MICROGREEN BUSINESS GUIDE · ORLANDO, FL

Start a microgreen business in Orlando, FL.

Most Orlando residents do not realize that one of the largest hospitality and tourism markets in the world is being supplied by microgreens grown nowhere near it. The hotel kitchens, theme park concessions, and chef-driven restaurants in Winter Park, College Park, and downtown all need consistent local greens. The Orlando grower who delivers them clean and on time owns the route.

Quick Answer

You can start a microgreen business in Orlando with under $400 in initial equipment and grow it into a $3,000 to $8,000 per month side income within 90 days. Below is the local demand picture, the unit economics, and the operating system that working microgreen farms use.

When was the last time you ate at an Orlando restaurant and the microgreens on the plate actually looked like they had been cut that morning, instead of three days ago in another state?

What Orlando buys today

Orlando's restaurant economy is huge, and not just the tourist corridors. Winter Park, College Park, Mills 50, and the Audubon Park area host a deep bench of chef-driven, plant-forward, and brunch concepts that all use microgreens for plating.

The Central Florida climate gives you tourism revenue year round, which means no off-season for a serious grower. The humidity is the one variable to manage in your grow room, and a small dehumidifier solves it.

Beyond restaurants, Orlando has a strong farmers market culture, with multiple weekly markets across the metro. Add the wellness, juice, and acai segment that has expanded across the city in recent years, and you have a buyer base that is genuinely diversified.

If the Orlando hospitality market gets dialed in by an out of state supplier on a long contract before you ever pitch them, how does a brand new local grower break that grip later?

The math, in Orlando prices

Here is what the math looks like for an Orlando grower selling at a Central Florida hospitality tier.

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 Orlando pricing.

Break-even week

Week 4

First positive cash week. Most growers hit it.

What that looks like in Orlando 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 Orlando at standard wholesale prices. A two-car garage doubles it. A basement triples it.

What would it mean if, ninety days from now, you had two hotel accounts, three independent restaurants, and a Saturday market table all on autopilot, with the trays going out before the morning traffic even builds?

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

Try Grown Like A Pro free for 30 days →

Orlando microgreen FAQ

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

Related guides

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

Microgreens in nearby cities

← All cities