The Winter Market Gardener

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.

Catherine Sylvestre is the director of vegetable production at la Ferme des Quatre-Temps, a collaborative farm project inspired by the principles of ecological polyculture and regenerative agriculture. Leader of the market garden team, she trains program participants and develops and implements best practices for cold season growing, specializing in crop protection and greenhouse production for northern climates. She is also technical advisor at the Market Gardener Institute, where she studies and teaches organic agriculture. In addition to her field experience, Catherine has a BSc in Ecological Agriculture and Professional Agrology and a Master’s degree in Political Science. Her academic focus has been the rich and complex relationship between human beings and nature, which meets in agriculture. Through her research, writing, and training, Catherine hopes to provide other farmers and market gardeners with the tools and knowledge to produce their own successful winter harvests. She lives in Quebec, Canada.