Indiegogo is committed to accessibility. If you have difficulty using our site, please contact support@indiegogo.com for assistance or view our accessibility notice by clicking here

This campaign is closed

The Backyard Urban Farm Company's Pop Up Garden Shop and Greenhouse

BUFCO is growing! Help us open a pop-up shop for the spring and summer, and build a greenhouse and demonstration garden for our interns and volunteers to tend.

You may also be interested in

Caret Left
Caret Right
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed

The Backyard Urban Farm Company's Pop Up Garden Shop and Greenhouse

The Backyard Urban Farm Company's Pop Up Garden Shop and Greenhouse

The Backyard Urban Farm Company's Pop Up Garden Shop and Greenhouse

The Backyard Urban Farm Company's Pop Up Garden Shop and Greenhouse

The Backyard Urban Farm Company's Pop Up Garden Shop and Greenhouse

BUFCO is growing! Help us open a pop-up shop for the spring and summer, and build a greenhouse and demonstration garden for our interns and volunteers to tend.

BUFCO is growing! Help us open a pop-up shop for the spring and summer, and build a greenhouse and demonstration garden for our interns and volunteers to tend.

BUFCO is growing! Help us open a pop-up shop for the spring and summer, and build a greenhouse and demonstration garden for our interns and volunteers to tend.

BUFCO is growing! Help us open a pop-up shop for the spring and summer, and build a greenhouse and demonstration garden for our interns and volunteers to tend.

Marc and Arlene Hazzan Green
Marc and Arlene Hazzan Green
Marc and Arlene Hazzan Green
Marc and Arlene Hazzan Green
1 Campaign |
Toronto, Canada
$2,011 USD $2,011 USD 68 backers
35% of $5,640 Flexible Goal Flexible Goal

Who is The Backyard Urban Farm Company?

Four years ago, Marc Green and Arlene Hazzan Green traded in the uber-urban lifestyle afforded by successful careers in the motion picture industry for the dirt-under-your-nails lifestyle of a couple of vegetable farmers - farmers in the city, that is. And so BUFCO was born. 

The Backyard Urban Farm Company designs, installs and maintains organic vegetable gardens throughout the Greater Toronto Area, in people's private homes, and for businesses, schools and other institutions. 

Collage against background of luscious lettuce showing images that speak to garden planning, installing, planting and maintainingBy contributing to our fundraising campaign, you will be helping us expand our business, plant more gardens with more people, provide an alternative to shopping at big box stores, as well as helping grow local and organic food industry. Please join us on our mission to encourage, inspire and ignite people's passion for growing their own food. 

Our Challenges and Our Goals

Any idea how much it costs to open a store - to staff it, stock it, insure and market it? Any idea how difficult it is to find available greenhouse space for organic seedling production in the city? 

Here's an idea: A lot, and very. Yet these are the challenges we face heading into the 2013 gardening season; these are just a few things we need to grow our business of growing.

Collage of seedlings, food and people

A NEW GREENHOUSE!

Last year we were lucky enough to share greenhouse space at Downsview Park with Fresh City Farms (FCF), a fantastic social enterprise that unites eaters and growers through their organic food box delivery service. FCF is also expanding, and the greenhouse space they offered us last year is no longer available. So they have invited us to erect a small greenhouse of our own, right next to theirs. 

Plus this year, Fresh City is renting a store to package their food boxes, right across the street from the greenhouse and have invited BUFCO to share the space. And so, chapter two of the BUFCO/FCF story is being written.

A POP UP SHOP!!

This spring, from April to June, we look forward to opening a one-stop garden shop where people can pick-up everything they need to get their own organic vegetable garden growing - organic seed and seedlings, DIY Raised Bed Kits, soil and soil amendments, and of course, lots of free advice. Non-DIYers can book our raised bed installation, gardening planning, planting and maintenace services, custom trellis installation and more!

A DEMONSTRATION GARDEN!!!

We will also build a three-bed demonstration garden using BUFCO Raised Bed Kits, nestled right next to our greenhouse. These beds will demonstrate practices like crop rotation, companion planting and be tended by BUFCO interns and volunteers, who will get valuable hands-on experience with organic food production, and who will each get a share of the harvest.

We can't do it alone so this year we will be offering 7 internships for energetic and inspired growers-to-be who can help make our vision a reality. 

Downsview Park Greenhouses

The Greenhouses at Dowsview Park, occupied by Fresh City Farms (far right)  where BUFCO grew over 2500 seedlings for clients and market in 2012. 

We're hoping our Pop Up Shop, greenhouse and demonstration garden, combined with FCF's greenhouse and two acres of open farmland tended by their member farmers, will quickly become known as an exciting hub of organic gardening activity. We want to attract people from all over the city to learn and grow with us through hands-on workshops, monthly activities for families, and informal chats with real farmers who are doing their thing at a real urban farm.

The Fundraiser Bottom Line

Please pitch in to help us meet our fundraising goal of $8000.

$3500 will be used to purchase and install the greenhouse. $500 will be used to install the three-bed demonstration garden. $4000 will be used to stock, staff, insure and spread the word about the store.

In the event that we don't meet our goal, we will prioritize the funds we raise first to the greenhouse, and the balance to the store and demonstration garden.

BUFCO Clients and some bountiful harvests!

What Do You Get?

No doubt, you'll get a warm and fuzzy feeling knowing you are helping to transform our ailing food system and create a healthier, happier environment. But there's more! We have lots of veggie garden perks and incentives to make donating just a little bit easier and a lot more fun. And for those donating from out of town and can't receive your perk (or for in-towners who just don't want or need the gift), we have a "Feel Good Option" whereby the gift associated with your contribution level will be hand delivered to a local charity, foodbank or community garden. 

Why Bother?

Do you watch the news? We know lots of people who don't anymore, because it's just too darn scary. It's one of the main reasons we switched careers. Because it's time to do something, while there IS still time. So please come and join us in our quest to grow BUFCO into a company that may actually change the world, one garden at a time.

Photo collage of food and kids - it's all about the future and food!

What Else Can You Do?

Even if financial contributions aren't in the cards for you, there are a few quick and simple things you can do to help. We would love it if you could get the word out and make some excited noise about our campaign.

There are tools right here on this page that you can use to spread the word with your  social networks. These campaigns are most successful when friends share with friends, who share with friends...and so on.

Thank You! And Happy Gardening! Marc and Arlene

Marc and Arlene in the BUFCO Lab, behind a raised bed complete with hoop tunnel in fall.

 

Looking for more information? Check the project FAQ
Need more information
Let us know if you think this campaign contains prohibited content.

Choose your Perk

1/2 lb Mung Beans

Currency Conversion $4 USD
$5 CAD
A super healthy bean perfect for sprouting in our easy-peasy sprouting kits which are available at our Pop Up Shop. Munch on these tasty sprouts for a vitamin packed boost!
1 out of 30 of claimed

Marigold Seed Pack

Currency Conversion $7 USD
$10 CAD
A pack of Marigold seeds, an excellent companion plant for tomatoes to help control aphids, and a beautiful, colourful addition to your garden. A $3.50 value! Feel Good Option: Have your Perk donated to a local Toronto charity, food bank, or community garden.
5 out of 50 of claimed

Seeds or Seedlings

Currency Conversion $14 USD
$20 CAD
Choose two tomato, pepper, or basil plant seedlings, or two packs of seeds from our good friends a Cubits Organic Living. Seed packs can be mailed; seedlings are for pick-up only at one of our Toronto locations. An $8.00 value! Feel Good Option: Have your Perk donated to a local Toronto charity, food bank, or community garden.
22 out of 50 of claimed

Better World Plant Food

Currency Conversion $35 USD
$50 CAD
Better World Plant Food and Fertilizer - certified organic plant and soil supplement that will make your vegetable and ornamental plants grow like never before! Easy to use, resulting in more and larger blooms, stronger plant immune systems. One litre size, a $35 value! Feel Good Option: Have your Perk donated to a local Toronto charity, food bank, or community garden.
13 claimed

Hoop Tunnel/Critter Barrier

Currency Conversion $42 USD
$60 CAD
A BUFCO exclusive product! Extend your growing season in spring and fall with this old fashioned greenhouse for your garden bed. Then protect your produce and convert the tunnels to a critter barrier. A $90 value
2 out of 25 of claimed

Hoop Tunnel/Critter Barrier

Currency Conversion $42 USD
$60 CAD
A BUFCO exclusive product! Extend your growing season in spring and fall with this old fashioned greenhouse for your garden bed. Then protect your produce and convert the tunnels to a critter barrier. A $90 value
0 out of 30 of claimed

Planted Edible Container

Currency Conversion $70 USD
$100 CAD
One tomato plant, one basil plant and one aphid-fighting marigold plant, all nestled together in a medium sized, self-watering container, planted in our special blend of triple mix soil, vermicompost and a dash of Better World Plant Food. A $45 value! This item is for pick-up only from our Toronto locations, or... Feel Good Option: Have your Perk donated to a local Toronto charity, food bank, or community garden.
4 claimed

Planted Herb Container

Currency Conversion $88 USD
$125 CAD
Five culinary herbs nestled together in a large sized, self-watering container, planted in our special blend of triple mix soil, vermicompost and a dash of Better World Plant Food. A $65 value! This item is for pick-up only from our Toronto locations, or... Feel Good Option: Have your Perk donated to a local Toronto charity, food bank, or community garden.
2 claimed

One Hour Garden Consultation

Currency Conversion $106 USD
$150 CAD
Spend an hour with one of our experienced vegetable gardeners at one of our two Toronto locations, or even via Skype. Get great advice, work on a garden plan for the early spring or develop a succession plantings for later in the season. A $50 value! Feel Good Option: Have your Perk donated to a local Toronto charity, food bank, or community garden.
0 claimed

4'x4' Standard Raised Bed Kit

Currency Conversion $176 USD
$250 CAD
Great for DIYers. Made from local, responsibly harvested Eastern White Cedar, this 16" tall raised bed kit goes together in a jif. The perfect starter kit or addition for an established garden. Looks great, lasts for years! A $200 value, our most cost effective perk! See it www.bufco.ca/index.php/products-and-services/diy-raised-bed-kits.html For pick-up from one of our Toronto locations, or… Feel Good Option: Have your Perk donated to a local Toronto charity, food bank, or community garden.
0 claimed

4'x8' Standard Raised Bed Kit

Currency Conversion $247 USD
$350 CAD
Just like the 4'x4' bed but with twice the growing space! Easy to assemble. A great start for the novice, wonderful addition to an established garden. Looks great, lasts years. A $300 value, a very cost effective perk! See it at www.bufco.ca/index.php/products-and-services/diy-raised-bed-kits.html For pick-up from one of our Toronto locations, or... Feel Good Option: Have your Perk donated to a local Toronto charity, food bank, or community garden.
0 claimed

The BUFCO Raised Raised Bed

Currency Conversion $634 USD
$900 CAD
Garden standing up! The Raised Raised Bed features a convenient growing space at counter-top height and plenty of storage below. Perfect for balconies, patioes and other small spaces, or for those wanting very low-impact gardening. An $800 value! See it at www.bufco.ca/index.php/products-and-services/the-bufco-raised-raised-bed.html For pick-up from one of our Toronto locations, or... Feel Good Option: Have your Perk donated to a local Toronto charity, food bank, or community garden.
0 claimed

You may also be interested in

Up Caret