How to Start a Suburban Farm

Posted on January 27, 2020 by Taylor in Beginning Farmers, Business, Farming, Farming Resources, Finding Land, Fruit, Gardening, Management, Marketing, Planning, Small Farms // 0 Comments

How to Start a Suburban Farm by Mike Brown

Mike Brown is owner of Pitspone Farm in central New Jersey. He has been farming part-time since 1998.

I’ve always loved growing plants and for years I played around with the idea of supplying quality food to local restaurants and individuals. My biggest initial obstacle was getting past the notion that I needed 10 acres of land in some rural area to fulfill my dream. I wasn’t ready to leave my comfortable suburban home and with the price of land in my part of NJ I wasn’t about to buy land for farming. Eventually I came to the realization that I was already sitting on my farm – my backyard!

When my kids were young are backyard (about ⅓ acre) was all grass. They ran around, played soccer, etc. However, once the kids got older they used the backyard less and less and once they moved out, the remaining grassy areas seemed like a waste of space. Over the years I slowly encroached on the grass until it was once large growing area.

Why should you consider farming in the suburbs? You can sum it up in one word – Markets! The greatest advantage of a suburban farm is proximity to diverse and affluent markets both in the suburbs themselves and in nearby cities.

Before You Start

Every great undertaking needs a bit of planning and reflection. Take some time to start off on the right foot.

Check with your local municipality. Some places may be more open to the idea than others. It helps to be a good neighbor – no chemical spraying, noisy animals, or power equipment at the break of dawn.
Make sure you have time for farming. I worked for years as a school teacher which gave me late afternoons, summer and spring vacation. A demanding corporate job may be biting off more than you can chew.
It may seem unnecessary, but get legit. Unless you want to stay very informal, register as a business, get farm insurance and learn something about keeping records.
Feel out the markets. Talk to some local high-end chefs about their interest in high value crops or stop by the local produce market to see if they want to carry the products you are thinking of growing. Every location has different market conditions.

What Should You Grow

I’ve grown lots of different types of things – heirloom tomatoes (when they were still a novelty), squash blossoms, pea shoots, herbs, and specialty peppers, among others. The possibilities are endless. In the end I found it more and more difficult to compete in terms of quantity and variety with larger, more distant farms. I needed to find a niche that suited my markets and situation. In the end I decided on what I call “less-common berries.” Let me say upfront that berries are not the perfect crop. They require a lot of labor for harvesting and, depending on your crop and location, birds can be major pests. However, the advantages are many.

Berries command good prices. You just need to look at your local supermarket produce section to see the price of berries flown in from hundreds of miles away. Your stuff will be tastier, fresher and more nutritious.
Depending on the berry, they can be sold fresh or frozen. This gives you huge flexibility for selling your crops.
Some customers may need relatively small amounts of your berries. This allows you get into restaurants and other places that might otherwise be closed to you.
Berries lend themselves to many markets, many of them high-end establishments.

How to Start a Suburban Farm – Markets

Let’s face it. If you can’t sell it, you are spending a lot of time (and perhaps money) for little return. Check out the following.

Restaurants. My rule of thumb is: I only sell to restaurants where I can’t afford to eat. These are usually places where the chef has a lot of decision making power. They also love less common berries that they may not be able to source locally. Consider offering them gooseberry, red or black currant or haskap.
Produce Stories. Produce stores should be interested in expanding their offerings of local berries, which are very popular these days. Consider gooseberry, red and black currant, haskap, goldenberry, or even some of the more conventional berries if they don’t have a good local supply.
Individuals. Never underestimate the power of the “old country”. If you are just starting out with some less-common berries I would suggest the following: Many Europeans grew up on berries that are not readily available here and they will eagerly buy them. Consider gooseberry, red and black currant, elderberry, jostaberry, or seaberry.
Herbalists. Herbalists can often make value added products from your berries. The primary berry for them will be elderberry.

Other Revenue Streams

I try not to put all my eggs in one basket. In addition to selling berries I also have a nursery where I sell berry plants and also cuttings. From time to time I also start transplants of vegetables or offer other easy to grow plants for individuals. As I’ve gained experience with my unique crops I also create income by giving talks at different venues. In the end it all adds up.

Good Advice about How to Start a Suburban Farm (or any kind of farm)

Perhaps the best advice I received when I started out was – Start small. Plant a few different types of berry plants and see which varieties do best for you. Make sure you enjoy the work and can manage your time. Learn about your local and regional markets. As you feel more comfortable you can expand from a point of knowledge and confidence. And who knows – maybe one day you will get to that 20 acre spread of rolling fields.