The organic medicinal herb farmer The ultimate guide to producing high-quality herbs on a market scale

As respect for the pharmaceutical industry has withered in recent years from media reports about ineffective or harmful prescription drugs, more and more health-care consumers are turning to alternative nostrums, such as medicinal herbs. For gardeners looking to cash in on this therapeutic trend, organic farmers Jeff and Melanie Carpenter offer this thorough, well-organized guide to growing and marketing both medicinal and culinary herbs, using their own Vermont farm as a model for optimal cultivation techniques. In 17 lucidly written, abundantly illustrated chapters, the Carpenters provide all the necessary basics for readers to jump-start their own operation, from facilities layout and tools of the trade to weed control and storage recommendations. They also share invaluable personal stories from their ups and downs in the business so others can avoid the more common pitfalls. Although the Carpenters' handbook is aimed more at veteran farmers looking to boost their revenue with another high-demand product, amateur growers hoping to add herbs to their kitchen or medicine cabinet will find much useful information here, as well.--Hays, Carl Copyright 2015 Booklist

The Carpenters, protégés of "Fairy Godmother of Herbalism" Rosemary Gladstar (who is also Melanie's mother), generously share knowledge gained through their now shuttered business, Sage Mountain Herbal Products, and 15 years of medicinal herb farming in Vermont. The book begins with a nuts-and-bolts manual that includes "thinking like a business manager," farming "for profit, not production," facility design, fertility needs of medicinal plants, development of value-added products, and manageable ways to integrate polycultures and permaculture principals into a commercial farming operation. Next the authors profile 50 medicinal plants, including details of each plant's life cycle, growing conditions, planting and processing considerations, medicinal uses, yields, and even the current retail price per pound, giving prospective growers information essential to determining crop viability in their own specific circumstances. Most helpfully, the Carpenters share their decision-making processes for determining the optimal number of species to grow and weighing the financial viability of hand-harvesting versus borrowing to buy harvesting equipment. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.