Selling Your Homegrown Produce

You can sell unprocessed produce from your home or community garden in Lincoln.

Changes to municipal codes allow residents to grow and sell unprocessed produce grown directly from their homes or in community gardens. Through the Urban Garden Policy, it’s easier than ever to take part in Lincoln's local food system by transforming yards and other spaces into sources of fresh, healthy food.

These municipal code changes support community health, increase access to local produce, and open up new opportunities for neighbors to connect and grow together.

Summary of Changes

Individual homeowners are allowed to operate urban gardens as a primary use in residential districts and sell produce and plants onsite.

Owners of group-managed urban gardens in residential district are also allowed to sell produce and plants onsite. Groups may continue to operate urban gardens as a primary use on a residential lot.

Conditions include:

• Produce and plants must be unprocessed and grown onsite.
• Sales are limited to eight days per calendar month and 30 days per calendar year.
• Sales infrastructure, such as a sales table or display area, may only be present when sales are occurring.
• Signage may not exceed two square feet.
• Total building area in gardens is limited to 150 square feet for sheds and 500 square feet for greenhouses.
• Composting may only include waste generated on-site.
• Keeping animals is prohibited.

Please note: Soil testing is not a requirement from the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department. However, it is still considered a best practice, especially when growing food for your household or for sale. Learn more about how to find a soil test in Lincoln and why healthy soil matters for safe and successful gardening.

Plants that can be sold include plants grown for indoor use, annual plants, florist stock, and cut flowers. A Nursey Stock Distributor License is required by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture to sell hardy perennial or biennial plants, trees, shrubs, and vines, either domesticated or wild, cuttings, grafts, scions, buds, bulbs, rhizomes, or roots. Please refer to the Nebraska Department of Agriculture’s Nursery Certification Program for full regulations and guidance.

Urban gardening is now included as a home occupation.

Clarifications of conditions for urban gardening as a home occupation include:

• Garden areas do not require screening.
• Garden areas are no longer limited to 20% of the dwelling floor area.