Category: Frontyard

In Lakewood Colorado a new business is taking shape. Business owner Sean Conway is a new kind of farmer. “It just made sense to me to replace grass with things you can actually eat,” Conway said.

“Conway’s business, Micro Farms, will till the soil, plant the crops, weed the crops, prune as necessary and harvest the bounty while the homeowner does nothing. During harvest season, per the agreement between Micro Farms and the homeowner, the homeowner will receive one basket per week full of what has been growing in the garden. The rest Conway takes to a local farmers markets and sells for profit.”

To read more about this story, visit: “KDVR.com“

Here are nine easy tips for growing more food in a small garden:

1) Grow in Beds, not Rows
2) Optimize Spacing between Beds and Plants
3) Grow Vertically
4) Succession Planting
5) Interplanting
6) Grow in the Shade
7) Grow Edible Plants in the Front Yard
8) Grow Microgreens
9) Grow in Pots & Containers

Florida homeowners are known for having a propensity for upscale, tropical landscapes. They pride themselves on lush green lawns in front of their homes.  One man however, Chris Castro, is turning up the grass in his neighborhood and making mini urban farms.

“His program is called Fleet Farming, and it’s starting off small, with 10 of these yard farms. Most of them sit smack in the middle of the front yard. Lawns are a thing here. Urban farms? Not so much. But so far, no neighbors have complained.”

To read the entire article, visit: “NPR.org“

“In this presentation you will learn how small scale farming can be used to create a high-income producing farm or improve your current operation.

See how profitable urban farming works as farmer Curtis Stone shows you how he assembled a multi-locational urban farm that grossed $20,000 in its first year and $55,000 in it’s second.

He’ll describe the design of his farm, equipment used, planting plan and target markets.

Though records are not yet kept on how quickly farms can get in and off the ground, Curtis got his farm up and running and generating income in 6 months, which has to be some sort of record. It certainly gives new meaning to the term “fast food”!

Curtis Stone is the owner/operator of Green City Acres, a commercial urban farm based out of Kelowna, BC.

Farming under an acre of land on a collection of urban plots, Green City Acres grows vegetables for farmers markets, restaurants, and retail outlets.”

Just a few weeks ago in Florida, a judge made a ruling that growing vegetables in your front yard is illegal. It took place in the upscale village of Miami Shores, and now allows action to be taken against residents who want to grow food in their yards. “Seems, in at least one part of America, that growing your own food is now a crime.”

“Given the high degree of deference that must be given to a democratically elected governmental body… Miami Shores’ ban on vegetable gardens outside of the backyard passes constitutional scrutiny,” wrote Judge Monica Gordo. The town insisted it has the right to regulate the look of the community.

To read the entire article, visit: “GreenProphet.com“

Urban farmers are growing in numbers all over the country, especially in Detroit, Michigan. An estimated 1,400 of them are growing approximately 400,000 lbs. of food in the metro area alone EVERY YEAR.

“Detroit has no shortage of land, but accessing it can prove difficult for many farmers who worry that the tide of development is sweeping by without them. The Detroit Land Bank holds 95,387 parcels of property that are up for sale. Yet dozens of farmers describe years of agitating for land ownership without success. As the city sets about the business of doling out resources and revitalizing blighted neighborhoods, the question is: why is it taking so long for urban farmers to access land? And can the mosaics of community gardens and farms flourish amid larger-scale development projects?”

To read the entire article, visit: “CityLab.com“