How to Start an Urban Farm

By David Hanson And Edwin Marty
Published on August 27, 2014
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Learn how to start an urban farm with only a vision, and a few simple steps.
Learn how to start an urban farm with only a vision, and a few simple steps.
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“Breaking Through Concrete” by David Hanson and Edwin Marty documents 12 successful urban farm programs with beautifully illustrated essays full of advice for the new community gardener.
“Breaking Through Concrete” by David Hanson and Edwin Marty documents 12 successful urban farm programs with beautifully illustrated essays full of advice for the new community gardener.

People have always grown food in urban spaces — on windowsills or sidewalks, in backyards and neighborhood parks — but today, urban farmers are leading a movement that transforms the national food system. In Breaking Through Concrete(University of California Press, 2012) David Hanson and, experienced urban farmer, Edwin Marty illustrate twelve thriving urban farms. The following excerpt will teach you how to start an urban farm from planning to making a profit.

How to Start an Urban Farm

Tucked behind a short prairie hill, beyond the windmill that provides some power to Sandhill Organics farm (and disguises a cell tower), hides the Back Forty of Prairie Crossing. It’s actually fifty-five acres of certified organic soil where fruits, vegetables, and flowers aren’t the only crops. The acreage holds a new generation of farmer entrepreneurs who are also setting roots in the rich soil.

The Liberty Prairie Foundation offers cheap leases of the development’s land to newcomers who want to start their own farm businesses. It’s a great scenario: available, fertile land, a sense of a safety net from the foundation, and the expertise of the Sheaffers at Sandhill Organics a few hundred yards away. The farmers can test their growing and, more important, their marketing and business skills before moving onto their own land. It’s a wonderful progression of urban farm motivations and intensive farming skills into the larger-scale peri-urban and rural settings. But starting an urban or peri-urban farm business is daunting.

A similar program is unfolding at the Kansas City Center for Urban Agriculture, where the staff matches available land in the city with immigrants interested in starting a small farm-based business. After a two-year apprenticeship and participation in a matched-savings program, the new farmers are ready to scale their operation up and make a living.

Planning an Urban Farm

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