"Inspired by the European intensive growers, [this book] offers a very approachable and productive form of farming that has proven to work well for the earth and its stewards for centuries. Gardeners working on 2.5 acres or less will find this book especially useful, as it offers proof that small-scale market growers and serious home gardeners can live good lives close to the land and make a profit at the same time."-- Provided by publisher.

Originally published in 1989.

Preface to the 30th anniversary edition -- The other side of the tapestry: an agricultural metaphor -- A little history to begin -- Agricultural craftsmanship -- Land -- Scale and capital -- Labor -- Marketing and capital -- Planning and observation -- Crop rotation -- Green manures -- Tillage -- Soil fertility -- Farm-generated fertility -- The self-fed farm -- Direct-seeding -- Transplanting -- Soil blocks -- Setting out transplants -- Weeds -- Pests? -- Pests: temporary palliatives -- Harvest -- Marketing -- Season extension -- The movable feast -- The winter harvest project -- Livestock -- The information resource -- The adventure of organic farming -- A final word.