Much has been written over the past year about urban farming. And for good reason. Urban farming allows city and suburb-dwellers to make sustainable choices in an easily accessible way. Without going to the grocery store twice a week. A type of urban farm, micro-farming is exactly what it sounds like: a small scale farm. But the benefits both to the Micro-farmer and to the greater community are enormous.
What comes to mind for many of us when we think of urban farming is the co-op. This is where an urban dweller with no arable land can rent a bed within a suburban plot to grow their own vegetables. While this is one important type of urban farm, there are many others.
A Micro-farm can be as small as a container garden on an apartment balcony, a rooftop garden, or a suburban vegetable plot on a third or a quarter acre of land. A micro-farm is usually defined as any farm less than 5 acres, although the size of the plot matters far less than how it is managed. Micro-farming embraces efficiency and sustainability. And, since the Covid-19 pandemic started, micro-farms are popping up all over.
The last ten years have been the first time in history when there have been more urban dwellers than those who live in rural areas. (4.2 billion in urban and 3.4 billion in rural areas, as of 2018). This trend has created “food deserts” in large and dense urban areas. Produce must travel a long way to get to consumers in these areas, at great cost, which is passed on to the buyer. We are losing farmland to urbanization in the United States at an alarming rate. This in turn has put pressure on the agricultural sector, in so many ways.
Micro-Farming is one way to address the issue head-on. This is one of those areas where what we do as individuals has an enormous impact.
Different Purposes for Micro-Farming
There are many reasons why a person or family might start micro-farming. Some micro-farms are commercial. Commercial enterprises often focus on high value niche markets left unfilled by larger traditional farms. Think microgreens, cut flowers, or heirloom vegetables. Some focus on fast growing plants which can be harvested and turned over quickly, such as herbs or salad greens.
Other micro-farms are educational or research based. Some are open to the public or offer courses on different gardening techniques . Some are run by universities to study sustainability or environmental effects on crops, such as the Affect of Wildfire Smoke on Garden Crops.
But for many of us, micro-farming has become a way for us to reduce our dependency on large commercial growers and increase the diversity of the foods we can offer our family and neighbors.
Benefits of Micro-Farming
I’ve mentioned a few of the benefits of micro-farming already. But just in case you blinked your eyes, here are a few more.
- Increases diversity of available food
- Decreases grocery bills
- Encourages greater self-sufficiency
- Extremely low up-front costs. No need to buy a tractor. Virtually no meaningful investment
- Manageable. No need to hire staff or field hands
- Excellent oversight. A small plot makes it easy to monitor and spot issues such as pests or disease. Oversight also leads to reduced need for inorganic pesticides and fertilizers
- Beautify the urban or suburban landscape or cityscape
- Reduces stormwater runoff, improves air quality and mitigates heat island impacts
- Increases viable habitat and food for beneficial pollinators
- Reduces local carbon footprint by bringing food closer to the consumers.
- Increased community participation and community outreach
- Increased health and nutrition. Lower dependence on processed foods and disease from lifestyle choices.
Tips for Micro-Farming Success
1. Grow what you love
Yes! Beets are so easy to grow! But if your family won’t eat them, they will associate your micro-farming experiment with something they just don’t like. Save yourself the heartache and grow only what you and your family love and are buying already. Better yet, make a list of all of the fruits and vegetables you like and then choose just two or three crops to start that do well in your climate.
Cherry tomatoes are easier to grow than regular tomatoes, and are often much sweeter, too. Kids love them. If growing a regular tomato plant is out of the question, you might consider a cherry, which does fine in containers. Prefer salad? Lettuce greens are even easier in any kind of container! Herbs are another great option which do really well in containers.
2. Start Small
If you are like me, once you decide to do something you are all in. Which is great! You’ve made a decision and you are moving ahead. Just don’t go overboard. That would be like running a marathon on the first day you’ve decided to start exercising. Instead, choose an amount which is sustainable for you. Whether that be a row of containers on your rooftop, or a conversion of your side yard to raised beds. Or, set aside just one planting bed this year, and only buy what will fill that bed.
The challenge here is not the decision to start growing, it is to set realistic expectations about what you can accomplish and learn in what can seem like a very short growing season. Your first year you are getting to know the path of the sun and weather over your plants throughout the season, dialing in the watering process, and understanding your native soil. No matter how much research you do, nobody else has the exact same experience as your climate and shade pattern on your own property. Except possibly the previous owner. Remember, you can always scale up next year as your confidence and knowledge increases.
3. Commit to just 20 minutes per day
Many first-time farmers think that once the plants (or seeds) are in the soil, their job is done until harvest time. Well, that’s not entirely true. Once the plants are in the ground, there are a few maintenance things which you’ll want to do. And it is always better if you can walk around your new plot once a day to check for any issues.
As above, it would be unrealistic to assume you could commit every weekend and evening to this new venture. Life happens, and work happens, always pulling at your sleeve for more time. That first year be judicious with anticipated availability. You can always add more if you have it. But then when you don’t, it’s much easier to fit twenty minutes into your schedule.
4. Do take some shortcuts
Sure, you could start all your veggies from seed the first year. But ask yourself this: why should I be an expert at every stage in the process right from the get-go? Purchasing ‘starts’, or baby plants is a totally acceptable way to go when you’re just starting out. Not only are they easier and more reliable, but you have much more flexibility as to when you plant them. Some seeds even have a more limited window unless you have a greenhouse to keep them stable through early spring.
Another approach might be to plant the first planting from starts and the second planting from seeds. This way, the seeds can germinate and grow while the starts are already acclimating to their new location.
And, do consider drip irrigation if you can, as it will save you a ton of time over the process of hand-watering.
5. Don’t go it alone!
This may sound a little overwhelming. Or maybe you don’t have the space for everything you’re hoping to plant. However, the very nature of farming is communal. Get the kids involved. Connect to a community garden project. This not only means more hands and more space for growing, but an opportunity to make new friends and improve your community. Farming not only improves the community and our planet, but it even helps our own mental health in our ever complex world.
6. Don’t give up
Every noble venture includes some failure. How could you learn if everything goes perfectly the first time? Even some of the most veteran farmers have major crop failures some years due to unexpected weather events or disease.
Expect some failure in the beginning, and whenever things change. Enjoy the things which do work out. Remember, “Failure is not the opposite of success, it is a part of success”. (Arriana Huffington).
