MICROGREEN BUSINESS GUIDE · MENTONE, CA

Start a microgreen business in Mentone, CA.

Most Mentone residents see a quiet community on the road up toward the mountains, not a launchpad for a fresh-food business. The ones who look closer see something different. Sitting right against Redlands and Yucaipa, Mentone is minutes from kitchens that buy their greens off distributor trucks, and the grower here who delivers same-morning trays steps into a lane no one local is running.

Quick Answer

You can start a microgreen business in Mentone with under $400 in initial equipment and grow it into a $1,800 to $5,000 per month side income within 90 days. Here is the local demand picture, the unit economics, and the operating system used by working microgreen farms.

If you walked into the restaurants in nearby Redlands and Yucaipa this week and asked where their microgreens come from, how often would the honest answer be a local grower rather than a distributor warehouse?

What Mentone buys today

Mentone is an unincorporated community in the citrus belt east of San Bernardino, tucked between Redlands and Yucaipa at the base of the foothills. Its value to a grower is location: the established, more affluent restaurant scene in downtown Redlands and the growing dining strip in Yucaipa are both a short drive away, which gives a Mentone-based operation a real wholesale market without a long commute.

Redlands in particular carries a heritage food culture tied to its historic citrus roots and a walkable downtown that supports independent, chef-minded restaurants, the exact kind of kitchen that pays a premium for genuinely fresh, locally cut greens. The regional farmers market activity across the Redlands and Yucaipa area adds a direct-to-consumer channel for a grower building a name before the wholesale accounts come.

For indoor growing, the foothill setting brings warm summers but somewhat milder nights than the valley floor. An insulated room with a window AC unit holds the 65 to 75 degree range microgreens want, and the steady inland climate keeps your germination and costs predictable.

Every week you put this off, another Redlands or Yucaipa kitchen settles deeper into its distributor contract. What is it worth to you to have been the local supplier they signed before the next grower ever showed up?

The math, in Mentone prices

Here is what the numbers look like for a Mentone grower selling into the Redlands and Yucaipa area at a standard inland price tier of 1,800 to 5,000 dollars a month.

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 Mentone pricing.

Break-even week

Week 4

First positive cash week. Most growers hit it.

What that looks like in Mentone square footage

A 10 by 10 foot room with two vertical shelving units holds 60 to 80 active trays. That is enough to produce $3,000 to $5,000 per month in Mentone at standard wholesale prices. A two-car garage doubles it. A basement triples it.

Imagine six months out, with a delivery loop through downtown Redlands and the Yucaipa strip, a weekend market presence, and an app telling you exactly which trays to harvest. What does it feel like to be the grower the area's best kitchens count on, from a community most people just drive through?

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

Try Grown Like A Pro free for 30 days →

Mentone microgreen FAQ

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

Related guides

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

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