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According to a recent Census of Agriculture, the most productive farmland in the United States is in the Borough of the Bronx! The second most productive farmland is in the City of San Francisco! You can earn up to eight times the average personal income on as little as one acre of land. You can be male or female, old or young, married or single. You can lease, own, or rent. You can succeed with small fruits on prairie beach lands, house plants in costal valleys, flowers on steep wooded hillsides, vegetables in city greenbelts and ornamentals in neighborhoods of million dollar homes.
The logic behind metrofarming is inescapable. Decades of sustained assault from policy-makers and vested interests have left the family farm hovering near extinction, the corporate farm ascendent, and a way of life imperiled. So the small-scale farmer must bring exceptional resourcefulness to bear on the problem of finding a viable niche in which to operate and ecological space where he or she can survive and prosper. Cities are where the money is, and city dwellers are clamoring for clean food in growing numbers.
As new-fangled mystics are fond of mentioning, the word for "crisis" in Chinese is the same as the word "opportunity." Michael Olson's MetroFarm tells how a farmer who is willing to innovate, experiment, and adapt to current market realities can compete.
Read sample chapter.
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Other Books Available Through MetroFarm.com
General Interest
ECO-FARM AN ACRES U.S.A. PRIMER
Charles Walters & C.J. Fenzau.
Price: $25.00
With a new title and a cover facelift, the classic book on ecological agriculture is once again available. If you’ve never read An Acres U.S.A. Primer, you’re missing out. If you would like extra copies for friends or business associates, now you can present them with the deluxe, hardback edition. In this book, eco-agriculture is explained — from the tiniest molecular building blocks to managing the soil — in terminology that not only makes the subject easy to learn, but vibrantly alive. Eco-Farm truly delivers a complete education in soils, crops, and weed and insect control. This should be the first book read by everyone beginning in eco-agriculture . . . and the most shop-worn book on the shelf of the most experienced.
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Crops
HOW TO GROW WORLD RECORD TOMATOES
Charles H. Wilber.
Price: $15.00
For most of his 80+ years, Charles Wilber has been learning how to work with nature. In this almost unbelievable book he tells his personal story, and his philosophy and approach to gardening. He reveals for the first time how he grows record-breaking tomatoes and produce of every variety. Detailed step-by-step instructions teach you how to grow incredible tomatoes — and get award-winning results on all your garden, orchard, and field crops!
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THE POTENTIAL OF HERBS AS A CASH CROP
Richard Alan Miller.
Price: $20.00
Millions of people are rediscovering the healing power of herbs and the traditional medicines of our ancestors. The market for fresh, locally-grown herbs and spices is seemingly unending. Overseas supplies of herbs are now becoming known for pesticide contamination. In this definitive work, herb growing, processing and marketing authority Richard Alan Miller shares his decades of experience. Miller takes herb production out the home garden and plants it firmly into the realm of the commercially viable enterprise. No matter where you live, the potential exists for you to earn a living on a small parcel of land. Whether you’re a farmer looking for a profitable alternative crop or farmstead enterprise, a city dweller seeking a living in the country, or an entrepreneur of any flavor, this book will dispel the myths and point you on the way toward a solid, profitable, herb-based business enterprise.
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WINE FROM SKY TO EARTH
Nicolas Joly.
Price: $24.00
Biodynamic farming has never looked so good! In beautiful, clear and sensible prose, viticulture pioneer Nicolas Joly illuminates the complex process of plant cultivation and winemaking. He shares his ideas with the insight of one who can see beyond short-term methods for limited gains, whose unique understanding of nature has captured the spirit and vitality of the Earth and as a result has produced some of France’s most prized wines.
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Pest Control
WEEDS CONTROL WITHOUT POISONS Revised second edition
Charles Walters.
Price: $25.00
Charles Walters, founder and long-time editor of Acres U.S.A., has revised and expanded his now classic text on the secrets that weeds reveal to us about our soil. For a thorough understanding of the conditions that produce certain weeds, you simply can’t find a better source than this one — certainly not one as entertaining, as full of anecdotes and home-spun common sense. The book is a treasury of knowledge, exploring the workings of soil eco-systems through the findings of such giants as William A. Albrecht, C.J. Fenzau and Philip S. Callahan. It contains a lifetime of collected wisdom that teaches us how to understand and thereby control the growth of countless weed species, as well as why there is an absolute necessity for a more holistic, eco-centered perspective in agriculture today. In Weeds, Control Without Poisons, Walters explains what fifty years of deadly chemicals have done to our soils and our bodies, demonstrating once and for all that the stuff simply doesn’t work in any long-term, common-sense agricultural system. He goes on to tell us what will work, and he tells it with precision and clarity in a book as full of human warmth as sound soil science. Contains specifics on a hundred weeds, why they grow, what soil conditions spur them on or stop them, what they say about your soil, and how to control them without the obscene presence of poisons. One reader told us that one sentence alone in this blockbuster book saved him $50,000 in one year. Newupdated edition covers even more weeds, all cross-referenced by scientific and various common names, and a new pictorial glossary. This is a book for anyone who’s serious about understanding soil biology, plant physiology, and the intricacies of ecological weed control.
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Related Technologies
THE ALBRECHT PAPERS, VOL. 1
William A. Albrecht, Ph.D.
Price: $30.00
Foundation Principles. The backbone of Albrecht’s life’s research. Includes papers explaining soil balancing, the role of major and minor micro-nutrients in the soil, soil fertility’s link to weed, insect and disease problems, and more. All serious students of soils should have this massive volume on their shelves and in their minds.
NOTE: TEMPORARILY OUT OF PRINT
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THE ALBRECHT PAPERS, VOL. 2
William A. Albrecht, Ph.D
Price: $20.00
Soil Fertility &Animal Health. Albrecht was the premier soil scientist and was dismayed by the rapid chemicalization of farming that followed WWII. This book is a well-organized explanation of the relationship between soil fertility and animal and human health. This a great book for those just familiarizing themselves with these concepts and the perfect companion to An Acres U.S.A. Primer.
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THE ALBRECHT PAPERS, VOL. 3
William A. Albrecht, Ph.D.
Price: $20.00
The papers of Dr. William A. Albrecht contained in this volume cover hidden lessons for eco-agriculture. His papers are organized in chapters dealing with specific subjects such as mycorrhiza, calcium, magnesium and soil organic matter. There are also chapters on how different soils encourage different plants, and general chapters on such things as soil fertility and biological processes. To understand Albrecht’s research to is truly understand soils.
NOTE: TEMPORARILY OUT OF PRINT
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THE ALBRECHT PAPERS, VOL. 4
William A. Albrecht, Ph.D
Price: $20.00
Subtitled Enter Without Knocking, this book presents more of Albrecht’s classic papers. Protein contents of crops have declined as soil fertility has dropped. In this collection of writings, Albrecht explains how the soil-crop system works, the importance of various nutrients, and how soil fertility is linked to crop and animal health and even our own as explained by his 'biotic pyramid.'
NOTE: TEMPORARILY OUT OF PRINT
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THE BIOLOGICAL FARMER
Gary F. Zimmer.
Price: $25.00
This book will become the biological farmer’s bible. It schools the interested grower in methods of maintaining a balanced, healthy soil that promises greater productivity at lower costs, and it covers some of the pitfalls of conventional farming practices. Zimmer knows how to make responsible farming work. His extensive knowledge of biological farming and consulting experience come through in this complete, practical guide to making farming fun and profitable.
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Soil
THE SECRET LIFE OF COMPOST
Malcolm Beck with commentary by Charles Walters
Price: $19.00
We don’t need to poison the earth in order to grow better food, and what is harmful to the environment when improperly disposed of often can be turned back to the soil in a beneficial way through composting — if you know how. Here’s how. Malcolm Beck’s Garden-Ville, a large-scale commercial composting operation in central Texas, is one of the largest of its kind. Now he shares his insight into the processes of decay that can transform everything from lawn trimmings to sewer sludge into life-giving earth. Bring out the best in a small, backyard garden. Increase the production while lowering the inputs on a huge row-crop operation. Found your own commercial composting business. Whatever your purpose in learning to compost, you will find the information you need right here. Coupled with Beck’s insight into nature and practical advice are remarks from Charles Walters, author, founder of Acres U.S.A.
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