Jean-Martin Fortier, known globally as “The Market Gardener,” and his wife Maude-Hélène Desroches. Courtesy photo.

Join Hāna Ranch and Jean-Martin Fortier, known as the Market Gardener, for a full-day, intensive farming workshop this weekend.

For more than a decade Fortier and his wife have been making a living growing vegetables on their 1.5-acre market garden.  Selling through their 140-member CSA (network of community-supported agriculture) and seasonal market stands, they gross more than $140,000 in sales with a profit margin of around 45%.

In this workshop, called “Six-Figure Farming for Small Plots,” Fortier will provide an overview of all aspects of his market garden, to demonstrate how adopting intensive methods of production can lead to the optimization of a cropping system.

He will discuss how to:

1. Set-up a micro-farm by designing biologically intensive cropping systems, all with digestible capital outlay.
2. Adopt a permanent bed system, farm without a tractor all while minimizing fossil fuel inputs through the use of the best hand tools, appropriate machinery and minimum tillage practices.
3. How to grow mixed vegetables systematically with attention to weed and pest management best approach practices.

The workshop runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 31 at Hāna Ranch Provisions, located at 71 Baldwin Avenue in Pāʻia. Tickets cost $75 per person and include pastries and coffee in the morning, along with lunch provided by Hāna Ranch Provisions.  Click here for more information or to book tickets.

Fortier is a farmer, educator and author, specializing in organic and biologically intensive cropping practices. His award-winning book, The Market Gardener, has inspired thousands of readers worldwide with a focus on empowerment, education and encouragement to help people pursue a farming career and lifestyle.

As an educator, Fortier places a strong emphasis on intelligent farm design, appropriate technologies and harnessing the power of soil biology.  He has facilitated hundreds of workshops, seminars and conferences in Canada, Europe, Australia and the United States.