information

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Conformance Status: EPUB Accessibility Compliant | WCAG 2.2 AAA Compliant
Screen Reader Compatibility: Designed for an optimal screen reader experience and fully accessible to persons with disabilities.

Content Enhancements

Alternative Text for Images: Descriptive text is provided for all images, ensuring visual content is fully accessible.
Table of Contents: Easy, direct navigation through a clean, structured table of contents.
Reading Order: Enforces a logical and consistent reading order for sequential, uninterrupted content consumption.
Page List: Includes an accurate page list for physical book page referencing and exact academic citation synchronization.
Structural Navigation: Built with a clear hierarchical layout for easy content traversal and section hopping.
Semantic Structure: Employs appropriate semantic markup to ensure absolute text clarity, meaning, and text-to-speech accuracy.

Reading Optimization

Unrestricted Formatting Preferences: User-configured assistive tools, custom typography scaling, line-spacing modifications, and native reading application options are never locked or disabled.
Color Independence: Textual layouts, data states, and links use distinct styles or symbols so that color changes are never the sole method of conveying critical information.
High-Contrast Design: Typography contrast levels comfortably exceed standard baseline parameters to reduce eye strain under any lighting environment.
Non-Visual Accessibility Support: All non-decorative editorial text and data visualizations are optimized to support reading entirely without sight.
Language Tagging: Embedded text attributes direct text-to-speech engines to use correct pronunciation defaults automatically.
Blank Page Removal: Unnecessary blank pages are completely eliminated to ensure a streamlined, smooth reading flow.

Book Extras and Resources

Coming Soon

Explore the Grower's Guides from the Market Gardener Series

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I produce my own plants or buy them?

The guide helps you weigh the pros and cons of both, highlighting how producing your own plants can lead to higher quality, significant cost savings, and greater variety.

Does this book cover indoor seed starting for beginners?

Yes. It provides detailed information on equipping your space, choosing substrates, and the specific care required after sowing under cover.

Can I learn how to propagate plants without seeds?

Absolutely. The book includes sections on “Other Modes of Multiplication,” specifically covering cuttings, division, and grafting techniques.

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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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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