MICROGREEN BUSINESS GUIDE · TICONDEROGA, NY

Start a microgreen business in Ticonderoga, NY.

Most Ticonderoga residents do not realize that an Adirondack town with a short growing season is exactly where fresh local greens are most valuable. Sitting in Essex County between Lake George and Lake Champlain, this is tourist and small-town restaurant country, far from the big distributors. Almost all the specialty greens served here are trucked in over long distances. A small indoor grower can supply them fresh and local, even in deep winter.

Quick Answer

You can start a microgreen business in Ticonderoga with under $400 in initial equipment and grow it into a $1,200 to $3,000 per month side income within 90 days. Here is the local demand picture, the unit economics at Ticonderoga wholesale prices, and the operating system used by working microgreen farms.

*When a restaurant feeding the Lake George and Lake Champlain tourist trade plates a dish, how do you think they feel about greens trucked hours away when yours were cut that morning in Ticonderoga?*

What Ticonderoga buys today

Ticonderoga's restaurants serve a steady tourist flow drawn by Fort Ticonderoga and the lakes, and those kitchens, along with others toward the Glens Falls area, value freshness in a region where it is hard to come by. Chefs here will pay well for living greens delivered the day they are cut, and a single account can move several trays a week with no long-haul distributor involved.

Essex County and the broader Adirondack region have a strong local-food and farmers market following, partly because the short season makes fresh produce scarce and prized. A clamshell of microgreens is a high-margin item that stands out at a regional market, where shoppers rarely see local greens offered at all.

Climate is your single biggest advantage here. Adirondack winters are long and harsh, shutting down outdoor growing for much of the year, but your indoor racks never feel it. While nearly all local produce disappears for the cold season, you become the only consistent source of fresh greens in the Ticonderoga area.

*If you were the only steady microgreen supplier in this part of the Adirondacks, what would that do to how local chefs and market vendors see you?*

The math, in Ticonderoga prices

In the Adirondack region, microgreens wholesale to chefs at roughly $20 to $35 per pound, while retail clamshells move for $4 to $6 each at Essex County markets.

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 Ticonderoga pricing.

Break-even week

Week 4

First positive cash week. Most growers hit it.

What that looks like in Ticonderoga square footage

A 10 by 10 foot room on simple shelving in Ticonderoga can hold enough trays to supply several restaurant accounts and a weekend market stand at the same time.

*Have you noticed how an Adirondack winter shuts down outdoor growing for most of the year, while an indoor rack in Ticonderoga keeps producing through the snow?*

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

Try Grown Like A Pro free for 30 days →

Ticonderoga microgreen FAQ

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

Related guides

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

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