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The Winter Harvest Handbook: Year Round Vegetable Production Using Deep-Organic Techniques and Unheated Greenhouses
The Winter Harvest Handbook takes the local-food revolution to a new level. Eliot Coleman explains how to successfully—and profitably—harvest fresh vegetables all year-round in even the coldest climates using unheated or, in some cases, minimally heated, movable plastic greenhouses. Coleman offers clear, concise details on greenhouse construction and maintenance, planting schedules, crop management, harvesting practices, and even marketing methods, in this meticulous, illustrated guide. His painstaking research and experimentation with more than 30 different crops will prove invaluable to small farmers, homesteaders, and experienced home gardeners who seek to expand their production and harvest seasons.
267 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 15, 2009
130 people are currently reading
2054 people want to read
About the author
Eliot Coleman
17 books75 followersEliot Coleman is an American farmer, author, agricultural researcher and educator, and proponent of organic farming. He wrote The New Organic Grower. He served for two years as Executive Director of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), and was an advisor to the U.S. Department of Agriculture during its 1979–80 study, Report and Recommendations on Organic Farming, a document that formed the basis for today's legislated National Organic Program (2002) in the U.S.
On his Four Season Farm in Harborside, Brooksville, Maine, he produces year-round vegetable crops, even under harsh winter conditions (for which he uses unheated and minimally heated greenhouses and polytunnels). He even manages to grow artichokes, claiming that "I grow them just to make the Californians nervous."
Coleman is married to gardening author Barbara Damrosch. For several years, from 1993, they co-hosted the TV series, Gardening Naturally, on The Learning Channel. Coleman and his wife continue to grow and locally market fresh produce.
On his Four Season Farm in Harborside, Brooksville, Maine, he produces year-round vegetable crops, even under harsh winter conditions (for which he uses unheated and minimally heated greenhouses and polytunnels). He even manages to grow artichokes, claiming that "I grow them just to make the Californians nervous."
Coleman is married to gardening author Barbara Damrosch. For several years, from 1993, they co-hosted the TV series, Gardening Naturally, on The Learning Channel. Coleman and his wife continue to grow and locally market fresh produce.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 109 reviews
July 17, 2018
An interesting read which offers insider tips to growing vegetables, even in the winter. While I don't do organic, I know several friends who are and they noted the accuracy of Coleman's techniques.
My Rating: 4 stars
My Rating: 4 stars
January 30, 2011
There's nothing not to like about this book (except perhaps the price if you actually buy it.) Stunning photos, clear text, none of the mainstream tendency to try to make the book longer by adding in common knowledge information. Highly recommended. Visit my blog to read highlights of the Winter Harvest Handbook.
December 27, 2023
A lot of information for market growers in a deep organic style by a deep thinker and innovator. Nothing I am equipped to do but interesting. Enjoyed the part regarding intensive farming in Paris in the 1800s.
August 3, 2021
What a great book! Just recently I have been looking at land in Maine for homesteading. This book is about four season farming in Maine using cold greenhouses (no heat) and cool greenhouses (some propane heat). While Coleman focuses on the farming for business side, all the tips, tricks, and know-how can be scaled down to the gardener. This book has inspired me to try some late season gardening at the community garden I help lead. Better than that, it has given me hope that I can grow my own vegetables and eat fresh throughout Maine winters. I cannot wait to read his other books.
January 20, 2021
I am amazed, so thrilled and grateful for Coleman’s willingness to share every little detail of his business and research with the world. I learned so much from this book! Truly he is interested in passing on his techniques.
My only disappointment is that most of the seeds and supplies he used/uses are from Johnny Select Seeds, which they purchase from Monsanto/Seminis seeds. I cringe to think many will read this and may mimic his methods, thereby supporting Monsanto unknowingly.
My only disappointment is that most of the seeds and supplies he used/uses are from Johnny Select Seeds, which they purchase from Monsanto/Seminis seeds. I cringe to think many will read this and may mimic his methods, thereby supporting Monsanto unknowingly.
March 17, 2016
Coleman writes in an easy narrative to follow, while talking about the complex solutions to farming more in-tune with nature. A great book for anyone attempting to grow food in the winter in inhospitable zones.
"the farm is not a factory, but rather a human-managed microcosm of the natural world" -E.C.
"the farm is not a factory, but rather a human-managed microcosm of the natural world" -E.C.
January 1, 2023
Geared toward market/commercial operations but still useful for backyard veggie gardeners.
A better option for backyard gardeners without much acreage is Year-Round Vegetable Gardener.
Much of the same info is presented in both but the latter is more individual and small space focused with significantly less lecturing about organic practices.
A better option for backyard gardeners without much acreage is Year-Round Vegetable Gardener.
Much of the same info is presented in both but the latter is more individual and small space focused with significantly less lecturing about organic practices.
February 13, 2025
I was given this book during professional training in gardening in elementary school at Harvard, in 2014. This book remained unread on my shelf until 2025. The oddest part is probably that I finished reading it one week before the first snowstorm Louisiana had endured since 1893!! This book is like a memoir on growing vegetables during the cold Maine winters with low energy use and organic farming methods.
It is an interesting book for those who like gardening and want to try some more self-sufficient techniques and for professionals. Sometimes, the author gets lost in measurements that could seem less relevant for the occasional gardener or the neophyte.
There is a good introduction on which vegetables grow well during winter, a chapter on the use of light, and a historical approach with notes about the Parisian vegetable gardens of the 19th century. If we enter a new Little Ice Age, this book will be helpful to the layman gardener. Beautiful color photographs illustrate the book.
It is an interesting book for those who like gardening and want to try some more self-sufficient techniques and for professionals. Sometimes, the author gets lost in measurements that could seem less relevant for the occasional gardener or the neophyte.
There is a good introduction on which vegetables grow well during winter, a chapter on the use of light, and a historical approach with notes about the Parisian vegetable gardens of the 19th century. If we enter a new Little Ice Age, this book will be helpful to the layman gardener. Beautiful color photographs illustrate the book.
November 6, 2024
Checked this out from the library and finally started reading it when it became seriously overdue. I was concerned that it was a dry old gardening tome but it was actually an engaging and informative read. (I have since reserved several other titles that Eliot Coleman has authored.) There is lots to learn about organic garden both practical and historical. Plenty of photographs and short sidebars. Perhaps, something to have on your gardening resource shelf.
November 11, 2024
Excellent! I learned so much about gardening in general, and the possibilities of using double layered protection to extend the growing deason through the winter even here in Maine is exciting. Also, I finally learned a bit more about the concept that insect pests and blight are a sign of poor plant health, and the best remedy is figuring out how to improve conditions to help the plants thrive.
January 5, 2025
A good, educational read on winter gardening using high tunnels and other technologies. It is impressive what the author has been able to accomplish on his farm using simple, relatively nonexclusive solutions to growing produce in below freezing temperatures.
August 30, 2023
Excellent
Good Overview of winter harvested and overwintered crops for the small scale grower. Essential book for the new market gardener.
Good Overview of winter harvested and overwintered crops for the small scale grower. Essential book for the new market gardener.
March 9, 2024
Yeah. This guy knows what he's talking about.
January 9, 2025
This would be a great reference for a serious gardener or market farmer. I don't have the land to pull this off but the system outlined here looks compelling for anyone that market gardens.
July 1, 2025
Essential reading for anyone who wants to grow in a cooler zone. Keen to get my hands on his other books as well!
February 6, 2012
One of my ongoing interests is food security and the evolution of our current predominantly industrial food system as we move towards a post-peak-oil and eventually a post-fossil-fuel future. For long-term food security our future food system needs to be healthy, affordable and sustainable. Obviously, our current highly energy and fossil-fuel intensive food production and distribution networks are going to have to change significantly as the energy they require becomes too expensive or simply unavailable.
Living in Canada, a major focus of my interest is on the cold, dark winter months during which the farmers' fields are dormant and the produce section at the local supermarket is full of imported food sometimes from halfway around the globe. My initial assumption was that most of the fresh vegetables that we now expect year round would no longer be affordably available much of the year (if at all) and there would be a higher dependence on storage crops, preserves, grains and meat in the winter time.
Quite by accident, I discovered Eliot Coleman's book, Winter Harvest Handbook, in the new-book section of the local library and borrowed it out of curiosity (I now have the Kindle version on my iPad). This book has convinced me that many of my original assumptions were wrong and my concerns were unfounded. Eliot Coleman shows how, on his small farm in Maine, he is able to grow many vegetable crops year-round with the help of specially designed unheated or minimally heated greenhouses. Based on several years of research he describes how, through careful planning and an understanding of the local climate, he can keep his vegetable production economically productive all year sometimes harvesting 5 to 6 crops from the same piece of land while maintaining soil health.
I particularly enjoyed the second chapter 'Historical Inspiration' which describes how intensive year-round farming was common in pre-oil times in Northern Europe. For instance, in the late 1800's, the city of Paris was self-sufficient in vegetables year-round and even exported vegetables to England, all from roughly 6% of the Parisian land-area which I suspect is substantially less than the paved area of many modern cities.
We're pretty much city people so it is unlikely that I personally will put Eliot Coleman's winter farming methods into practice however that is not why I read or recommend this book. Eliot Coleman shows that with research, ingenuity and a good knowledge of how selected crops grow, it is possible to economically produce vegetables year-round in many cold climates. If more farmers applied Eliot Coleman's methods, it would provide their communities with improved local food security with a low environmental footprint.
Of course, the consumer is going to have to change their expectations though they will have more choice than if we try to drag our current far-away, anything-you-want-anytime-you-want-it, fossil-fuel-intensive, mega-farm agriculture into an age of scarce oil. In a future sustainable world some hot-weather crops such as tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers will be unavailable part of the year however in this post-fossil-fuel world there will be many things that we will have to give up as we are forced to live more locally and less energy intensively.
If I had some land and planned a small scale farming operation, I would find the Winter Harvest Handbook to be a valuable resource. As someone concerned with sustainable agriculture and future food security, I find it a source of hope and inspiration.
Living in Canada, a major focus of my interest is on the cold, dark winter months during which the farmers' fields are dormant and the produce section at the local supermarket is full of imported food sometimes from halfway around the globe. My initial assumption was that most of the fresh vegetables that we now expect year round would no longer be affordably available much of the year (if at all) and there would be a higher dependence on storage crops, preserves, grains and meat in the winter time.
Quite by accident, I discovered Eliot Coleman's book, Winter Harvest Handbook, in the new-book section of the local library and borrowed it out of curiosity (I now have the Kindle version on my iPad). This book has convinced me that many of my original assumptions were wrong and my concerns were unfounded. Eliot Coleman shows how, on his small farm in Maine, he is able to grow many vegetable crops year-round with the help of specially designed unheated or minimally heated greenhouses. Based on several years of research he describes how, through careful planning and an understanding of the local climate, he can keep his vegetable production economically productive all year sometimes harvesting 5 to 6 crops from the same piece of land while maintaining soil health.
I particularly enjoyed the second chapter 'Historical Inspiration' which describes how intensive year-round farming was common in pre-oil times in Northern Europe. For instance, in the late 1800's, the city of Paris was self-sufficient in vegetables year-round and even exported vegetables to England, all from roughly 6% of the Parisian land-area which I suspect is substantially less than the paved area of many modern cities.
We're pretty much city people so it is unlikely that I personally will put Eliot Coleman's winter farming methods into practice however that is not why I read or recommend this book. Eliot Coleman shows that with research, ingenuity and a good knowledge of how selected crops grow, it is possible to economically produce vegetables year-round in many cold climates. If more farmers applied Eliot Coleman's methods, it would provide their communities with improved local food security with a low environmental footprint.
Of course, the consumer is going to have to change their expectations though they will have more choice than if we try to drag our current far-away, anything-you-want-anytime-you-want-it, fossil-fuel-intensive, mega-farm agriculture into an age of scarce oil. In a future sustainable world some hot-weather crops such as tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers will be unavailable part of the year however in this post-fossil-fuel world there will be many things that we will have to give up as we are forced to live more locally and less energy intensively.
If I had some land and planned a small scale farming operation, I would find the Winter Harvest Handbook to be a valuable resource. As someone concerned with sustainable agriculture and future food security, I find it a source of hope and inspiration.
January 8, 2010
The early chapters of the Winter Harvest Handbook are downright entertaining. There’s a lot about how Coleman's Four Season Farm has developed its winter harvesting techniques, and some insights into the history of winter harvests that are fascinating.
The book is clearly aimed at the American market. Not only are the temperatures all in Fahrenheit, but there are frequent mentions of USDA climate zones and the fact that winter harvests are (or have been, in the past) far more commonplace in Europe than the US. But there is a nice section on latitude and day length that explains (with reference to polar bears) how winter growing is different in the UK than in the US. In essence, although the Gulf Stream gives us a warmer climate, our higher latitude gives us shorter winter days.
And the length of those days is important, because the two limiting factors to growth in winter are the low temperatures and short days. Once the day length drops under 10 hours, plant growth effectively stops. Coleman’s winter harvest technique has three aspects – protected cropping, hardy vegetables and successional sowing – but the timing of sowings is crucial if plants are to be large enough to provide a harvest overwinter, but still young enough to be more hardy.
The next set of chapters has all of the technical information you need to work out a winter harvest schedule of your own. A lot of it is aimed at farm-scale growers; most gardeners won’t have the space to implement a movable greenhouse or need mechanical sowing devices. The chapters on marketing and economics are interesting, though, as are the anecdotes about Coleman’s customer base that occur throughout the text.
The pests and diseases chapter will make many gardeners howl in frustration – because Coleman doesn’t really have these problems. His biggest pests are voles, and he looks on the arrival of aphids as a helpful indication that his growing conditions are not spot-on.
The final chapter is a highly personal statement of Coleman’s organic ethics. He supports small-scale, local growers and believes their produce is best for both the planet and consumers. He sees industrial scale ‘organic’ farming as nothing more than greenwash, without the underlying philosophy that makes organic worth something. I agree with him, and its clear that his ideas have a thorough grounding in science, as he spends a lot of time reading through agricultural research to improve and enhance his growing techniques.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book (although I skimmed the highly technical farming information that just isn’t relevant on a garden scale). The only thing lacking in this book, from a gardener’s perspective, is detailed information about the crops that the farm grows. There is only limited detail here – but there is a lot more on crops in “Four Season Harvest”.
The book is clearly aimed at the American market. Not only are the temperatures all in Fahrenheit, but there are frequent mentions of USDA climate zones and the fact that winter harvests are (or have been, in the past) far more commonplace in Europe than the US. But there is a nice section on latitude and day length that explains (with reference to polar bears) how winter growing is different in the UK than in the US. In essence, although the Gulf Stream gives us a warmer climate, our higher latitude gives us shorter winter days.
And the length of those days is important, because the two limiting factors to growth in winter are the low temperatures and short days. Once the day length drops under 10 hours, plant growth effectively stops. Coleman’s winter harvest technique has three aspects – protected cropping, hardy vegetables and successional sowing – but the timing of sowings is crucial if plants are to be large enough to provide a harvest overwinter, but still young enough to be more hardy.
The next set of chapters has all of the technical information you need to work out a winter harvest schedule of your own. A lot of it is aimed at farm-scale growers; most gardeners won’t have the space to implement a movable greenhouse or need mechanical sowing devices. The chapters on marketing and economics are interesting, though, as are the anecdotes about Coleman’s customer base that occur throughout the text.
The pests and diseases chapter will make many gardeners howl in frustration – because Coleman doesn’t really have these problems. His biggest pests are voles, and he looks on the arrival of aphids as a helpful indication that his growing conditions are not spot-on.
The final chapter is a highly personal statement of Coleman’s organic ethics. He supports small-scale, local growers and believes their produce is best for both the planet and consumers. He sees industrial scale ‘organic’ farming as nothing more than greenwash, without the underlying philosophy that makes organic worth something. I agree with him, and its clear that his ideas have a thorough grounding in science, as he spends a lot of time reading through agricultural research to improve and enhance his growing techniques.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book (although I skimmed the highly technical farming information that just isn’t relevant on a garden scale). The only thing lacking in this book, from a gardener’s perspective, is detailed information about the crops that the farm grows. There is only limited detail here – but there is a lot more on crops in “Four Season Harvest”.
September 17, 2017
Way too technical for me, but required reading for any small farmer even if he doesn't plan to build moveable greenhouses. (I'd love one!) It's a textbook of greenhouse farming. But it had a bit of information for non-greenhouse, non-winter producers too.
A very small chapter at the end speaks less of the how-to of organic farming and more of the why-do. And it reminds us of this:
The reason for this still very active attempt to villainize organic farming is that our success scares the hell out of the other side. Just like the fear of Nature that the merchandisers and scientists have worked so hard to create in farmers in order to make purchased chemical products and reductionist science seem indispensable, so has our success with organic farming created in the scientists and merchandisers a terrible fear--a fear of their own redundancy; a fear that all farmers will realize other solutions are possible; a fear that agriculture will learn the truth. Organic farmers have succeeded in producing a bounty of food through the simple means of working in harmony with natural processes, without any help from the scientists and the merchandisers.
Sorry, that's a horrid quote. His writing style is much better in other parts of the book. But it's a reminder of a couple of obvious facts we tend to forget:
Human beings have been farming and keeping themselves fed for about 10,000 years.
For 9950 years of that time, he didn't have chemical fertilizers. Or pesticides. Or herbicides.
Farmers have been saving their own seed and improving crop varieties themselves, very successfully, without scientists.
And finally, beware when the person selling you something tells you that you have to buy his product because "if you don't, you'll fail." If you don't buy his product, exactly who is it who'll be failing?
A very small chapter at the end speaks less of the how-to of organic farming and more of the why-do. And it reminds us of this:
The reason for this still very active attempt to villainize organic farming is that our success scares the hell out of the other side. Just like the fear of Nature that the merchandisers and scientists have worked so hard to create in farmers in order to make purchased chemical products and reductionist science seem indispensable, so has our success with organic farming created in the scientists and merchandisers a terrible fear--a fear of their own redundancy; a fear that all farmers will realize other solutions are possible; a fear that agriculture will learn the truth. Organic farmers have succeeded in producing a bounty of food through the simple means of working in harmony with natural processes, without any help from the scientists and the merchandisers.
Sorry, that's a horrid quote. His writing style is much better in other parts of the book. But it's a reminder of a couple of obvious facts we tend to forget:
Human beings have been farming and keeping themselves fed for about 10,000 years.
For 9950 years of that time, he didn't have chemical fertilizers. Or pesticides. Or herbicides.
Farmers have been saving their own seed and improving crop varieties themselves, very successfully, without scientists.
And finally, beware when the person selling you something tells you that you have to buy his product because "if you don't, you'll fail." If you don't buy his product, exactly who is it who'll be failing?
March 8, 2020
Handbuch Wintergärtnerei
Eliot Coleman
Dass es Gemüse gibt, dass auch im Winter geerntet werden kann, war mir selbst als über 40 ig jähriges Stadtkind bekannt.
Meine ersten Ideen dazu wären immer Grünkohl und Rosenkohl die ich als extreme Frostgemüse in Erinnerung geblieben.
In den frühen 90igern kam dann auch noch die Information dazu, dass man Karotten/Möhren/Wurzeln einfach im Beet stehen lassen kann und auch im Winter ernten kann.
Vor einigen Jahren erklärte mir dann eine Kollegin, dass sie sich und ihren Mann den Winter über von winterfesten Pflücksalaten vom Balkon versorgte.
Als ich auf der Suche nach Kochbüchern mit Wintergemüse war, wurde mir auch dieser Titel angeboten und ich habe ihn mal mit ausgeliehen die Stadtbibliothek macht es möglich.
Das Buch von Mr. Coleman fand ich super spannend, weil er ein Praktiker ist. Er betreibt Gemüseanbau kommerziell und ist darauf angewiesen, sich damit seinen Lebensunterhalt z verdienen. Das gibt dem Buch einen Mehrwert, der beachtlich ist, er hat sich zwar ausgiebig mit der Theorie und der Geschichte des Wintergemüseanbaus beschäftigt, verliert aber nie die Machbarkeit aus den Augen.
Ich empfehle das Buch jedem, der sich wirklich „schlau machen“ möchte, weil der Mann es schafft mit vollem Herzen aber pragmatisch an die Frage heranzugehen.
Ich habe viel gelernt, und werde gerne weiterlesen zu diesen Fragestellungen, auch wenn ich selbst kein Gemüse anbaue.
Eine kurze Anmerkung zur Übersetzung. Die Übersetzung ist Östereichisch, und das macht sich ab und an bemerkbar, weil ich die Begriffe wie Vogerlsalat erst nachschlagen musste.
Trotzdem eine Leseempfehlung für alle, die offen genug sind für Neues oder Altes, je nach dem wie man es sieht.
Eliot Coleman
Dass es Gemüse gibt, dass auch im Winter geerntet werden kann, war mir selbst als über 40 ig jähriges Stadtkind bekannt.
Meine ersten Ideen dazu wären immer Grünkohl und Rosenkohl die ich als extreme Frostgemüse in Erinnerung geblieben.
In den frühen 90igern kam dann auch noch die Information dazu, dass man Karotten/Möhren/Wurzeln einfach im Beet stehen lassen kann und auch im Winter ernten kann.
Vor einigen Jahren erklärte mir dann eine Kollegin, dass sie sich und ihren Mann den Winter über von winterfesten Pflücksalaten vom Balkon versorgte.
Als ich auf der Suche nach Kochbüchern mit Wintergemüse war, wurde mir auch dieser Titel angeboten und ich habe ihn mal mit ausgeliehen die Stadtbibliothek macht es möglich.
Das Buch von Mr. Coleman fand ich super spannend, weil er ein Praktiker ist. Er betreibt Gemüseanbau kommerziell und ist darauf angewiesen, sich damit seinen Lebensunterhalt z verdienen. Das gibt dem Buch einen Mehrwert, der beachtlich ist, er hat sich zwar ausgiebig mit der Theorie und der Geschichte des Wintergemüseanbaus beschäftigt, verliert aber nie die Machbarkeit aus den Augen.
Ich empfehle das Buch jedem, der sich wirklich „schlau machen“ möchte, weil der Mann es schafft mit vollem Herzen aber pragmatisch an die Frage heranzugehen.
Ich habe viel gelernt, und werde gerne weiterlesen zu diesen Fragestellungen, auch wenn ich selbst kein Gemüse anbaue.
Eine kurze Anmerkung zur Übersetzung. Die Übersetzung ist Östereichisch, und das macht sich ab und an bemerkbar, weil ich die Begriffe wie Vogerlsalat erst nachschlagen musste.
Trotzdem eine Leseempfehlung für alle, die offen genug sind für Neues oder Altes, je nach dem wie man es sieht.
July 26, 2011
Another great Eliot Coleman book. I found that this one was more geared to the market gardener/farmer and therefore Four Season Harvest was far more applicable to my situation. Still, this one was chock-full of good info and contained behind-the scenes look at how a deep-organic market gardener operates. What a finely tuned machine a market gardener needs to be! I have profound respect for the long hours put in by such a person and the highly scheduled, meticulous planning and planting of those who operate as E.C. does. He works hard to minimize his use of fossil fuels and aims to not allow any bed to sit in disuse longer than 24 hours after harvest. He discusses the difference between deep-organic and shallow-organic. And, as he says, the USDA and factory farms would have us believe that a carrot is a carrot is a carrot, but it's simply not true.
He has a fascinating perspective that if your plants are plagued by bugs of any type, it's not a call for more spray, whether pesticide or even organically certified spray, rather, it's a sign that your conditions are out of balance. The soil must constantly be amended to keep up the nutrients, especially in intensively planted soil such as his. He gets three to six crops out of each bed, every year. And yes, all in zone five. (I cannot wait to get my hands on a cold frame!)
My advice to home gardeners: read Four Season Harvest first, if you are hungry for some hands-on info right away, as the fall approaches and you wonder if you can still eke more crops out of your garden this year (you absolutely can!), and save this one to read when you have some free time on your hands.
He has a fascinating perspective that if your plants are plagued by bugs of any type, it's not a call for more spray, whether pesticide or even organically certified spray, rather, it's a sign that your conditions are out of balance. The soil must constantly be amended to keep up the nutrients, especially in intensively planted soil such as his. He gets three to six crops out of each bed, every year. And yes, all in zone five. (I cannot wait to get my hands on a cold frame!)
My advice to home gardeners: read Four Season Harvest first, if you are hungry for some hands-on info right away, as the fall approaches and you wonder if you can still eke more crops out of your garden this year (you absolutely can!), and save this one to read when you have some free time on your hands.
October 11, 2019
This is not really a handbook. If you want a more low-level, how-to guide, check out Johnny's Seeds website. Those aren't very thorough either, but they're the next level. I haven't found the next-level after that, but I bet it's YouTube.
That said, this was a pretty decent read, and shows the evolution and thought processes and necessary steps to harvest produce in the winter. It's geared toward large-scale organic farmers, not backyard gardeners, so you'll find yourself skipping sections on how to build greenhouses on rails and use a rolling seeder (unless you're one of those people in Kentucky with backyards the size of my entire urban neighborhood).
I found it informative and inspiring about what I could potentially grow with minimal hardware investment in my backyard. Also, I now want to try winter carrots. "Candy carrots" -- really? Color me skeptical, but I wanna try.
To make the book fatter, he ends with some chapters on organic gardening in general, with an old-man rant about "deep organic" vs that commercial crap in the supermarket which was somewhat informative, but take it with a grain of salt because it does sound a lot like kids these days are doing it wrong, etc.
That said, this was a pretty decent read, and shows the evolution and thought processes and necessary steps to harvest produce in the winter. It's geared toward large-scale organic farmers, not backyard gardeners, so you'll find yourself skipping sections on how to build greenhouses on rails and use a rolling seeder (unless you're one of those people in Kentucky with backyards the size of my entire urban neighborhood).
I found it informative and inspiring about what I could potentially grow with minimal hardware investment in my backyard. Also, I now want to try winter carrots. "Candy carrots" -- really? Color me skeptical, but I wanna try.
To make the book fatter, he ends with some chapters on organic gardening in general, with an old-man rant about "deep organic" vs that commercial crap in the supermarket which was somewhat informative, but take it with a grain of salt because it does sound a lot like kids these days are doing it wrong, etc.
October 30, 2021
Eliot Coleman is one of the founders of the organic foods movement in the US. He drew in knowledge from decades past in Europe to start building his organic, family farm in Maine and continued to experiment with different techniques to improve the quality of the produce and the efficiency of his operation. It is a pleasure to sit at the feet of this man of wisdom, now 82, and learn from his impressive experience in growing good food. He's the kind of person who evaluates a task and designs a new tool (or gets someone else to manufacture it for him if he can't). Those are the kinds of tools I love seeing at historical sites.... modified to the user's situation and well-worn. Part of what he teaches is for each of us to observe, try new things and grow ourselves in improving our own techniques. Some of the book is technical and devoted to those who also run small farms, but the serious home gardener has much to learn, especially if they want to extend their growing season in a Northern climate. His perspective on the commercialization of organic food is also worth considering, as he also discusses on the farm's website- http://fourseasonfarm.com.
November 14, 2022
Really enjoyed it, a great book, although definitely aimed at the professional farmer. Even if that's not you, the book still contains an absolute ton of extremely useful information on all aspects of smallish-plot gardening, from an understanding of how much daily light affects your plants growing to a detailed discussion of soil health and troubleshooting. The sections on temperature control (particularly the practical tips and discussion of why they use what they use) are very interesting and Coleman makes a point of highlighting how his farms' techniques can be applied across the globe as appropriate.
Perhaps the only thing that might cause a raised eyebrow is the focus on intensive farming. That's basically what the book is about; how to make the most of your growing space all year round, specifically so you can earn a living from it. He also mentions the use of peat, which is of course very much not the view in Europe these days. However, more than this Coleman really focusses on a holistic view of your space, from soil structure to what the presence of various pests is telling you. A recommended read for anyone interested in food production.
Perhaps the only thing that might cause a raised eyebrow is the focus on intensive farming. That's basically what the book is about; how to make the most of your growing space all year round, specifically so you can earn a living from it. He also mentions the use of peat, which is of course very much not the view in Europe these days. However, more than this Coleman really focusses on a holistic view of your space, from soil structure to what the presence of various pests is telling you. A recommended read for anyone interested in food production.
December 24, 2021
It is a rare occasion I actually fully read a gardening book. Usually it’s flipping through to find the info I need but I devoured this one cover to cover. I found the historical info about the Parisian maraichers fascinating! The concept of a movable greenhouse genius! And the last chapter left me so disheartened considering how backwards our modern society operates. That being said I can’t wait to try out my own version of a cold house (at a much smaller scale) and provide more year round fresh produce for my family (also taking into consideration more soil amendments!) I was really blown away by the wealth of information in this book. Eliot Coleman is genuine and intelligent and honestly I hope I get to see a “Wholier Than Thou Market” in my lifetime! If I’m ever in the neighborhood of coastal Maine, I hope I get a chance to visit Four Seasons Farm! Overall a fantastic and educational read!
March 28, 2012
Amazing read. I am very inspired by this book and by the author to try out a similar method of gardening/farming; altering, testing and observing differences and changes due to the difference in climate here. I have been thoroughly bitten by the gardening/farming bug. Many of the underlying principals that have driven the author in his work are ideas that can be transferred to an entirely different field It isn't a book about just putting plants in the ground and watering them, it is a book about farming and also about a way of thinking. I would want to shelve this title under gardening or farming, but I also want to shelve it under philosophy. I will be reading this book again and I can't wait for his other book to arrive.
July 10, 2013
It's really interesting to get a business point of view on how to economically raise gardens vegetables through 4 seasons in Maine. No heating, no expensive facilities... just a high-tunnel hoop house and protected raised beds.
Scale it down (way down) and there are some practical ideas for the home gardener here. No, you can't grow tomatoes in January. But you can get various fresh greens, carrots, beets and more for an extended season, or at least until the snow is too deep to bother trudging out to the garden.
The last chapter sums up "organic" methods in a nutshell. Get your hands on this book if only for the clarity and simplicity of this chapter entitled "Deep Organic Farming and the Small Farm."
Scale it down (way down) and there are some practical ideas for the home gardener here. No, you can't grow tomatoes in January. But you can get various fresh greens, carrots, beets and more for an extended season, or at least until the snow is too deep to bother trudging out to the garden.
The last chapter sums up "organic" methods in a nutshell. Get your hands on this book if only for the clarity and simplicity of this chapter entitled "Deep Organic Farming and the Small Farm."
March 26, 2014
Wonderful and helpful book. After many, many years of experience, Coleman has distilled much of his knowledge to this very manageable book. He does not try to cover all of the basics of growing food, but works you through the specifics of winter crop production. This book is very much aimed at small-scale farmers who are looking to increase their growing season and hopefully profit. His discussions of profitability and marketing are very helpful throughout the book. He not only gives the plans for his moveable greenhouse, but also suggests specific crops that he has found are best for production. Armed with this information, many more growers could be equipped and inspired to grow in all four seasons.
July 21, 2010
Eliot Coleman is an organic gardening guru. He has been steadily at it since the early 1970's...growing all of his own food in Maine. This gardening myth-busting book is packed with enlightening information. You CAN grow food all winter long, even in cold, snowy conditions, and have freshly picked greens to make salads with year round. With detailed instructions about composting, building cold-frames, what veggies survive best in cold weather situations...this book is a must-read for any back-to-the-lander, urban farmer, or even raised bed veggie grower. No need to winter over that plot, folks, while waiting for the Spring to return. Keep on growing.
January 4, 2015
Eliot Colemen is, without a doubt, the godfather of year around gardening in the same way Joel Salitin is the godfather of modern sustainable agriculture, and as with Salitin, you have to take a huge dose of the man that is Coleman to get to the incredible information he brings to his books. For me, his attitude comes off as near condescension of anyone who does not see his brilliance, and that impression makes his books incredibly hard to read, especially as a fellow sustainable practitioner.
That said, the information he does provide is without parallel and is indispensable to anyone seeking to learn to produce garden variety food year around.
That said, the information he does provide is without parallel and is indispensable to anyone seeking to learn to produce garden variety food year around.
April 18, 2010
Provided a good look into what goes into the daily operations of a large nursery type operations. Entirely too large scale for your average home owner. Has descriptions for things like seed starting houses, mobile green houses, cold frame, hot houses...too much. If you're looking for something to do in your own backyard, you'll find a few good ideas, but there's no real way to scale this down. If you have a few acres to dedicate and want to start your own vegatable stand or something of the sort, this is good.
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