Make Money as an Urban Farmer with SPIN!
Turn grass (lawn) into green ($$$) while feeding your community, creating beautiful gardens and using a proven path to success.
DATE: Friday March 2nd
TIME: 9am - 5pm
WHERE: Calgary Rowing Club, North Glenmore Park, Calgary, AB T3E 5R7
An urban farming workshop with Curtis Stone and with special appearances from Calgary's own successful SPIN Farmers, Leaf & Lyre.
Learn how the SPIN-Farming system, which is now being practiced by a growing corps of farmers across the U.S. and Canada, can be used to create a high-income producing farm / garden or improve your current operation. SPIN is the first organic based production system for land bases under an acre in size, and it can be implemented by aspiring and practicing backyard, front lawn and neighborhood lot farmers everywhere. All you need is to equip yourself with the right gear and a radically new understanding of what it means to be a farmer.
So, what the heck is SPIN-Farming...?
SPIN stands for S-mall P-lot IN-tensive, and it is a production system that makes it possible to earn significant income from land bases under an acre in size by growing common (and specialty) vegetables. SPIN provides everything you’d expect from a good franchise: a business concept, marketing advice, financial benchmarks and a detailed day-to-day workflow. In standardizing the system and creating a reproducible process it really isn’t any different from McDonalds. By offering a non-technical, easy-to-understand and inexpensive-to-implement farming system, it allows many more people to farm commercially, wherever they live, as long as there are nearby markets to support them.
Who is SPIN-Farming?
There is no one profile of a SPIN farmer. Some have been educated in other professions, or have had other careers. Some have home or community gardening experience, while others have never had dirt under their fingernails. Some come from traditional farm families, but most do not. Some are young and just starting out, while others are older and on their third or fourth careers. What unites them all is an ability to view and practice farming in a new way. Whether you are new to farming or want to farm in a new way, SPIN-Farming will put you on the path to success!
What We're Presenting:
See SPIN-Farming in action as Curtis Stone shows you how he assembled a multi-locational SPIN farm that grossed $20,000 in its first year in Kelowna, BC. He’ll describe the design of his farm, equipment used, planting plan and target markets. Thorough records are not yet kept on how quickly farms can get in and off the ground, Curtis got his farm up and running and generating income in 6 months, which has to be some sort of record. It certainly gives new meaning to the term “fast food”!
What You'll Learn:
- Introduction + Green City Acres (Curtis' operation)
- Intro to SPIN
- Basic Ideas
- Land Base
- Basic Investments
- High Road/Low Road Concepts
- Work Flow
- Work Rate
Production:
- Bed and Plot Preparation
- Types of Beds
- Planting
- Harvesting
- Work Station
- Soil Issues/Fertility
- Pest Control
- Season Extension
- Irrigation
Marketing:
- Marketing Channels
- Pricing
- Farmers Markets
- Marketing Weeks
- Self Promotion
Trainer Bio:
Curtis Stone is the owner/operator of Green City Acres, a pedal powered urban SPIN farm based in Kelowna, BC. Farming half an acre on a collection of 8 different urban plots, he sells through the local farmers market, restaurants and a 20 member CSA veggie box program. All operations on his SPIN farm, including deliveries, moving compost, tools and a 400 lb. rear tine rototiller, are done with a bicycle and a custom built 6’ long steel framed trailer.
Before starting his SPIN farm in the fall of 2009, Curtis had no previous experience in farming or even gardening. After completing a profitable first season, Curtis is a case study example that the SPIN production system can be successfully implemented by anyone who wants to heed the calling to farm.
A bike tour down the west coast from Kelowna to San Diego in 2008 where he visited off-grid homesteads, eco villages and urban farms, inspired him to try to make a difference. Using urban SPIN-Farming as a method of social change, Curtis demonstrates that a transition away from a food system that is energy intensive, environmentally destructive and socially inequitable is not only easy and fun, but also profitable.
Off-season, Curtis works as public speaker on food-related issues and is a consultant for multiple community food projects throughout Kelowna. In September 2010, he was awarded ‘Gardener Of The Year’ from the city of Kelowna’s Communities in Bloom.
Special Guest:
Rod Olson of Leaf & Lyre Urban Farms
Leaf & Lyre Urban Farms is a Calgary family venture that seeks to create beauty and bring life to our city spaces through the cultivation of backyard gardens using the SPIN model. Leaf & Lyre are heading into their third growing season and are excited to be part of the local food movement.
Rod Olson will be joining us for the day of the workshop to talk a little bit about his experience using the SPIN farming plan in Calgary. Rod is father of two, a farm-boy originally from the Camrose area with a diverse background in social work, music, non-profits and tending the soul of the human experience. His particular interests in farming have to do with creating vital soils that produce nutrient dense, delicious food right where people live.
For more, check out this interview with them in FFWD Calgary.
