Lean Farm Start-Up 2-Day Workshop, Coming in 2024
Our 2024 workshop season is in the planning stages. Dates/locations TBA soon. To be the first to hear about enrollment openings, sign up below.
Sign up for our mailing list
Be first to receive exclusive offers about workshops and upcoming events.
Learn how to earn a living on less than a 1/3 acre of land.
An exclusive two-day intensive with Ben Hartman, author of The Lean Farm, The Lean Farm Guide to Growing Vegetables, and The Lean Micro Farm (2023).
Sign up for this workshop and receive focused, practical advice on setting up a high-profit micro farm with a lean system approach. Especially for start-up market growers, in urban or rural settings--or anyone looking to lean up their current operation.
This intensive 2-day workshop will provide you with useful knowledge that you can go home and apply right away. Live your dream. Start your farm!
When: 2 days in May 2024
Location: To be announced
Cost: TBA
Description: In this two-day workshop we'll show you how efficiently set up a farm so you can earn a comfortable income from less than 1/3 acre of land.
All workshop participants will also receive a 50% discount for lifetime access to the Lean Market Growing Masterclass, a comprehensive online course in using the lean system to set up a high profit farm.
Better design = happier farmers and more profitable farms. Hope to see you at Lean Farm Start-up!
Limit 20 participants. Previous workshops have all sold out, please sign up early.
Questions about the Lean Farm Start-up workshop? Use this contact form.
What you will learn in this workshop:
- how to use the DEEP MULCH METHOD for no-till/no-dig land preparation
- the lean system approach to setting up a nimble farm (the 7 mudas, kanban farming, and more)
- what you need for micro farm infrastructure (greenhouses, processing rooms, propagation house, and more)
- how to find those first customers using the Genchi Gembutsu method
- how to earn money in year one by growing high-value crops with less work - including innovative methods for growing tomatoes, spinach, spring mix, kale, fresh herbs, figs, and more
2022 Workshop Participants
Coming in November: A Model for a High-Profit Urban Micro Farm
In this new book, I tell the story of how we moved our farm from country to city, shrank it to just 1/3-acre, and focused our efforts so that all of our food sells within 1 1/2 miles of the farm. This is a step-by-step start-up guide for the new urban grower who wants to make comfortable living from a tiny piece of land, based on our 16 years of professional growing experience.
Pre-order today!
The workshop will be hands-on with field demos...
- on cutting edge tools like the micro farm greens harvester and paper pot transplanting system
- on how to build a germination chamber
- on setting up low-cost micro farm irrigation
- on cutting edge tomato trellising techniques
- on setting up an efficient wash-pack station
- and much more
Join us
Learn how to meet your production and sales goals on your small-scale farm and still have time for family and friends
Jeremy B., 2018 workshop participant
The amount of information I received from this workshop is amazing. Ben is a wonderful teacher, sharing all his knowledge from his years of farming. This workshop has shaved 10 years off my new farm startup.
Tamara B., 2022 workshop participant
The workshop was dynamic, switching between presentation and field and taking breaks in between. I also appreciated the transparency and openness to share knowledge and information. And the food was great!
Annabelle, 2022 workshop participant
Learning all the tools and processes is super helpful and seeing the farm in person puts it all in perspective. I also appreciated connecting with the other participants. These opportunities to connect, with other growers, especially during the growing season, is critical to continued learning.
Sign up for our mailing list
Be first to receive exclusive offers about workshops and upcoming events.
Affiliate links and discount codes
Here are retailer links to some of the tools and supplies that we use on our farm. My book The Lean Micro Farm describes most of these in detail. We may get paid commissions on products purchased through these links. However, we recommend these products based on our independent research and testing.
Orisha Automation. This is the best control system for small farm greenhouses. Use code CLAYBOTTOMFARM22 for a 15% discount.
SeedTime seed calculator