How to Start a Micro Farm: A Guide for Beginners

A micro farm is a far that is on less than five acres of land, most often only on one acre of land, including the house. These farms are found in many places, including cities and suburbs, and are becoming more popular as the economy falls and prices increase. Micro farms are defined as small farms that are used in a high-efficient manner to produce a high yield in a limited amount of space. For example, a family that grows enough vegetables to feed every person in the household during the year has a micro farm. Many micro farms also include small animals, such as rabbits, chickens, and goats.

If you want to turn your backyard or property into a micro farm, read on to find out how.

City Ordinances

The first thing you have to do is look into the rules in your city or home owners association. Some places have strict rules on what kind of animals you can have, and in some cases, there are even rules about the size of gardens and such. If you truly want to have an efficient micro farm and find that your location is very restrictive, consider moving somewhere with more lax regulations.

Requirements

You will need to estimate your families requirements. Many households use more of certain vegetables than others, such as: potatoes, onions, celery, carrots, green peppers, and lettuce. Other popular-but-not-quite-as-common vegetables are: jalapenos, cabbage, turnips, etc. You need to make a list of the vegetables you most commonly use, and estimate the amount you will need. For example, if you use two onions a week, you will need 150 (extras are included in the event of lost produce) onions, which means you will need to plant a row of onions approximately 4' x 12' in size. Knowing what you require is essential to properly planning out the location.

Land

Draw a graph of your soil versus other land mass. For example, if you have one acre of land, measure how much of that is actual soil, and how much is taken up by your house and driveway. This will show you how much ground-level garden space you have. If you do not have enough space to grow everything you need, look into making a multi-tier garden rack-this is designed like a large bookcase with shelves full of soil. You can plant vegetables that don't require deep soil. Elevating your garden will give you more space that using just the ground.

Water

Water usage increases greatly when you have a lot of gardens. If you are on a well, there is the possibility of running your well dry between house use and garden use. If you are on city water, you will be: A) running your bill up, and B) adding chlorine and fluoride to your plants, which isn't healthy. The solution is to set up a rain water collection system. Some people install complicated underground reservoirs, but most people simply place a barrel under their run-off drains, and perhaps also set up a loose tarp with a hole in the center. This works by catching the water in the tarp, funneling the water into a barrel under a hole in the tarp.

Animals

Animals are a great way to keep your soil fertile, and to also produce additional food. Chickens are very easy to keep, and require very little maintenance. Allowing chickens to free range in your garden will provide them with ample food, and in turn, they will provide you with many eggs a day. Goats can be used for milk (though many people don't like the taste).

Profits

If you produce more produce than you can consume on your own, the best solution is to sell it for profit, though you can also donate it to food banks if you aren't losing money on the gardens. Selling eggs for profit can be very beneficial for farm income - forty chickens can live on an acre of land easily, and will product approx. three dozen eggs a day, which will generate approx. $180 per month.