Microgreen farming is a new business trend that gives you a lot of profit with a very low investment. It is mostly being liked by the people, residing in cities with less space.
Microgreen farms can be opened by anyone as it is very simple. One can grow profitable crops even in very small areas, be it backyard, garage or any other small space. If you are practicing microgreen farming in 1000 sq ft, it can yield 400kgs every week and that also without the use of any soil, fertilizer or pesticides.
To grow microgreens the Urban Vertical Farming is used to grow microgreens. In this, the technique of hydroponics is used to grow the plant vertically, one over the other in a small space. They use nutrient-rich water solution instead of soil to grow the plants.
How to Start Microgreen Farming
If you want to start microgreen farming, prior hand only, you should research well and follow some important steps before starting it.
- Look for Prospective Customers And Know Them.
- Find High Quality Information by using YouTube videos of successful Microgreen farmers, buy books on Amazon, or even enroll in paid online courses.
- Experiment on new varieties and techniques. Keep a record of everything, like maintain a different sheet for each type of microgreen you grow, such as variety of seed, when you soaked the seeds, Seed density per tray, seed technique notes, growing conditions like humidity, airflow, watering them and harvesting time.
- Use your contacts and business connections to sell them.
- Start it very simple.
What Do You Require:-
- Proper space for farming.
- Some Investment.
- A 2-bulb, 4-foot fluorescent light fixture and basic T8 fluorescent bulb.
- 16 10″x20X trays with drain holes.
- Paper towels
- A spray bottle to keep your microgreens moist while they grow.
- Organic Seeds
- A scale to weigh your microgreens before packaging them.
- A good pair of scissors or a large sharp knife to collect your microgreens.
- A high-quality organic potting soil.
- A timer to set your lights up to turn on and off at certain times.
- A small fan to keep your crops well-ventilated so as to prevent mold or other issues.
- A cheap watering can to water bigger plants.
Benefits You Get From Microgreen Farming
The question can come in your mind that why you should start a microgreens business. What benefits you would get from it. So, these are the reasons for which you should give a thought over starting microgreen farming:-
Low Investment: You can start a microgreen business with very low set up with one or two 10″ x 20″ trays. Soil and seeds for each tray would cost you around 120 INR.
When you first start up, you can just supply to say a single place. As demand for your product increases, you can then increase your output.
Fast turnaround time: You don’t have to wait a full season or more to harvest microgreens, unlike crops like corn or wheat. Microgreens can be harvested from seed to plate in as little as one week or, at most, one month. With such a fast yield, you can analyse on how your business is going and accordingly, you can make certain improvements.
Year-round production: Microgreen farming is one such business, where a small farmer can grow food all year round without greenhouses. Another method is to grow mushrooms.
This also implies that it’s a fantastic way to generate consistent money. Or, if you’re already a farmer, you can employ microgreens to boost your income and expand your business over the winter.
Higher nutrition: Microgreens are superfoods. As no chemical is used, so, they include a variety of vitamins and minerals. They appeal to health-conscious consumers as well as to restaurants as high-end garnishes and ingredients.
High-value crop: High-price restaurants and grocery stores pay high sums for microgreens. As a local grower, you can also charge more for them, because these products taste first when fresh.
