Production describes all aspects of raising and cultivating agricultural products. This section provides technical information, best practices, and resources on topics such as farm and garden design, soil quality and remediation, planting and nursery crops, pest management, and animal care.
COVID-19, Urban Farms, and Food Safety Resources Farm products can be accidentally contaminated at any time in the production cycle, for example, through improperly composted animal manure used as fertilizer, or if someone forgets to wash their hands before handling the harvest.
Networking and building coalitions between existing services and urban agriculture projects can help leverage resources and avoid potential roadblocks and challenges.
The following section includes information on creating a business plan and financing a farm business. Additionally, if your farm will have employees, or even volunteers, you should learn about related labor laws.
There are many marketing opportunities for urban farmers. Growing food in highly visible and populated areas can attract customers and allow farmers to sell directly to consumers.
Planting and cultivating crops involves a solid knowledge of local conditions and plant preferences. This topic covers the timing and specific steps to growing plants from seeds to harvest.
Pest control can be a challenge on any farmlarge or small. Pests, including insects and other arthropods, vertebrates such as gophers and squirrels, weeds, nematodes, fungi, bacteria, viruses, and veterinary parasites, are an unavoidable part of growing plants or raising animals.
Californias limited water supply presents challenges for urban farmers. Because water for urban agriculture projects is often from municipal sources, it is likely to be more expensive, making water conservation critical.
