MICROGREEN BUSINESS GUIDE · RODEO, CA

Start a microgreen business in Rodeo, CA.

Most people in Rodeo never think about where the local kitchens get their fresh greens. The restaurants in this small shoreline town serving microgreens are supplied almost entirely by distributors trucking product in along I-80, cut days before. The Rodeo grower who delivers trays harvested that morning owns a lane no one local has claimed.

Quick Answer

You can start a microgreen business in Rodeo with under $400 in initial equipment and grow it into a $3,000 to $8,000 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 asked the kitchens around Rodeo and neighboring Hercules where their fresh garnish comes from, how many could name a grower from right here instead of a delivery truck?

What Rodeo buys today

Rodeo is a small unincorporated community on the Carquinez Strait shoreline in West Contra Costa, with a working, tight-knit population and a handful of owner-run kitchens. Those independent operators make their own buying decisions, so a local grower can talk straight to the person who signs the check.

The town sits directly on the I-80 corridor between Hercules and the strait, putting the restaurants of Hercules, Pinole, and Crockett within a few minutes of one Rodeo grow space. A single delivery loop can cover the whole West County shoreline.

The bay-moderated climate stays mild and stable nearly all year, so a small indoor or garage grow room holds steady germination temperatures with minimal power. That keeps your costs low and your yields consistent across every season.

Every month you wait, another distributor renews its grip on the kitchens around you. What does it cost you when the owners you wanted to supply are already locked into someone else's invoice?

The math, in Rodeo prices

Here is what the numbers look like for a Rodeo grower selling at a West Contra Costa price 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 Rodeo pricing.

Break-even week

Week 4

First positive cash week. Most growers hit it.

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

Imagine the version of your week where the owner-run kitchens from Rodeo through Hercules all run on your trays, and a system tells you exactly what to seed and cut. What would that steady route change about your month?

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

Try Grown Like A Pro free for 30 days →

Rodeo microgreen FAQ

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

Related guides

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

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