Make Money With SPIN Farming

SPIN farming is a method of growing high yield, high profit crops in small places. It is a great choice for urban and suburban gardeners hoping to make extra money (or even earn a living) doing something they love.

What Is SPIN Farming?

SPIN stands for Small Plot INtensive farming. It focuses on farming using plots of one acre or less, using a combination of low value crops such as potatoes and onions, and high value crops such as heirloom tomatoes and fresh salad greens.

SPIN farming techniques are not revolutionary by themselves. However, the program offers a level of business and marketing assistance to practitioners more similar to a franchise business than a typical farmer's how to manual, including business plans, marketing advice, and day-to-day workflow schedules for a five day workweek, while still accommodating the high degree of local and regional variation in farming operations.

SPIN farming is an especially good choice for would-be farmers in urban and suburban settings because it focuses on earning a significant income from small plots, making it easier for beginning farmers to get into the business without moving to the country or going deeply in debt due to the high cost of land in many regions.

The small scale of SPIN farming also allows for much lower overhead costs once the plot is chosen, because of the minimal need for mechanical tools or outside help. SPIN farmers are able to use simple, inexpensive tools such as drip irrigation systems made from ordinary garden hoses and rented rototillers, and many SPIN farmers require only occasionally outside help and typically barter fresh produce in exchange for labor from family or friends. The goal of SPIN farming is to keep expenses to roughly 5-10% of total sales.

SPIN farming techniques have been adapted for non-commercial use as well, in the SPIN Gardening program.

Rather than producing an income, SPIN gardening aims to help you produce a substantial percentage of your family's produce from a small plot of 500-1000 square feet.

SPIN Farming has the potential to be not just a system of vegetable farming, but also a movement.

Though well grounded in the practical realities of farming, SPIN farming also offers a unique opportunity to meld income with idealism. SPIN farmers value environmental sustainability, social responsibility, food security, and good taste, and by providing fresh, local, and organic food to their customers, they are truly living their ideals.