Market gardening
Veg, fruit, herbs and flowers
An overview of the fundamentals of growing and selling plants of all types on a small area of land.
Updated 7 May 2024
Land
If you have a croft or are renting land, check you have permission to use it for market gardening. If the land hasn’t been used in recent years to grow fruit and vegetables, then it’s possible that you need to get the landlord’s consent before you start. Check your lease, and if in any doubt talk to your landlord. Find more advice on tenant/landlord issues here.
If your land is in an urban area or on a former industrial site, there is a risk that the soil is contaminated. Contact the local authority’s environmental health team or contaminated land officer (CLO) if this is a concern.
Organic? If you plan to grow and sell organic food from your land, the land will have to be certified as under organic management.
If your land is already certified organic, you must avoid doing anything which would breach the organic requirements.
If your land is not organic, then you have to start the conversion process, which takes two years. During that period you will not be able to sell your produce as organic, though you can promote your produce as ‘in conversion’. The first step is to get in touch with one of the UK certifying bodies, which can guide you through the process.
You can apply for support from Scottish Government for conversion and maintenance payments to become an organic producer, even if your land area is under 3 hectares. If you have at least 0.1 hectare of eligible land you could get a payment. This currently has to be done as part of the Agri Environment Climate Scheme which opens a window for applications each year.
The key things to do and not do in the conversion period are:
Do not use pesticides or herbicides on the land.
Do not apply inorganic fertiliser (i.e. chemical products like Growmore) or any manures or composts which are not organic. More detail on converting your land is available from the certification bodies.