Finally, after quite a bit of cultivation our business idea starts to take its final shape! Me and my fiancé have been busy finding relevant information about the state and future of urban agriculture in Finland, tackling possible problems and mapping our contacts and possibilities and now our ”home-grown enterprise” is finally ready to be taken to the next level!

Our business aims to promote urban agriculture – a growing interest among private people and policymakers alike – by providing an easy access to planting boxes and other gardening essentials to our customers. We also provide information about starting up a garden, and how to make the most of it! We also offer the services of an urban agriculture expert who can really give people all the information they need. Our web page will have clear how-to instructions for those who wish to find the information themselves. We aim our services mainly to private people and housing companies, but will also aim to cooperate with the public sector and other communities.

Urban gardening saves emissions on food transportation, makes the urban environment more enjoyable and healthy, creates a sense of community among the people doing gardening in the same courtyard and is a great way to show children, and even adults, how their food is grown and produced. Our margeting targets families with children, elderly people and young green-minded urban dwellers – those who have the time and interest to do urban gardening.

Main channel for customers to take contact will be our internet page and social media. We will have an online form our customers can fill in and choose their preferred planting box and other services, such as soil, nutrients and plants/seeds. Then the customers will fill in their contact information and we will take care of the rest, including negotiating with the housing company and transportation of boxes to and from the customer. This solves a big problem with urban gardening today: when gardening is done in public areas, people have to travel a long way to get to their plantations, limiting their attractiveness and use for those who don’t have the capability to commute. It is also attractive that the gardens are brought close to the customers. Some urban gardening projects have also experienced theft and vandalism, which will be prevented by bringing the gardens to courtyards. Apart from the online form, we will also have a possibility to make orders or enquiries by telephone.