Root Vegetables: A Grower's Guide

Root crops reward careful planning with dependable, nutrient-dense harvests

From carrots and beets to lesser-known crops like salsify and oca, root vegetables are foundational to productive gardens and market farms. Root Vegetables: A Grower's Guide provides clear, practical guidance for growing a wide range of root crops efficiently, using proven biointensive methods that support both yield and soil health.

Based on The Market Gardener Method, this concise, highly illustrated handbook helps growers understand what root crops need—and how to meet those needs with thoughtful preparation, timing, and care.

What this Book Offers

• Profiles of 20 diverse root crops, with clear guidance for each
• Practical instruction on soil preparation, spacing, and timing
• Strategies for sowing, transplanting, irrigation, and fertility management
• Organic approaches to pest control, disease prevention, and crop rotation
• Harvest and storage techniques that preserve flavor, nutrition, and quality

Rather than treating root vegetables as secondary crops, this guide shows how they can anchor a productive growing system when managed with intention and precision.

Who this Book is For

• Home gardeners expanding beyond basic root crops
• Market gardeners aiming for reliable, storable yields
• Growers refining crop rotations and soil management
• Readers seeking practical alternatives to high-input methods
• Anyone wanting dependable harvests from resilient crops

Jean-Martin Fortier draws on decades of farming experience in challenging climates to share methods that balance productivity, efficiency, and long-term soil care.

Root Vegetables is part of the Grower's Guides from the Market Gardener series—designed to support growers at every stage with practical, field-tested knowledge.

If you want root crops that store well, taste better, and support a healthier growing system, this guide will help you get there.

Jean-Martin Fortier is a farmer, educator, and tireless advocate for regenerative, human-scale agriculture. His biointensive production methods have been adopted by growers worldwide. The author of several bestselling books including The Market Gardener which has sold over a quarter million copies in nine languages, he lives in Quebec, Canada.

Pierre Nessmann has worked as a journalist and landscape gardener for over 40 years. He is assistant editor for the two popular French gardening magazines Rustica Pratique and Rustica Weekly, and covers gardening and DIY stories for French national television and radio. He is the author of several books about vegetables, gardening and landscaping. He lives in Paris, France.

Flore Avram is a freelance artist and graphic designer specializing in scientific and botanical illustration. She has collaborated extensively with the French language children's publisher KiloWatt Editions, and with Inserm Magazine, a quarterly journal which explores health and biomedical research. She is based in Paris, France.