MICROGREEN BUSINESS GUIDE · IONA, FL

Start a microgreen business in Iona, FL.

Most Iona residents do not realize that their corner of Lee County, tucked between Cypress Lake and the Caloosahatchee, sits at the doorstep of one of Southwest Florida's busiest restaurant economies. The Fort Myers metro draws snowbirds and tourists who expect upscale plating, yet the tender microgreens those plates demand are almost always trucked in from far away. A grower right here in Iona can deliver in minutes what a distributor takes days to ship. That proximity is a frame most people never think to use.

Quick Answer

You can start a microgreen business in Iona with under $400 in initial equipment and grow it into a $1,800 to $4,500 per month side income within 90 days. Here is the local demand picture, the unit economics at Iona wholesale prices, and the operating system used by working microgreen farms.

Have you ever wondered why a restaurant near Cypress Lake will pay top dollar for greens that arrived half-wilted, when a neighbor could hand them a tray cut that morning?

What Iona buys today

Restaurants drive the demand. The Fort Myers area dining scene, from waterfront seafood houses to the boutique kitchens near Cypress Lake, runs on fresh garnish and living greens. Chefs serving a seasonal tourist crowd will lock in a weekly standing order the moment they taste the difference between trucked and same-day cut.

Markets and retail are the second channel. Lee County farmers markets stay busy through the high season, and microgreens sell briskly at four to six dollars a container because they are still a rarity on the table. Villas and Whiskey Creek shoppers buying local will return week after week.

The indoor-climate angle seals it. Southwest Florida heat and storm season punish outdoor growers, but a climate-controlled room in Iona produces clean, consistent trays every week regardless of what is happening outside. While the weather knocks out field crops, your harvest never misses.

If you could supply the St. James City and Whiskey Creek dining crowd with something fresher than anything on their current menu, what would that do for your standing with those chefs?

The math, in Iona prices

Wholesale microgreens fetch roughly $25 to $40 per pound across Lee County kitchens, and a healthy tray returns several times its tray cost.

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 Iona pricing.

Break-even week

Week 4

First positive cash week. Most growers hit it.

What that looks like in Iona square footage

A 10 by 10 foot room on tiered racks in Iona can house enough production to build a reliable four-figure monthly income once your Fort Myers area accounts are running.

With Lee County winters packed with seasonal visitors, what happens to demand when every kitchen is suddenly full and nobody nearby is growing the greens they need?

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

Try Grown Like A Pro free for 30 days →

Iona microgreen FAQ

How much can I make growing microgreens in Iona?
A working microgreen farm in Iona 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 Iona?
Sunflower, pea shoots, and radish are the three highest-volume sellers in nearly every U.S. city, including Iona. 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 Iona?
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 Iona's climate. Vertical shelving is the fastest path to higher revenue per square foot.
What is the best app for tracking microgreen production in Iona?
Grown Like A Pro is the operating system used by working microgreen farms in Iona. 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 Iona 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 Iona?
For farmers market and direct-to-consumer sales in Iona, 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 Iona?
Restaurant wholesale in Iona 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 Iona restaurants currently buy.

Related guides

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

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