How To Become A Market Gardener For Profit In Southern California

Description

Interested in farming, but don't have a lot land?

Want to learn how to grow a lot of veggies on a small plot of land?

Dreamed of having your own mini-farm, but never thought it was possible?

It is possible to make a good living on less than an acre of land…

In the Profitable Market Gardening Course you will learn how you can farm profitably on just a quarter acre of land and make $50,000, or even $100,000 on half an acre.

It's possible to farm profitably on a small land-base when you focus on how you farm and what you crow.

Most people aren't successful at farming because they don't use the correct farming techniques and they are growing the wrong crops for their farm and their market.

If you don't think that Profitable Market Gardening is possible, this course will change your mind…

Sample course video content

Profitable market gardening is possible…

In this course you will learn how you can farm profitably by specializing in high value crops with short growth cycles as well as selling to niche market streams such as restaurants and CSA's from someone who has done it for 7 years as a career.

Farmer Curtis Stone is the owner of Green City Acres, a commercial urban farm in Kelowna, BC.

Since 2010, he has been successfully farming on multiple urban lots in the cities downtown, and will demonstrate to you, that you can farm on very small plots of land without the debt burden of a mortgage or the high capital expenses of the usual infrastructure that most farms need.

Curtis wants to show you how you can shave off two to three years of the mistakes he made, and get you off to a strong start now, making a great living doing something you love!

In this six hour online course, you will learn about strategic small farm production techniques that urban farmer Curtis Stone has used and refined during his six year farming career.

You will also learn how to use modern technology to better manage your business that will save you time and money!

The Profitable Market Gardening course is the online version of urban farmer Curtis Stone's popular in person workshop Profitable Urban Farming.

Is small scale farming possible and profitable?

A real world case study…

Urban Farming Case Study

On this urban farming plot in Kelowna, Curtis made $18000 of profit from March 20 to October 31.

This plot is 2100sq.ft. and had a total of 23 standard market garden beds (each 30″ x 25′).

During those 7 months Curtis raised the following crops: arugla, carrots, cilantro, kale, lettuce, hakurei, mizuna, mustard, parsley, radish, scallion, and spinach. On average he made $268 per crop.

What's included in the Profitable Market Gardening Course?

Over 6 hours of very detailed course videos – fully streamable

Plus over 5 hours of additional content in two bonus videos

You get unlimited lifetime access to the content included in this course.

Course Videos:

1. Introduction (1 hour 30 minutes)

Barriers to Entry
Economics
Land Management
Urban Crops – Crops best suited for the city.

2. Farm Production (1 hour 30 minutes)

Basic Infrastructure
Business
Land Base
Building Your Farm
Lawn to Farm

3. Farm Production (1 hour 30 minutes)

Irrigation
Infrastructure and Equipment
Crop Planning
Operations
Structuring the Week

4. Farm Production (1 hour 45 minutes)

Production Systems
Harvesting
Processing
Planting
Review

Extra Bonus Videos:

How to Optimize Information to Expedite Your Learning Curve and Manage Your Business and Farm

Harvesting data is almost as important as harvesting vegetables. Much like seed needs to be saved and stored to plant again, data must also be harvested, and sorted to be fully optimized. In order to do so, you must have systems to be able to do this. Using a series techniques and specific spread sheets, Curtis will show you how it all comes together so that you can apply it to your farming season immediately as well as use it to improve systems and crops that are working and eliminate the ones that aren't. The numbers don't lie. This kind of information can open a whole new world of possibilities to you on your farm.

In this 3 hour course, Curtis will take you through a week to week play by play production plan for a quarter acre farm, grossing $80,000. From a topographic viewpoint, he will show you exactly what crops are planted, where they go, and how often each bed will be rotated. All the elements that make this kind of profit possible will be covered, such as Hi-Rotation planting, seasonal crop optimization, vertical crop stacking, time based interplanting and moveable poly low tunnels. Sit down, buckle up and watch how it all unfolds week by week for an entire eight month season.

Topics covered in the course:

Market Research
- Is there a demand for market vegetables in your area? And where is that demand coming from – farmers market customers, CSA customers, restaurants? Learn to analyze who you market is and what type of products and methods of transaction they will support.

Site Selection
- How to find land for farming, and how to convert that land from lawn to farm plots.

Site Negotiation
- A lot of land can be accessed for free or for very little money. Find out how.

Crop Selection
- Identify the best crops for your market and farm.

Crop Planning
- Not just what to plant. But when to plant.

Bed Layout
- Maximizing planting space to get the most out of a limited supply of land.

Tools and Infrastructure Selection
- Save money by not buying what you don't need.

Transplanting and Seeding Techniques
- Sometimes transplanting is more effective that direct seeding and can lead to less crop failure and better germination. Find out when.

Weed Prevention
- Forget weeding. Focus on preventing weeds from forming in the first place.

Harvesting
- How to efficiently and effectively harvest your crops to save you labor and time.

Processing
- The crops are harvested now what? Depending on your market different crops can be processed in different ways.

Sample course video content

Who is this course for?

If you want to farm small scale vegetables as a career or a side/full-time business, then this workshop is for you.

This course is about serious, high production urban farming and focuses on the business of urban farming – specifically how to produce high value crops and how to sell them.

This isn't a how to garden course, this is a how to garden bio-intensively and profitably so you can make a living doing it course.

That being said…

Home gardeners and homesteaders who are trying to grow more food in the same space, or become more efficient and effective with their time and efforts could also benefit from this course.

The instructor, Urban Farmer Curtis Stone

Curtis Stone is the owner/operator of Green City Acres, a pedal powered urban SPIN farm based in Kelowna, BC. Farming half an acre on a collection of 8 different urban plots, he sells through the local farmers market, restaurants and a 20 member CSA veggie box program. All operations on his SPIN farm, including deliveries, moving compost, tools and a 400 lb. rear tine rototiller, are done with a bicycle and a custom built 6' long steel framed trailer.

Before starting his SPIN farm in the fall of 2009, Curtis had no previous experience in farming or even gardening. After completing a profitable first season, Curtis is a case study example that the SPIN production system can be successfully implemented by anyone who wants to heed the calling to farm.

A bike tour down the west coast from Kelowna to San Diego in 2008 where he visited off-grid homesteads, eco villages and urban farms, inspired him to try to make a difference. Using urban SPIN-Farming as a method of social change, Curtis demonstrates that a transition away from a food system that is energy intensive, environmentally destructive and socially inequitable is not only easy and fun, but also profitable.

Off-season, Curtis works as public speaker on food-related issues and is a consultant for multiple community food projects throughout Kelowna. In September 2010, he was awarded 'Gardener Of The Year' from the city of Kelowna's Communities in Bloom.