An income from microgreens all year round
This is a huge benefit of choosing to grow microgreens as your food growing business. As each year passes in my own microgreens business, one of the many things I’m extremely grateful for is being able to earn a consistent income all year round from growing food for people. This is different to traditional plant farming practices in the UK, when the bulk of your income is generated during the 'main growing season' and next to nothing is earned during the winter months.
With microgreens, you can make it pretty much consistent all year round.
(If you want and/or need to).
If you’re lucky enough to live in a sunny, warm climate, then microgreens can be grown outside. If temperatures are averaging at least 20- 22C consistently, and you’re getting at least 12 hours of daylight a day, then you can consider outdoor growing! Ideally in a greenhouse or polytunnel to protect your crops. I did this for my first two summers - crops out in the greenhouse in May, then they had to come back in by September. I live in the north of England, but we did have 2 particularly warm sunny summers those years so it was possible!
If you’re based in the UK, by all means grow your microgreens outside during the summer (if it’s a nice one!), but eventually they’ll have to be moved inside an insulated building during UK winters - such as a room in your house or an insulated out building.
And this is the magic of microgreens.
They are small and have short grow cycles, which means you don’t need loads of room to grow alot of product in an indoor space. You can control light, temperature and humidity inside too which means your growing success is not dependent on the outdoor weather and seasons. A god-send in the UK!
The 3 best reasons for growing and selling microgreens all year round:
You can get paid pretty much consistently, 12 months of the year.
You’re more likely to retain your same customers. People enjoy habits.
You’ll be providing much needed fresh, nutrient-dense food for your local community when fresh salad in the UK will be out of season. Microgreens are great to fill the traditonal ‘hungry gap’ of March to May too, when winter stored crops are running out and new season crops haven’t quite arrived.
Whilst researching this topic for today, I had a look back over my own winter sales over the years (6 now in total and counting!). I also found this post that I did last spring, 2022 (referring to the year and winter of 2021):
“I chose to work pretty hard in my microgreens business last year, especially when restaurants re-opened in May after the pandemic lockdowns. My revenue doubled and it felt like such a relief to have lots of my customers back again that I just went for it...and loved it! It got to winter though and I was pretty worn out and considered that maybe I don't grow during the winter in future and take time out instead.
Then I did my accounts at the end of February. I'd sold just shy of £12k of microgreens from November to February AND I'd taken 3 weeks off over Christmas. This made me take a step back and just appreciate how grateful I feel being able to grow and sell food during the traditional ‘off season’. I was able to provide nutritious, fresh produce to people's diets during the colder months when traditionally grown fruit and vegetables are more scarce, and I was able to add a significant amount of profit to the pot at the same time”.
Photo - My first winter in full time business, 2017/18.
The moral of this story - if you're considering microgreens farming as a business, it's a huge benefit that you're able to grow and sell them all year round. Especially if you're wanting to do this as your full time career. Likewise, if you already run a market garden business. Adding on microgreens to your offering during the winter is definitely something to consider if you want to keep growing produce, hang onto customers and inject extra cash into your operation.
For a detailed insight into growing microgreens during the cold winter months in the UK, read - Growing microgreens during the winter months
Some potential yearly sales fluctuations that might be of interest:
August and early September tends to be a lower sales time of year for most in the UK. People are more likely to go on holiday in August and pause their microgreens orders during this time. It’s also a time when University students are out of the town/city, which can have a knock-on effect on home and restaurant sales too. (if you’re in a uni city!).
The opposite tends to be the case for tourist areas! If you serve a touristy town in the UK, then June, July and August will tend be your biggest months, with the winter slowing right down (if you don’t venture further afield for your sales).
I’ve always been busy right up to Christmas week (parties, events etc), then quieter in the first 3 weeks of January.
But no matter what time of year it is, it’s possible to grow microgreens, and it’s definitely possible to sell them (you might just need to tweak your strategy slightly for your area).
OR take the opportunity for a holiday yourself during the quieter times! I close my farm down for 3 weeks during August/Sept and 2 weeks over Christmas each year.
I also recognise that having a rest/hibernation period during the winter is great too. However, with microgreens, if you want to work through, you can.
And finally, it's not just about the amount of money you make, but if you're able to make enough in your business throughout the year to support your living, then you get to grow microgreens for your job! Which is a pretty lovely way to spend your time in my opinion :)
If you want to get started with this amazing business, then I recommend having a good read of my FREE 14-page -
UK Microgreens Mini Business Guide (it’s really good!)
Download now to get it sent straight to your inbox!
In your guide, you’ll get:
5 great reasons for starting a microgreens business in the UK right now
A basic equipment list
A step-by-step guide to growing and harvesting radish shoots and pea shoots, including UK pricing suggestions and profit margins.
A how-to guide to selling your microgreens to chefs, restaurants and your local community.