Detroit Farm & Garden capitalizes on Detroit's growing urban agriculture

In Jeff Klein's mind, all of the pieces for turning Detroit Farm and Garden into a successful business are in Southwest Detroit.

There is a growing cluster of people working in urban agriculture, building improvement, landscaping and other associated fields in southwest Detroit's neighborhoods, stretching from Corktown to Springwells. Klein, a landscape architect and longtime Detroit resident, always noticed he and his peers would have to go to the suburbs for supplies when they ran short on material, so he open a business to supply them.

"It was apparent to our community that we needed this business," Klein says. "There is a wealth of people who work in landscaping and urban agriculture here."

Klein and Ray opened Detroit Farm and Garden early this spring at the former Detroit Police Department precinct on West Vernor near I-75. It shares the Southwest Solutions-owned-and-renovated building with a landscape architecture firm.

"I couldn't have picked a better place for myself," Klein says.

Source: Jeff Klein, co-owner of Detroit Farm & Garden
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.