Publications

The Center produces a variety of publications for researchers, farmers, students, educators, and home gardeners, many of which are available for free download (see below). 

• Organic Specialty Crop Grower Guides

  This series offers resources for beginning farmers focused on organic and sustainable production practices, small-scale diverse systems for direct marketing, and production efficiencies to help small-scale producers develop economically and environmentally sustainable operations.

• Guías para agricultores principiantes de cultivos especializados

  Esta serie ofrece recursos para los agricultores principiantes enfocados en prácticas de producción orgánicas y sostenibles, sistemas diversos a pequeña escala para comercialización directa, y eficiencias de producción para ayudar a los pequeños productores a desarrollar operaciones económicas y ambientalmente sostenibles.

• Teaching Organic Farming & Gardening: Resources for Instructors

  This 700-page manual covers practical aspects of organic farming and gardening, applied soil science, and social and environmental issues in agriculture. Units contain lecture outlines, field and laboratory demonstrations, assessment questions, and annotated resource lists. Although much of the material has been developed for field or garden demonstrations and skill building, most of the units can also be tailored to a classroom setting.

• Teaching Direct Marketing and Small Farm Viability: Resources for Instructors

  Growing crops is just one step in running a successful farm—making the farm or market garden economically viable requires another suite of skills, including finding land, planning what crops to grow, ensuring food safety, marketing the crops, and managing income, expenses, and labor.

• For the Gardener

  This "tip sheet" series offers information on all kinds of organic gardening topics, including fruit tree care and maintenance, growing flowers, composting and cover cropping, as well as food crop-specific topics.

• Fruit Trees for Every Garden

  Written by the long-time manager of the renowned Alan Chadwick Garden at the University of California, Santa Cruz, this substantial, authoritative, and beautiful full-color guide covers everything you need to know about organically growing healthy, bountiful fruit trees.

• Rose Primer: An Organic Approach to Rose Selection and Care

  In this primer, Alan Chadwick Garden manager Orin Martin discusses the basic steps involved in cultivating a healthy rose plant. Organic pest and disease control options are addressed, but the emphasis here is on selecting, establishing, and caring for your roses in a way that gives them the best chance to thrive in an organic setting — what Martin calls a “plant positive” approach.

• News and Notes of the UCSC Farm & Garden

  The quarterly News & Notes of the UCSC Farm & Garden includes gardening tips, vegetable- and fruit-growing information, discussions of plant varieties, Apprenticeship updates, recipes, and an events calendar. Members of the Friends of the UCSC Farm & Garden, the Center's community support group, receive a subscription to the News & Notes as part of their membership.

• UCSC Campus Food & Garden Guide

  This annually published guide offers students and others a range of information on UCSC's classes, internships, farm and gardens, volunteer opportunities, and other articles and activities related to the campus and community food system.