The Lean Farm Guide to Growing Vegetables: More In-Depth Lean Techniques for Efficient Organic Production Contributor(s): Hartman, Ben (Author)

At Clay Bottom Farm, author Ben Hartman and staff practice kaizen, or continuous improvement, cutting out more waste--of time, labor, space, money, and more--every year and aligning their organic production more tightly with customer demand. Applied alongside other lean principles originally developed by the Japanese auto industry, the end result has been increased profits and less work.

In this field-guide companion to his award-winning first book, The Lean Farm, Hartman shows market vegetable growers in even more detail how Clay Bottom Farm implements lean thinking in every area of their work, including using kanbans, or replacement signals, to maximize land use; germination chambers to reduce defect waste; and right-sized machinery to save money and labor and increase efficiency. From finding land and assessing infrastructure needs to selling perfect produce at the farmers market, The Lean Farm Guide to Growing Vegetables digs deeper into specific, tested methods for waste-free farming that not only help farmers become more successful but make the work more enjoyable. These methods include:

• Using Japanese paper pot transplanters
• Building your own germinating chambers
• Leaning up your greenhouse
• Making and applying simple composts
• Using lean techniques for pest and weed control
• Creating Heijunka, or load-leveling calendars for efficient planning

Farming is not static, and improvement requires constant change. The Lean Farm Guide to Growing Vegetables offers strategies for farmers to stay flexible and profitable even in the face of changing weather and markets. Much more than a simple exercise in cost-cutting, lean farming is about growing better, not cheaper, food--the food your customers want.

Ben Hartman grew up on a corn and soybean farm in Indiana and graduated college with degrees in English and philosophy. Ben and his wife, Rachel Hershberger, own and operate Clay Bottom Farm in Goshen, Indiana, where they make their living growing and selling specialty crops on less than one acre. The farm has twice won Edible Michiana's Reader's Choice award. The Lean Farm, Ben's first book, won the Shingo Institute's prestigious Publication Award. In 2017 Ben was named one of Grist's fifty emerging green leaders in the United States. Clay Bottom Farm has developed an online course in lean farming, which can be found at www.claybottomfarm.com.

"Ben Hartman and I share similar approaches to growing vegetables; we both run highly productive farms using efficient techniques and well-designed space and procedures. With this book, however, I believe Ben has taken our craft to new levels with fresh ideas and different strategies. The information here provides incredible value for any small-scale farmer seeking a compact, yet profitable farm model. I highly recommend this book."--Jean-Martin Fortier, author of The Market Gardener

"This manual of growing follows the lean principles of Ben and Rachel's farm, its pages are jam-packed with useful advice for efficient organic growing. 'Lean' is a great paradigm for directing your time and energy into a fully effective approach, whether in a large garden or small farm. I was fascinated to read all the examples of seeding, planting, and harvesting, and the gorgeous photos show the high productiveness of these methods."--Charles Dowding, coauthor of No Dig Organic Home & Garden