Vegetable Garden Tools
A Grower's Guide
Jean-Martin Fortier author Laurie Bennett translator Flore Avram illustrator Pierre Nessmann editor
Format:Paperback
Publisher:New Society Publishers
Published:22nd May '25
Should be back in stock very soon
The right tools don't just save time—they shape how you grow
Choosing garden tools can feel overwhelming, especially when marketing hype obscures what actually works in the field. Vegetable Garden Tools: A Grower's Guide cuts through the noise to help you build a tool set that supports efficiency, ergonomics, and long-term success—whether you're gardening at home or farming professionally.
Drawing on The Market Gardener Method, Jean-Martin Fortier shows how thoughtful tool selection can dramatically improve productivity while reducing strain and unnecessary complexity. This is not about owning more equipment—it's about choosing tools that match your scale, values, and growing system.
What this Book Offers
- Clear recommendations for essential tools at every stage of cultivation, from soil preparation to harvest
- A strong focus on low-tech, durable hand tools that support soil health and biodiversity
- Practical explanations of how each tool functions, when to use it, and why it matters
- Guidance for adapting tools to both home gardens and diversified market farms
- Over 100 detailed illustrations that make tool use and setup easy to understand
Rather than promoting expensive or overly mechanized solutions, this guide emphasizes tools that increase efficiency while keeping growers closely connected to their soil and crops.
Who this Book is For
- Gardeners looking to work more efficiently with less effort
- Market gardeners refining their production systems
- Growers transitioning to small-scale, regenerative practices
- Readers seeking practical alternatives to high-input farming
- Anyone unsure which tools are truly worth investing in
Jean-Martin Fortier is a farmer, author, and educator whose work has helped redefine what's possible in small-scale agriculture. Through decades of hands-on experience and teaching, he has demonstrated how the right tools—used thoughtfully—can support both productivity and sustainability.
A keystone title in the Grower's Guides from the Market Gardener series, Vegetable Garden Tools provides clear, grounded guidance for growers who want to make informed choices and build systems that last.
If you want to spend less time fighting your tools and more time growing well, this guide is an essential place to start.
Jean-Martin Fortier's tomato guide is full of tips that will save new growers years of wasted effort. Mastering tomatoes—with this book—is a great place to start your farming career.
—Ben Hartman, author, The Lean Farm and The Lean Micro Farm
The contents of this book belie its small size; the book is packed with solid information, which, along with the layout and illustrations, make for an engaging and very pleasant read. This Grower's Guide has something for everyone, from seasoned gardeners and small farmers to newbies. Read it. Enjoy it. Learn from it.
— Lee Reich, PhD, scientist, farmdener (farmer/gardener hybrid), and author, Growing Figs in Cold Climates
Everything you need to know to grow amazing tomatoes.
— David R. Montgomery, co-author, What Your Food Ate and The Hidden Half of Nature
I was thrilled with this book. Tomatoes are so varied and there's much folklore about them. I love the illustrations and pored over them. The techniques and strategies are useful and appropriate. The information is well organised and the language is clear. It is such a useful addition to home gardeners and commercial growers.
—Rowe Morrow, Blue Mountains Permaculture Institute, author, Earth Restorer's Guide to Permaculture
Market gardening innovator Jean-Martin Fortier draws on his decades of experience in a difficult climate to share his strategies and techniques for producing high yields of sweet, juicy tomatoes.
—Darrell E. Frey, author, Bioshelter Market Garden, and co-author, The Food Forest Handbook
It's always fun and informative to read a seasoned grower's tips and tricks for any crop, and tomatoes are an important crop for market growers, with lots of steps to getting from seed to market. I know Jean-Martin has spent a lot of time working with tomato production, so it's great to see his methods laid down in this little guide book.
—Josh Volk, Slow Hand Farm, author, Compact Farms and Build Your Own Farm Tools
Praise for the Grower's Guides from the Market Gardener series
Jean-Martin Fortier has done it again! Incredibly beautiful, this series of pragmatic and professional instructional manuals makes it easy for anyone to start market gardening at a professional and regenerative level with a tailored focus on each aspect.
—Matt Powers, author, Regenerative Soil and Regenerative Soil Microscopy
Applying a market gardening mindset to your home garden will improve your yields and greatly reduce the amount of work involved. To do this, look no further than this series from Jean-Martin Fortier who is a pioneer in regenerative, biointensive, and organic market gardening.
—Rob and Michelle Avis, Verge Permaculture / 5th World, co-authors, Building Your Permaculture Property
ISBN: 9781774060063
Dimensions: 178mm x 133mm x 8mm
Weight: 138g
128 pages