How to Sell Microgreens: Guides, Tools, and Resources

Selling microgreens means getting four things right: what you grow, how you price it, the rules where you live, and how you track orders. This page gathers our guides on each, plus the research and tools we point sellers to. It is written for new growers deciding whether to sell and for growers who already do.

We have grown microgreens since 2018, and everything below comes from our own experience and the sources we cite. We do not make income claims, because results depend on your market, your costs, and how much work you put in.

How to Sell Microgreens: Pricing, Permits, and Starting a Business

Our cornerstone guide to selling, covering pricing, permits, and starting a microgreens business. Start here for the whole picture, then use the guides below for the details.

Where to Sell Microgreens: Restaurants, Markets, and Online

Seven places to sell microgreens, with the pros and cons of each and how to choose one or two to start with. The main idea is that a small, reliable weekly order beats a big promise you cannot fill.

Restaurants, where chefs buy by weight on a regular schedule
Farmers markets, where you meet customers in person and sell by the clamshell
Farm stands, a low pressure option near home
Health food stores and independent grocers, where shelf space comes with a perishability challenge
Office buildings, as a weekly drop for a cafeteria, break room, or wellness group
Local gyms, through a smoothie bar, front desk cooler, or trainers, if the gym allows it
Online, with pre-orders, local delivery, and subscriptions, starting with your own neighborhood

The post also shows how to choose where to sell first: count your weekly harvest honestly, pick the closest channel, add a second channel on a different harvest day, and ask each buyer what would make them reorder. It closes with the common mistakes, like growing before you have buyers and selling in too many places at once.

How to Price Microgreens: Per Ounce, Per Tray, and Per Clamshell

Price the ounce first, then turn it into a tray or clamshell price. The post compares what published extension sources say microgreens sell for, which ranges from about $1.25 to $6.00 an ounce, then walks through finding your own cost per ounce before you pick a number.

Cost per ounce: seed, medium, fertilizer, electricity, labor, packaging, and overhead, divided by the ounces you harvest and sell
Per ounce: how most chefs order, priced by crop so slow or low yield crops do not share a price with fast, forgiving ones
Per tray: ounces harvested times your price per ounce, plus how to price living trays
Per clamshell: price the net weight, add packaging, apply your margin, round to a clean price, then recheck the price per ounce
Margin versus markup, since a 40 percent margin and a 40 percent markup are not the same price
The costs growers forget: labor, packaging, delivery, licenses, market fees, insurance, and trays that never sell

It includes a worked clamshell example and a University of Missouri Extension budget breakdown showing that yield per tray can matter more than seed cost.

Do You Need a License to Sell Microgreens? US Rules by State and City

Federal law does not require a microgreens license, but four layers can add requirements: federal, state, city or county, and the market or buyer. The post explains where each one comes from and how to get a clear answer for your address.

Federal: the FDA treats microgreens as produce, not sprouts, and does not license individual growers. Your sales volume decides whether the Produce Safety Rule fully covers you, you qualify for an exemption, or it does not apply
State examples: Michigan requires a license to sell cut microgreens at markets, Tennessee treats single pass harvests as raw agricultural products, Wisconsin counts mixing varieties in a container as processing, and Texas cottage food rules exclude cut leafy greens
What can change your answer: chopping or trimming after harvest, mixing varieties, selling living trays instead of harvested greens, and selling to restaurants or stores instead of consumers
Local rules: business licenses, sales tax registration, zoning and home occupation limits, HOA covenants, and farmers market permits
Labels, legal for trade scales, variety signs, and product liability insurance

It ends with a step by step list of the offices to call, in order, and a script for describing your growing method, harvest method, products, and sales channels so you get a straight answer. It is a starting point written by growers, not legal advice.

Best Microgreens for Restaurants: What Chefs Actually Buy and Why

What chefs actually buy, how they like it packaged, how to price it, and how to approach a kitchen. A good guide for picking crops if restaurants are your market.

Choosing What to Grow

Which crops suit your market. Types of Microgreens sorts varieties by flavor and category, Microgreens vs. Mature Vegetables compares grow time and water use across 10 crops using our own tray data, and Best Microgreens to Grow in the Fall shows how we stagger grows and blend on harvest day.

How to Store Microgreens: How Long They Last in the Fridge

Dry, cold, and unwashed is the short answer. Shelf life decides how long a harvest stays sellable, so this one matters once customers are involved.

Buying Seed in Bulk

Cost savings, storage, and what we actually buy. Seed is one of your largest repeat costs, so this matters once you scale. See also our Microgreen Seeds page for where we buy.

Growers Spotlight: Millbrook Micro Greens

A community grower feature, for a look at how another grower runs their operation.

Rules and Food Safety

Permit and licensing rules vary by state and county, so check with your local agency before you sell. These sources are where we send growers to read up.

Seed quality is also a food safety topic, so read Microgreen Seed Quality before you buy for sale.

Gear for Growing at Scale

Selling usually means more trays and more shelves. These are the pages we point sellers to.

Grow lights and rack setup, including the rack, tent, and lights lists
Trays and kits for standard 10x20 trays and tray clip labelers
Reusable grow mediums, which can cut how much coco coir you buy and dispose of each harvest
Harvesting Tools We Use on Amazon, with a digital scale, harvest knife, and produce bags (affiliate link)
What Works Best for Harvesting Microgreens, comparing knife, scissors, and electric trimmers
How to Clean and Sanitize Microgreen Trays and Reusable Mediums, for the between grow routine that keeps production clean

How to Build a Professional Microgreens Grow Rack: Complete Step-by-Step Guide

The rack we have used for years in our own operation, built to produce hundreds of pounds of fresh greens a month. A full step by step build for growers who are scaling up.

Microgreen Tracker

Microgreen Tracker is our grow management web app, and it was built for running many trays at once. It includes a daily task list, watering reminders, barcode labels and scanning, succession planting, and an automatic seed density calculator. For sellers, it keeps your customers, orders, and trays in one place and counts backward from each delivery date so you know what to plant today. It also builds a cost per tray from seed, medium, fertilizer, electricity, and overhead, which is the number you need before you quote a chef. Orders in the app plan your production and carry no prices, totals, or payment status, so you keep invoicing the way you already do. It runs in your browser, installs to your home screen, and comes with a 7 day free trial, then plans start at $3.95 a month. Try Microgreen Tracker Free.

Microgreens Business Planning With Microgreen Tracker

Orders, customers, cost per tray, and planting plans. Here is how Microgreen Tracker supports the business side of growing microgreens, and what it leaves out.

Meet the Microgreen Tracker: The App We Built to Track Our Grows

We spent years tracking hundreds of trays on whiteboards and spreadsheets, so we built the app we always wished we had. This is the full tour of what it does.

Microgreen Masterclass

Our full A to Z course, with 11 modules covering every method, troubleshooting, and selling. Module 11 is the selling module, covering business legalities, branding, packaging and labeling, how to sell, profitability analysis, selling apps and services, a Top 25 microgreens list, and the tools we use. The Becoming a Microgreen Master book is the print companion.

Inside the On The Grow Microgreen Masterclass: What's Actually in the Course

A module by module look at the course before you enroll: 11 modules, 60+ lessons, every growing method, troubleshooting, and selling.

Selling Microgreens FAQ

Can I sell microgreens I grow at home?

It depends on where you live. Rules for selling food vary by state and county, so check with your local health or agriculture agency. Our license guide explains how to find your answer, and we link the regulatory sources above.

How do I price microgreens?

Your costs for seed, medium, trays, labor, and electricity are the starting point. Our pricing guide walks through pricing by the ounce and turning that into a tray or clamshell price, and Microgreen Tracker includes cost analytics to help you see your costs per tray.

Where should I sell first?

Many growers start with one channel before adding more. Our where to sell guide compares seven options and how to pick where to start.

What do restaurants buy?

Our Best Microgreens for Restaurants page covers what chefs actually buy, so you can match your crops to a market before you plant.

Do I need to follow the FDA produce safety rule?

Whether and how a federal rule applies depends on your operation, so read the FDA and Cornell Produce Safety Alliance pages linked above and check with your local agency. We are not lawyers or regulators, and this page is not legal advice.

How can I lower my seed costs?

Buying seed in larger quantities can lower the cost per tray. Our bulk seed post covers cost savings, storage, and what we buy, and our Seeds page lists the suppliers we use.

Can I track orders and customers?

Yes. Microgreen Tracker includes customers and orders along with barcode labels and scanning, and it has a 7 day free trial. Orders plan what you need to grow and carry no prices, so it does not send invoices.

Not sure where to begin? Start with where to sell and how to price, then read up on the rules for your area. The Microgreen Masterclass is there when you want the full walkthrough.

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Affiliate disclosure: the Harvesting Tools We Use link on this page is an Amazon affiliate link, and we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Read our full Disclaimer and Affiliate Disclosure.

Business disclaimer: this page is for educational purposes only and is not legal, tax, or financial advice. We make no promises about income or results. Your costs, market, local regulations, and effort will determine your outcome. Check licensing, permit, and food safety requirements with the agencies where you live before selling, and consult a qualified professional for advice about your situation.

Microgreen Tracker accounts, subscriptions, billing, and support are handled at microgreentracker.com, not onthegrow.net.

Happy growing!

Updated November 7, 2026