The Berry Grower: Small Scale Organic Fruit Production in the 21st Century

Grow Berries that Thrive—At Home, in your Market Garden, or on your Small Farm
Unlock the secrets to profitable, sustainable, and innovative berry growing. From backyard plots to market gardens, The Berry Grower equips you to grow organic small fruits successfully in any setting.

What You'll Learn
Whether you're a beginner or experienced grower, this guide gives you practical strategies, expert insights, and hands-on knowledge to produce high-quality fruit that sells or feeds your family. You'll discover how to:

• Plan and manage your orchard or berry patch for efficiency and profit
• Cultivate a wide range of fruits including raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, currants, gooseberries, figs, and lesser-known but high-value varieties
• Optimize soil fertility, manage weeds naturally, and control pests organically
• Adapt to climate change, drought, and extreme weather with resilient growing methods
• Harvest, handle, and pack fruit professionally for the market or CSA
• Diversify products beyond fresh fruit for increased revenue and market stability
• Learn from interviews with successful small-scale growers and market gardeners across the US.

Why This Book Works for You
Blake Cothron draws on over 20 years of experience as an organic farmer, nursery operator, educator, and speaker. His expertise makes complex concepts approachable, whether you're planning your first backyard patch or expanding a small-scale farm.

Praise from Experts
"Blake covers everything from soup to nuts, figuratively, in growing these fruits in various settings, for home use or markets. A number of the fruits he mentions are not yet well-known, but are worth growing."
― Lee Reich, PhD, author of Growing Figs in Cold Climates and The Ever Curious Gardener

Start Growing your Future
Today From self-sufficiency at home to profitable small fruit production for local markets, The Berry Grower provides everything you need to turn soil into success. Pick up your copy and begin growing your best berries yet.

Blake Cothron is an organic farmer, nurseryman, author, musician, and educator, with over 20 years’ experience in organic agriculture, botany, horticulture, and growing food. He is the director of Peaceful Heritage Nursery LLC, a 5-acre research farm, permaculture orchard, and edible mail-order plant nursery. Author of Pawpaws: The Complete Growing and Marketing Guide, and The Berry Grower, he has also written for Permaculture Design magazine and various online publications. Blake has an educational YouTube channel devoted to horticulture, and he is also an educator with the Organic Association of Kentucky. He divides his time between farming, research, writing, beekeeping, homesteading, travel, fitness, church community, and being a husband and father in beautiful central Kentucky. www.peacefulheritage.com