At a time when the overwhelming trend is towards industrialisation of organic agriculture, ecoculture represents a great opportunity to follow a more natural, more sustainable, and more productive process that is better adapted to the world of tomorrow.

To approach this method honestly, we must emphasise that the results we have obtained at Bec Hellouin require focus and hard work. Meeting your family’s needs from your garden year-round – not to mention living off the sale of its production – requires a lot of knowledge and technical know-how. Over several years of trial and error, research, and hard work, we have managed to make a living from market gardening.

Immerse Yourself in the Logic of Life It is precisely because the adventure is difficult, because it requires time and skills, that we want to share as widely as possible what we have gleaned along the way – and to chart the market gardener’s course to create many more microfarms. Our Living with the Earth series will help readers avoid burnout, worry, and unnecessary investments, and we outline the steps, including tricks and ‘secrets’ often jealously guarded by experienced market gardeners. And we do this without obscuring our mistakes or the potential pitfalls we have so often fallen into.

A permaculture approach to agriculture is, by definition, holistic. It seeks to perceive the system as a whole – its environmental and economic dimensions, its impact on the life of the gardener, on its community, and on the biosphere – because everything is interdependent.

From Vegetable Garden to Microfarm In some parts of the world, micro-agriculture has proven its worth throughout the ages. While designing the Bec Hellouin method, we were inspired by the most productive forms of traditional agriculture, the latest agricultural research, and permaculture. The techniques described in this manual are very efficient: Nature is incredibly productive!

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