GrowShare
Urban Farm Host
Lend out your land to be transformed into an urban farm that generates local food, local jobs, and extra cash
Consider this: Why pay a company to fertilize, trim, and maintain a yard that can do so much more? With the Lettuce GrowShare program you can turn your unused land into a full production Urban Farm with built-in payback, while providing earnings for your friend or neighbor and fresh local food for your community.
The Lettuce GrowShare program is dedicated to transforming under-utilized urban spaces into abundant, productive food farms, while generating supplemental income for Urban Farmers and land-owners, while receiving a percentage of the sales of the produce.
How It Works
1.
Getting Started
Lettuce’s streamlined, interactive process will enable you to have an Urban Farmer growing food quickly and efficiently on your land.
Apply
Create an account, and fill out the online form to become an GrowShare Urban Farm Host.
Farm Qualification Process
A member of the Lettuce GrowShare team will visit your existing or potential farm site to assess the land’s viability to be an Urban Farm. If the land and your situation is viable, then we will take soil samples to send for testing and research the land’s history.
Set up
After we receive the results of the soil tests, and they meet our standards, Lettuce will facilitate the introduction of an Urban Farmer to work your land with the help they need to get a farm started on your property. This introduction will determine the compatibility of Urban Farmer to an Urban Farm Host, if it is not a compatible match another Urban Farmer can be introduced until the right match is found. Each Party will agree on the stipulations and sign The Lettuce GrowShare Agreement to determine the length of time to farm, and other specific arrangements such as water, and daily access before any farming takes place. Because of the labor intensive role of an Urban Farmer, the majority of percentage of payouts will fall with the Urban Farmer, unless an agreement is decided on by both parties for participation and payout percentages.
Acceptance
Upon completion of the setup, and the signing of both parties of The Lettuce GrowShare Agreement, your land will be accepted into the network and an Urban Farmer will begin growing food with all of Lettuce’s planning and information resources at their disposal.
2.
Start Growing
Once your land has been activated into the Lettuce GrowShare program, sit back and watch the urban farmer grow on your land or lend a helping hand when you can, if decided on in the Lettuce GrowShare Agreement.
Crop plans
The Urban farmer managing your land will grow according to the customized Crop Plan that Lettuce provides to the farmer via the online account. These Crop Plans are based on:
- Location of the farm
- Soil type
- Size of the farm
- Our requirements
- Earning potential
- Your experience
The Lettuce Crop Plan
Enables the Urban Farmer to know what to grow, when, and how. Urban Farmers will follow the Lettuce Growing Standards to maintain production of clean, quality produce and their production rating.
Ongoing Costs
There are certain ongoing costs associated with being a GrowShare Urban Farm Host that can be decided on in many ways depending on the level of participation of the parties involved.
Water: The amount of water used on the farm varies each season and from farm to farm, but typically costs approx. $2-4 per 100 sq ft of growing area. With The GrowShare Farming Agreement, it is up to both parties to determine how water costs are shared, this can affect the percentage of payouts received from the sales of produce. If a Urban Farm Host wants a larger payout, they can opt in to pay for the water for an increase percentage.
Time: The Urban Farmer will be responsible for the majority of labor to work the farm, but a Urban Farm Host can contribute time, if possible, to help on the farm. This would be decided on in the terms of the GrowShare Agreement by both parties.
Ongoing Support
Online Support Including specific crop growing protocol, ongoing maintenance, and seasonal turnover for continuous, reliable production to keep you up to date on what is happening on your land.
Physical Support Lettuce is hands-on when managing the labor force and wants to ensure all parties are satisfied with the agreement and arrangement.
Community Support We provide forums for GrowShare Urban Farm Host to be aware of what is taking place on their land and in the surrounding network.
3.
Harvest & Get Paid
Lettuce makes getting paid for hosting a GrowShare Urban Farm easy.
Harvest
- The Urban Farmer will follow harvest schedules that are part of the Lettuce Crop Plan and Harvest accordingly.
- The Urban Farmer will submit crops to the Produce Receiver at a Lettuce facility for washing, weighing and packaging.
Email Receipt
- Both parties, the Urban Farm Host and the Urban Farmer, receive an email detailing your harvest totals, and total payouts as agreed upon by the GrowShare Farming Agreement.
Payment
- Payouts are sent online within 7 days.
Starting Costs Starting Costs
Have an existing farm? Excellent! You’re well on your way to producing local veggies for your community!
If you need to establish your farm, use the Farm Setup Calculator below to estimate your start up costs .
Need help establishing your farm? Lettuce’s team of farm installers can help! Learn more.
There are two common ways to grow food outdoors: In-ground (if the native soil is well suited), or Raised Beds.
In-Ground Self Setup Costs
In-ground beds are plots established into the existing soil. If soil conditions on your land are ideal, establishing a farm into the existing land can be quick and cost effective. With a few amendments like compost and manure almost any soil can become a healthy, productive farm.
Raised Beds Self Setup Costs
Raised beds are ideal for land with less than ideal, rocky soil and can also help with organizing your crops and managing your time. Although slightly less cost effective, raised beds are constructed and filled with a new soil mixture, eliminating weed or and containment interference.
Let's Get Started . . .
. . . on a rewarding journey to take back our food system
Paradigm Shift
When you participate in Lettuce GrowShare, you become a part of a paradigm shift in the how, when and where of how food gets to tables.
Mainstream paradigm
Monoculture-based farms
Chemical fertilizers + pesticides
Mass harvests @ suboptimal times
Spray preservatives / wax
Cardboard boxes
Cold storage
Transported long distances to stores
In refrigerated displays
Sprayed for freshness
Picked into a bag
Driven home
Ready to cook
Lettuce paradigm
Sustainable organic Farms
Organic fertilizer
Selective harvests @ optimal times
No spraying / waxing
No wasteful boxing
Minimal storage
Transported short distances
No display required
Fresh already!
No bagging required
Delivered efficiently
Ready to cook
How will you Farm with Lettuce GrowShare?
Urban Homesteader
Urban Farmer
