GrowShare
Urban Homesteads
Utilize an unused asset - your yard, have a rewarding experience, and earn money at the same time.
Farming of any type, at any scale, is hard.
Urban Farming is no different. Getting started is difficult and confusing, effective crop planning takes years of experience, and keeping up with the multitude of factors that affect your crops can be overwhelming. And after all that – making a profit from what you grow can be the biggest challenge . . .
Lettuce GrowShare is dedicated to making the hardest parts a lot easier, while you do what you always wanted to do – grow food!
How It Works
1.
Getting Started
Lettuce’s streamlined, interactive process will have you growing food quickly and efficiently.
Apply
Create an account, and fill out the online form to become an Urban Homesteader.
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 a Lettuce GrowShare Urban Homestead. 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 provide the help you need to get your farm started – including a planting plan, expert advice for taking care of your plants and pointers concerning the materials and tools you should purchase. All this will lead to getting you beginning growing based on the Lettuce GrowShare Standards. Continue reading below to see the approximate costs of getting started.
If the soil test comes back as less than desirable, there are certain steps that can be taken to clean and prepare your land for production.
Acceptance
Upon completion of the setup and/or clean up, you will be accepted into the network and you will begin growing food with all of Lettuce’s planning and information resources at your disposal.
2.
Start Growing
Once you are a part of the Lettuce GrowShare program, Lettuce makes it easy to plan your farm, crops, and harvest with timely targeted information and support.
Crop plans
Grow according to the customized Crop Plan that Lettuce provides to you via your 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 you to know what to grow, when, and how. Follow the Lettuce Growing Standards to maintain production of clean, quality produce and your production rating.
Ongoing Costs
There are certain ongoing costs to factor into growing produce:
Water: The amount of water used on your farm varies each season and from farm to farm, but typically costs approx. $2-4 per 100 sq ft of growing area per month.
Starts + Seeds: each season you will need seeds and starts (baby plants) to establish your crops for eventual harvest. Starts can cost anywhere from $.75-$2.5 per start, or can be grown by you! Seeds typically cost $1-3 per packet. These can be bought from Lettuce or any other source.
Fertilizer: Fertilizer is key to producing nutrient dense vegetables. 1 lb of fertilizer typically covers 33 sq ft of growing area and costs $1.50 per pound.
Seasonal Implements: Trellises, jutes, stakes, and other equipment to aid in the growth of your crops. Once purchased, these implements can be utilized season after season, and many are made from reclaimed, chemical free materials.
Ongoing Support
Online support: Includes specific crop growing protocol, ongoing maintenance, and seasonal turnover for continuous, reliable production
Physical support: A Lettuce urban farmer can lend a hand or an extra pair of eyes to help you improve your production and efficiency
Community support: We’ll provide you ongoing training classes at Lettuce HQ or on-site at farms, update you on weather conditions and how to prepare accordingly. Continuously refine your growing skills and become a master producer.
3.
Harvest & Get Paid
Lettuce makes getting paid for your produce easy.
Harvest
Follow harvest schedules that are part of your Crop Plan.
Submit crops to the Produce Receiver at a Lettuce facility for washing, weighing and packaging.
Email Receipt
Receive an email detailing your harvest totals, and total payout.
Payment
Payouts are sent online within 7 days.
Great for Families with Young Kids
Growing food, for your own family, or for the city is an amazing activity that engages the neighborhood, make a meaningful contribution to the family’s income and teaches kids many skills with just one real world ‘activity’:
- How food is grown
- Environment and ecology
- Nutrition
- Science, technology, engineering and mathematics
- Business and entrepreneurship
- Perseverance and problem solving
- Responsibility, authority and following instructions
- Self-reliance
And, they’ll develop knowledge that’ll stays with them for a lifetime.
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 Bed 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
