Urban Farming Made Profitable

An online publisher set out to show that urban farming could be profitable. In her fourth year, she brought in $68k from her half-acre plot in Philadelphia.

1 minute read

August 25, 2009, 12:00 PM PDT

By Tim Halbur

Roxanne Christensen is co-creator of SPIN-farming, or Small Plot Intensive farming.

"Several years ago, she set out with the Philadelphia Water Department to prove that a half-acre of urban land could yield crops worth $50,000. She planted 60 types of vegetables on a tiny PWD plot and raised only high-value crops that grow quickly. In its fourth year, the parcel produced gross sales of $68,000. 'The only way for urban agriculture to establish itself on any scale is to be a viable business proposition,' says Christensen, who has written a book on small-plot farming."

FULL STORY: Urban Harvest

Monday, August 24, 2009 in Governing Magazine

Community / Economic Development United States Philadelphia Urban Farming

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