MICROGREEN BUSINESS GUIDE · CONWAY, SC

Start a microgreen business in Conway, SC.

Most Conway residents do not realize how much fresh produce moves through Horry County every single week. Sitting just up the Waccamaw River from Myrtle Beach, Conway feeds a tourism economy that brings millions of visitors to the Grand Strand each year, and almost every plate they order needs a garnish, a salad, or a finishing green. Yet most of that produce is trucked in from out of state, days old before it ever reaches a kitchen. That gap is exactly where a small indoor microgreen grower quietly steps in.

Quick Answer

You can start a microgreen business in Conway with under $400 in initial equipment and grow it into a $1,500 to $4,000 per month side income within 90 days. Here is the local demand picture, the unit economics at Conway wholesale prices, and the operating system used by working microgreen farms.

When you think about all the restaurants packed along the Myrtle Beach waterfront just twenty minutes from Conway, how many of them do you suppose are settling for wilted greens trucked in from three states away?

What Conway buys today

Conway sits at the doorstep of one of the busiest dining markets in the Carolinas. The restaurants of Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, and Murrells Inlet turn over enormous volumes of plates during tourist season, and executive chefs are constantly hunting for a local edge. A grower who can hand-deliver pea shoots, radish, and micro cilantro the morning of service is offering something no Sysco truck can match.

Beyond restaurants, Horry County runs a strong network of farmers markets and farm-stand retail, and Conway's own historic downtown along the Riverwalk draws steady weekend foot traffic. Live trays and clamshells of microgreens sell briskly to health-minded locals and visitors alike, often at a premium over what the same shopper would pay in a grocery store.

Then there is the climate angle. Coastal South Carolina summers are hot and punishingly humid, which wrecks most outdoor leafy crops. Microgreens flip that problem on its head. Grown indoors under lights in a spare room, they ignore the weather entirely and produce all twelve months, giving you a reliable supply exactly when local outdoor growers cannot deliver.

If a chef in Carolina Forest or Socastee could get living microgreens harvested that same morning, what do you think that does to how they see your little Conway operation versus a national distributor?

The math, in Conway prices

Wholesale microgreens move to Grand Strand kitchens at roughly $25 to $40 per pound, and live trays command even more at market.

Startup cost

$400

Trays, soil, seed, lights. Used gear cuts this in half.

Per-tray net

$20-$30

After seed, soil, packaging, delivery.

Trays per week

100

Target for $3K-$5K/mo at Conway pricing.

Break-even week

Week 4

First positive cash week. Most growers hit it.

What that looks like in Conway square footage

A 10 by 10 foot room run efficiently in Conway can turn out enough weekly trays to supply several Horry County restaurants and a busy market table at the same time.

Have you ever noticed how the humid Horry County summers make outdoor growing brutal, and yet the one thing that thrives in a climate-controlled spare room is exactly the crop chefs pay the most for?

Three things every working microgreen farm in Conway runs on

  1. A seed density and watering plan you trust. The number one cause of failed trays for new growers is over- or under-seeding. The cheat sheet inside Grown Like A Pro gives you grams per 10x20, soak hours, blackout days, harvest day, and watering for sixty-one varieties.
  2. A rotation tracker. Once you are running thirty-plus trays per week, you cannot remember what is in blackout, what is in light growth, what harvests Tuesday. A spreadsheet works for the first month. After that you need a system that pings you the day before each harvest and reorders seed before you run out.
  3. A customer + invoice layer. Restaurants in Conway want predictable weekly invoices and net-15 terms. Farmers market customers want clamshell tracking. Both want consistency. The app handles both.

The IKEA test

If you can follow an IKEA instruction sheet without screaming at the family, you can grow microgreens at a commercial level in Conway. The steps are about that difficulty: open the box, lay out the parts, follow the picture, repeat. Trays are the bookcase. Seed is the dowels.

If you ever did struggle with the IKEA bookshelf, that is exactly why Glappy lives inside the app. Glappy is the in-app coach that breaks every step down barney style, in your own language, from "how do I plant my first tray" to "why is this tray going leggy at day five and what do I do about it tonight." Type the question, get a step-by-step answer. There is no question too basic. The whole point is that a Conway grower starting today is not on their own.

What you are not buying

You are not buying a course. You are not buying a hype product. You are not buying seed from us, and you are not buying trays from us. We do not sell either. Grown Like A Pro is the operating system you run your Conway farm on. The growing happens in your basement.

Try Grown Like A Pro free for 30 days →

Conway microgreen FAQ

How much can I make growing microgreens in Conway?
A working microgreen farm in Conway produces $3,000 to $8,000 per month within 90 days of starting. The math: 100 trays per week, $20 to $30 net revenue per tray, harvested in a basement, garage, or spare room. The ceiling is set by how many restaurants and farmers market customers you can serve, not by the growing setup.
Is it legal to sell microgreens in SC?
Yes. In most of South Carolina, microgreens fall under the state's cottage food law for direct-to-consumer retail at farmers markets and to private customers. Restaurant wholesale typically requires a basic food handler permit. Verify with the South Carolina Department of Agriculture before you sign a wholesale contract.
What microgreens sell best in Conway?
Sunflower, pea shoots, and radish are the three highest-volume sellers in nearly every U.S. city, including Conway. Broccoli is the highest-margin variety because of its sulforaphane reputation with health-focused buyers. Specialty varieties like amaranth and shiso command premium pricing from chef-driven restaurants.
How much space do I need to grow microgreens in Conway?
A 10 by 10 foot room with two shelving units holds 60 to 80 active trays, which is enough to produce $3,000 to $5,000 per month. A basement, garage corner, spare bedroom, or sunroom all work in Conway's climate. Vertical shelving is the fastest path to higher revenue per square foot.
What is the best app for tracking microgreen production in Conway?
Grown Like A Pro is the operating system used by working microgreen farms in Conway. It handles seed density math, watering schedules, harvest timing, inventory, customer orders, and the financial side. Free 30-day trial with no credit card.
How long does it take to learn to grow microgreens commercially?
Most growers in Conway are selling their first trays within 30 days of starting. Commercial proficiency, meaning you can run 50-plus trays per week without losing crops to mold or under-seeding, takes 60 to 90 days. The seed density and watering math is the single biggest predictor of how fast you get there.
Do I need a license to sell microgreens in Conway?
For farmers market and direct-to-consumer sales in Conway, most growers operate under South Carolina's cottage food law with no special license. For wholesale to restaurants and grocery stores, you typically need a basic food handler permit, a sales tax permit, and depending on volume, an inspection from your county health department.
How do I price microgreens to restaurants in Conway?
Restaurant wholesale in Conway runs $1.50 to $2.50 per ounce for standard varieties, $3 to $5 per ounce for specialty varieties like shiso, micro basil, or amaranth. Sell by the pound for repeat accounts. Local fresh commands a premium over the shipped-in product that most Conway restaurants currently buy.

Related guides

Once you have the Conway math in your head, the next read is the density chart that drives every tray you plant.

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