MICROGREEN BUSINESS GUIDE · FONTAINEBLEAU, FL

Start a microgreen business in Fontainebleau, FL.

Most Fontainebleau residents do not realize they live inside one of the densest, highest-paying restaurant markets in the country. This is a large community in Miami-Dade County, west of Miami near Westchester and West Miami, surrounded by thousands of kitchens and an upscale dining culture. Those chefs pay top dollar for fresh local ingredients, yet specialty microgreens still mostly arrive by truck. A spare room and a few shelves can tap that demand directly.

Quick Answer

You can start a microgreen business in Fontainebleau with under $400 in initial equipment and grow it into a $1,600 to $4,800 per month side income within 90 days. Here is the local demand picture, the unit economics at Fontainebleau wholesale prices, and the operating system used by working microgreen farms.

When a Miami chef wants microgreens harvested that morning for a plate they are charging premium prices on, where do you think they are sourcing them today.

What Fontainebleau buys today

Miami-Dade has one of the deepest, most demanding restaurant scenes anywhere, and chefs here pay a real premium for ingredients with a fresh-cut, local story. A grower delivering living trays of micro basil or radish from Fontainebleau gives those kitchens a same-day freshness edge that the large Miami distributors cannot replicate.

The area has a dense network of markets, specialty grocers, and juice bars feeding a health-conscious, affluent population. Selling clamshells direct and locking in standing wholesale orders builds recurring weekly income across a customer base larger and higher-paying than almost anywhere in the state.

Indoor growing is the real advantage in this climate. South Florida heat, humidity, and hurricane season make outdoor production unreliable, but microgreens grow on a rack under lights in any spare room. You can promise restaurants steady year-round supply when outdoor growers across Miami-Dade fall short.

If a kitchen in Westchester or over in West Miami could get living trays delivered the same day they order, how much more would that be worth in a market this competitive.

The math, in Fontainebleau prices

Restaurants and markets across Miami-Dade near Fontainebleau commonly pay $28 to $45 per pound wholesale for specialty microgreens, with same-day local delivery commanding the top of that range.

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 Fontainebleau pricing.

Break-even week

Week 4

First positive cash week. Most growers hit it.

What that looks like in Fontainebleau square footage

A 10 by 10 foot room with basic shelving in Fontainebleau holds enough trays to supply several Miami kitchens plus a market booth at once.

Given how South Florida heat, humidity, and storms wreck outdoor gardens, have you considered that an indoor shelf system produces identical quality every week regardless of the weather.

Three things every working microgreen farm in Fontainebleau 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 Fontainebleau 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 Fontainebleau. 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 Fontainebleau 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 Fontainebleau farm on. The growing happens in your basement.

Try Grown Like A Pro free for 30 days →

Fontainebleau microgreen FAQ

How much can I make growing microgreens in Fontainebleau?
A working microgreen farm in Fontainebleau 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 FL?
Yes. In most of Florida, 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 Florida Department of Agriculture before you sign a wholesale contract.
What microgreens sell best in Fontainebleau?
Sunflower, pea shoots, and radish are the three highest-volume sellers in nearly every U.S. city, including Fontainebleau. 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 Fontainebleau?
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 Fontainebleau's climate. Vertical shelving is the fastest path to higher revenue per square foot.
What is the best app for tracking microgreen production in Fontainebleau?
Grown Like A Pro is the operating system used by working microgreen farms in Fontainebleau. 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 Fontainebleau 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 Fontainebleau?
For farmers market and direct-to-consumer sales in Fontainebleau, most growers operate under Florida'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 Fontainebleau?
Restaurant wholesale in Fontainebleau 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 Fontainebleau restaurants currently buy.

Related guides

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

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