Why Are Microgreens Often Referred To As Cash Crops?

July 14, 2021

Food prices have been dropping for a couple of decades. These days they are barely covering the costs of a farming business. Microgreens in particular are an exception to this paradigm. If you grow smart, these little shoots can help create a very profitable operation.

Smart Farmers elaborates on how growing microgreens can be profitable. 

Microgreens sell at high prices to specific niches: chefs, foodies, or just people who pursue a healthy lifestyle because their exceptionally high nutrient density attracts customers who choose a healthy lifestyle. They contain higher vitamin, mineral, and antioxidant levels than mature vegetables. In fact, research comparing microgreens to their mature counterparts report that nutrient levels can be up to 40x higher.

Besides, the flavor of microgreens is so intense that chefs and foodies go nuts over these babies. In addition, they are perfect to use as plate decorations and come in many different varieties. If you decide to only grow microgreens, you’ll still be able to offer a wide variety of products. There are at least 25 types that are commercially popular, and the market still allows for more exploration. 

A big advantage for growers is that they can provide up to 35 harvests per year. Depending on the variety, microgreens only need 1 to 2 weeks to grow. Even if for some reason, something goes wrong with a batch, you won’t miss out on an entire seasonal income.

Read the complete article at: Vertical Farm Daily:

For more information:
Smart farmers
www.smartfarmers.eu 

Vertical Farming On The Rise: Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station And 80 Acres Farms Enter Research Agreement

80 Acres Farms enters into a master research agreement with the Experiment Station at The University of Arkansas with scientists to propose collaborative vertical farming research projects aimed to advance the science of vertical farming

NEWS PROVIDED BY 80 Acres Farms

HAMILTON, Ohio, April 26, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Vertical farming business 80 Acres Farms has entered into a collaborative research agreement with the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station to advance the science of vertical farming.

Scientists with the experiment station, the research arm of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, will coordinate with 80 Acres Farms researchers to pursue a variety of vertical farming research topics, said Bryan Renk, director of commercialization for the division's Technology Commercialization Office.

Utilizing world-class technology and analytics to offer customers a wide variety of pesticide-free food with a longer shelf-life that exceeds the highest food safety standards.

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"Vertical farming is growing and trending," Renk said. "There are multiple companies forming across the U.S. that are trying to take advantage of that trend."

Jean-François Meullenet, senior associate vice president for agriculture research and director of the experiment station, said the agreement provides a unique opportunity for research.

"We are very excited about this new research partnership with 80 Acres Farms," Meullenet said. "Protected farming is a strategic research direction for the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, and 80 Acres Farm is a leader in this area."

Renk said that the initial round of proposed and current research includes a project analyzing the chemical components of 80 Acres produce, an exploration into new protocols for vertical farming, and evaluation of novel blackberry variety selections that are suited for the vertical farming environment.

"We have a great multidisciplinary team of faculty that can make great contributions to the development of vertical farming technology," Meullenet said. "I look forward to seeing the impact we can have through this research."

"80 Acres is expanding its vertical farming R&D facility in Springdale, Arkansas to develop the growing recipes for multiple leafy and fruiting produce crops," said Victor Verlage, senior vice president for operations, agronomy, and research and development at 80 Acres Farms. "We are calibrating and aligning all the growing conditions, incorporating several proprietary AgTech capabilities that were not available until recently, to bring hyper-fresh fruits and vegetables loaded with taste and nutrition so our consumers can indulge in healthy diets," he said.

Margaret Worthington, assistant professor of fruit breeding and genetics in the horticulture department for the experiment station and Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences at the University of Arkansas, is evaluating blackberry varieties that may perform well in these novel growing conditions.

"We hope to identify blackberry breeding selections that perform well in fully-controlled indoor environments and vertical farms," Worthington said.

"Fruit breeding is a long-term effort," she said. "We need to be forward-thinking and consider how the potential varieties moving through our breeding pipeline are going to fit into new markets and productions systems that are just beginning to develop.

"The Arkansas Fruit Breeding Program has a history of mutually beneficial public-private research collaborations and I am looking forward to working with this new partner," she said.

In addition to collaborating on research, 80 Acres Farms also plans to create internship opportunities for Bumpers college students.

"80 Acres Farms is eager to provide opportunities for the next generation of farmers where they will have access to best-in-class vertical farming technology," said Verlage. "The students will have immersive training right here in Northwest Arkansas, minutes from the university campus."

To learn more about the Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uark.edu. Follow us on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch and Instagram at ArkAgResearch.

About the Division of Agriculture

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture's mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation's historic land grant education system.

The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on five system campuses.

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs and services without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.

About 80 Acres Farms

80 Acres Farms is a vertical farming leader providing customers with the freshest and most nutritious fruits and vegetables at affordable prices. Utilizing world-class technology and analytics, the Company offers customers a wide variety of pesticide-free food with a longer shelf-life that exceeds the highest food safety standards.

For further information, please contact us at:

Rebecca Haders / rebecca.haders@eafarms.com  / +1 513-910-9089

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Utilizing world-class technology and analytics to offer customers a wide variety of pesticide-free food with a longer shelf-life that exceeds the highest food safety standards.

SOURCE 80 Acres Farms

SCOTLAND: Elevate Your Meals With Microgreens Produced by Aberdeenshire’s Vertical Shoots Urban Farms

by Karla Sinclair

18/02/2021

Vertical Shoots Urban Farms produces an array of microgreens in Westhill, Aberdeenshire. © Supplied by Brindha Shayana

Turning your hobby into a business is not always the goal. But when Brindha Shayana and Sathya Vasudevan discovered their passions for vertical farming, they knew it was the only way forward.

Both qualified engineers working in the oil, gas, and service sector, Brindha and Sathya were eager to switch things up and start with a clean slate. This was to involve growing microgreens in their Westhill-based home.

And now, two years on, their produce can be seen in a line-up of local stores and is featured as part of dishes created by north-east restaurants, cafes, and bistros.

With that said, there’s no doubt that their business, Vertical Shoots Urban Farms, will continue to grow.

But what’s the process in growing microgreens, you may ask? Well, we caught up with the partners to find out all about the process, as well as what encouraged them to start their own business.

So, Sathya and Brindha, have you always wanted to start your own business?

Sathya: We were always keen to do something different but never had the idea of starting a business.

A few years ago while we were shopping in a supermarket, a question sprung into our mind asking, where does the food we eat come from? Since then, we started to look into the origin of every product we purchased and it amazed us how foods were produced in different countries and distributed around the world in such a massive scale.

Brindha: At the same time, we also felt how important it is to grow the essential food we eat closer to the end consumer. This triggered an interest to take up a hobby growing herbs.

The pair of us started to do loads of experiments and trials day in and day out. At one point, we started to share our produce with family and friends.

The more we thought about getting local produce out to people, we realised how challenging it is to produce any kind of food and distribute it to the community. This gave us the push to think ‘why not start a business and face these challenges to do our part in solving a global issue and contribute towards a sustainable future’. This sounded exciting and we kick-started our journey.

For those that don’t know, what do you offer?

S: Vertical Shoots are currently offering a wide range of micro salads. They come in different shapes, colour, and flavours. We supply them to restaurants, cafes, bistros, and stock micro salad boxes in shops for home consumers to use in salads, smoothies or alongside any dish.

B: For restaurants, cafes and bistros, we grow the varieties they request based on their need. Our lovely customers include Buchanan Bistro in Banchory, Inverurie’s Fennel Restaurant, Rothesay Rooms in Ballater, JK Fine Foods, Replenish in Stonehaven, and much more.

For home consumers, we offer variety boxes – spicy mix, rainbow mix and flavour punch – which will include a variety of greens with different flavour tones. These are available for direct home delivery.

That’s very interesting. Why did you choose microgreens?

S: Two years ago, we started to think of doing something related to farming and had to start with a clean slate (with no previous experience).

So, we started growing leafy greens as a hobby, gradually learning and experimenting each day. And after some research, we came across hydroponics – soilless farming with plant roots suspended in water filled with nutrients – and vertical farming, which enables the use of any urban space to grow a substantial amount of greens.

B: This sounded fantastic and we converted a small shed in our back garden into an indoor farm. Both of us were experimenting in this setup for a year.

With every seed germinating and shoots cropping up, this became a serious hobby with great interest and it kept progressing. Then we kick-started our journey with Vertical Shoots in March last year with our aim to utilize underused urban spaces in an effective way.

Am I right in saying that the pair of you wanted to offer products that redefined the way we eat salads?

S: Yes, exactly that. When we tried microgreens ourselves for the first time, we felt it was so different from the usual salad greens we eat. Microgreens bring in a nice flavour and their colour and texture just brighten up the plate. I am sure people who have tried microgreens would agree with what we think.

B: When we looked around in the supermarkets, we could not find any such product apart from micro salad cress in very few shops. So, this triggered an idea to start growing a range of micro salads and make it more available for the local community to try and experience the goodness of micro salads or microgreens.

What encouraged you guys to launch Vertical Shoots Urban Farms? Were there any obstacles?

S: There is so much going on in this world trying to move towards a sustainable future. Innovative ideas are being implemented to revolutionize every sector. Just looking around getting to know about the new happenings encouraged us to take a step trying to do something different and be a part of this change. This thought lead to the start of our journey with Vertical Shoots Urban Farms.

B: It was the beginning of the first lockdown when we started our journey. With the restrictions in place, it was difficult to approach other businesses and customers. Slowly we started to take baby steps which got us going.

We still have a long way to go, but we have started marching towards our vision.

You mentioned that it was difficult to approach other businesses and customers, understandably. So how have you gone about promoting the business?

S: This is a work in progress as we are fairly new. To get our name out, we are active on social media, like Instagram, sharing what we do. Also, we have visited many restaurants, cafes and bistros to spread our name. Some of the people we met were amazing and kind enough to spread a word about us.

Vertical Shoots also has a regular stall at the Westhill Farmer’s Market. With the Covid-19 restrictions, it is not easy to get a space in all the farmer’s market. Hopefully, things will change and we can attend many more.

B: We also stock our greens in local shops to make our products accessible to the people of Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire. This will help us to spread our name within the local community even more.

What’s the process involved in producing them? And how are they distributed?

S: All our greens are grown hydroponically. The pair of us sow the seeds to start with and germinate them in a dark room for the first few days. Then, we transfer them under lights for a number of days and continuously monitored.

Each variety prefers a certain growing condition. During the growing process, we maintain the ideal temperature, humidity, sufficient air circulation and nutrition to get the optimum growth. At the end of the growing stage, we harvest on the day of the delivery, box and deliver to our customers.

By growing the greens closer to the end consumer, the customers can take advantage of a longer shelf life and freshest greens on their plate.

Can you explain a bit more for our readers about vertical farming?

S: Vertical farming is a method of farming where the greens are produced vertically in racks in a controlled environment. By this approach, larger quantities of produce can be grown in a small space.

The produce is grown hydroponically (roots suspended in water) or by aeroponics (roots suspended in a mist). We use hydroponics to grow our greens. Since the greens are grown indoors, light is provided to the plants through LED with a certain spectrum of light mostly containing blue and red. Nutrients for the growth of plants are supplied through the water.

B: By this method of farming, there can be a great saving in water consumption compared to traditional methods. With the controlled environment in place, crops which are not possible to be grown locally can be grown; for example, basil which requires warmer temperature. Vertical farming methods can be used to grow leafy greens, few types of fruits and flowers.

Vertical Shoots Urban Farms’ new indoor farm, where they grow their fresh produce.

© Supplied by Brindha Shayana

Why do you think the demand for microgreens is constantly on the rise?

S: The need for healthy nutritious food is increasing day by day. A lot of people are also looking towards a vegan diet. Microgreens tick all the boxes required for a healthy living.

Greens harvested in its early stages of growth are nutrient-dense compared to a mature green – they also taste and look great. We could also consume leaves of some of the vegetable crops such as cabbage, broccoli, radish etc. so there are so many varieties of microgreens, which can be consumed as a salad. This makes eating salads more interesting.

B: Additionally, microgreens can be grown indoors all-year-round and are not season dependent. So, it can be grown closer to the end consumer reducing food miles which ticks the box on sustainability.

Growing microgreens can also be a hobby which would interest many. This way people can get their hands on growing and enjoy the greens grown by themselves in their own space which could be exciting and satisfying.

Other than microgreens, do you grow anything else?

B: Offering microgreens is just a start at Vertical Shoots Urban Farms. We are working our way towards offering baby greens, mature greens and edible flowers. Hopefully, we will increase our range of products in the near future.

Over the past two years, what have been the main highlights of running Vertical Shoots?

S: You learn something new each day and it is always a treat to see these beautiful greens grow up. New ideas, experiments and DIYs on the farm keeps us thinking all the time. It gives a sense of satisfaction that we are working on something which is essential for our day-to-day living and trying to find innovative ways to grow crops closer to the end consumer for a sustainable future. This keeps us motivated to do more each day.

B: Two years ago, our experiments just started on our study table. Slowly the experiments got bigger and encroached into our living space and now we have built our own fully functional indoor vertical farm. Starting from scratch, we now grow about 15 varieties of micro salads and there are many more to be added on to the list.

You’re both clearly very passionate about the business, which is amazing to see. What are your upcoming plans?

S: Microgreens are something new for many in the local community as we rarely see these in the supermarkets. We have noticed many customers who come over to our stall at the farmer’s market really chuffed to see these micro salads as they couldn’t find them locally. On the flip side, we do come across people who don’t have any idea on microgreens but are really excited to try them out!

B: As a local urban farmer, we would like to get these healthy greens into as many homes as possible and see people consuming them in their daily food.

In addition to serving cafes, restaurants and bistros, we aim to have our produce in many more outlets and do more direct home deliveries to make it accessible to the local community. As a business, we always look to keep adding more products to our offering.

Visit Vertical Shoots Urban Farms on Facebook or Instagram to find out more information.

Top Tips to Growing Your Own Microgreens

There are loads of materials available online to guide you on how to grow each variety of microgreens.

The best way to learn is to try it yourself, so below are some tips provided by Brindha Shayana and Sathya Vasudevan of Vertical Shoots Urban Farms to get you started.

1. Microgreens are grown in two steps: Step 1 – germinating the seeds and Step 2 – propagating the seedlings under light (sunlight or LEDs). It is as simple as that.

2. Start simple. Look around your kitchen cupboard to see if you have any seeds which you use for your daily cooking. Seeds like mustards, fennel, coriander, fenugreek and many others used in cooking can be used to grow as microgreens. Although bear in mind that sometimes older seeds may not germinate well. If you are buying seeds, then make sure you buy the right seeds for microgreens which are not chemically treated and are suitable for consumption.

3. To grow microgreens, you need a medium. You could use kitchen towels as a start. Soak about three layers of the paper towels in water and sprinkle the seeds on top. Spray some water and then cover with a lid to maintain humidity. Keep it in the dark for three-to-four days. Check once a day to keep them moist.

4. Once the seeds have germinated, remove the lid and place them on the window sill. In the winter time when it is dark most days you could use a study lamp with a daylight LED bulb for lighting. Water them once a day and not let the medium dry out. Keep them well ventilated and maintain a room temperature about 20C (for cool crops).

5. Once the microgreens are about two inches tall with the first set of leaves well developed, they are good to harvest. Cut the greens just over the medium and enjoy them in your dishes. Most of the microgreens are ready within 10-14 days.

6. Keep it simple when you grow microgreens for the first time. If you fail on the first trial don’t worry, it takes a few trials to get the trick of growing. Once you get to know about the basics you could start experimenting with different mediums and a variety of seeds.

7. Finally, if you need any help with growing your microgreens, we are happy to help. Just message us on Instagram – @verticalshoots

Little Leaf Farms Raises $90M to Grow Its Greenhouse Network

by Jennifer Marston

Image from: Little Leaf Farms

Massachusetts-based Little Leaf Farms has raised $90 million in a debt and equity financing round to expand its network of hydroponic greenhouses on the East Coast. The round was led by Equilibrium Capital as well as founding investors Bill Helman and Pilot House Associates. Bank of America also participated.

Little Leaf Farms says the capital is “earmarked” to build new greenhouse sites along the East Coast, where its lettuce is currently available in about 2,500 stores. 

The company already operates one 10-acre greenhouse in Devins, Massachusetts. Its facility grows leafy greens using hydroponics and a mixture of sunlight supplemented by LED-powered grow lights. Rainwater captured from the facility’s roof provides most of the water used on the farm. 

According to a press release, Little Leaf Farms has doubled its retail sales to $38 million since 2019. And last year, the company bought180 acres of land in Pennsylvania on which to build an additional facility. Still another greenhouse, slated for North Carolina, will serve the Southeast region of the U.S. 

Little Leaf Farms joins the likes of Revol Greens, Gotham Greens, AppHarvest, and others in bringing local(ish) greens to a greater percentage of the population. These facilities generally pack and ship their greens on the day of or day after harvesting, and only supply retailers within a certain radius. Little Leaf Farms, for example, currently servers only parts of Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey. 

The list of regions the company serves will no doubt lengthen as the company builds up its greenhouse network in the coming months.

How This Vertical Farm Grows 80,000 Pounds of Produce per Week

Bowery Farming uses technology to prioritize accessibility and sustainability in their produce growing operations

To some, the pristine growing conditions and perceived mechanical interference of a vertical farm can seem unnatural, but at Bowery Farming “interference” is actually not the goal at all. “We don’t really think about how people are involved in the growing process, but how to take people out of the growing process” says chief science officer Henry Sztul. “Our goal is actually to have as few people walking around our plants as possible.”

Bowery Farming is a network of vertical farms working to reengineer the growing process. Using a system of light and watering technology, Bowery is able to use 95 percent less water than a traditional outdoor farm, zero pesticides and chemicals, and grow food that tastes as good as anyone else’s. 

Bowery Farming uses vertical farm-specific seeds that are optimized for flavor instead of insect resistance and durability. Seeds are mechanically pressed into trays of soil, and sent out into growing positions, or racks within the building that have their own lighting and watering systems. Each tray gets its own QR code so that they can be monitored and assigned a customized plan for water and light until they’re ready to be harvested.

Irving Fain, Bowery Farming’s founder and CEO contemplates the prediction from the United Nations that 70 to 80 percent of the world’s population will be living in and around cities in the next 30 years. “Figuring out ‘how do you feed and how do you provide fresh food to urban environments both more efficiently as well as more sustainably?’ is a very important question today, and an even more important question in the years to come.”

Bringing The Future To life In Abu Dhabi

Amid the deserts of Abu Dhabi, a new wave of entrepreneurs and innovators are sowing the seeds of a more sustainable future.

Image from: Wired

A cluster of shipping containers in a city centre is about the last place you’d expect to find salad growing. Yet for the past year, vertical farming startup Madar Farms has been using this site in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, to grow leafy green vegetables using 95 per cent less water than traditional agriculture. 

Madar Farms is one of a number of agtech startups benefitting from a package of incentives from the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) aimed at spurring the development of innovative solutions for sustainable desert farming. The partnership is part of ADIO’s $545 million Innovation Programme dedicated to supporting companies in high-growth areas.

“Abu Dhabi is pressing ahead with our mission to ‘turn the desert green’,” explained H.E. Dr. Tariq Bin Hendi, Director General of ADIO, in November 2020. “We have created an environment where innovative ideas can flourish and the companies we partnered with earlier this year are already propelling the growth of Abu Dhabi’s 24,000 farms.”

The pandemic has made food supply a critical concern across the entire world, combined with the effects of population growth and climate change, which are stretching the capacity of less efficient traditional farming methods. Abu Dhabi’s pioneering efforts to drive agricultural innovation have been gathering pace and look set to produce cutting-edge solutions addressing food security challenges.

Beyond work supporting the application of novel agricultural technologies, Abu Dhabi is also investing in foundational research and development to tackle this growing problem. 

In December, the emirate’s recently created Advanced Technology Research Council [ATRC], responsible for defining Abu Dhabi’s R&D strategy and establishing the emirate and the wider UAE as a desired home for advanced technology talent, announced a four-year competition with a $15 million prize for food security research. Launched through ATRC’s project management arm, ASPIRE, in partnership with the XPRIZE Foundation, the award will support the development of environmentally-friendly protein alternatives with the aim to "feed the next billion".

Image from: Madar Farms

Global Challenges, Local Solutions

Food security is far from the only global challenge on the emirate’s R&D menu. In November 2020, the ATRC announced the launch of the Technology Innovation Institute (TII), created to support applied research on the key priorities of quantum research, autonomous robotics, cryptography, advanced materials, digital security, directed energy and secure systems.

“The technologies under development at TII are not randomly selected,” explains the centre’s secretary general Faisal Al Bannai. “This research will complement fields that are of national importance. Quantum technologies and cryptography are crucial for protecting critical infrastructure, for example, while directed energy research has use-cases in healthcare. But beyond this, the technologies and research of TII will have global impact.”

Future research directions will be developed by the ATRC’s ASPIRE pillar, in collaboration with stakeholders from across a diverse range of industry sectors.

“ASPIRE defines the problem, sets milestones, and monitors the progress of the projects,” Al Bannai says. “It will also make impactful decisions related to the selection of research partners and the allocation of funding, to ensure that their R&D priorities align with Abu Dhabi and the UAE's broader development goals.”

Image from: Agritecture

Nurturing Next-Generation Talent

To address these challenges, ATRC’s first initiative is a talent development programme, NexTech, which has begun the recruitment of 125 local researchers, who will work across 31 projects in collaboration with 23 world-leading research centres.

Alongside universities and research institutes from across the US, the UK, Europe and South America, these partners include Abu Dhabi’s own Khalifa University, and Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, the world’s first graduate-level institute focused on artificial intelligence. 

“Our aim is to up skill the researchers by allowing them to work across various disciplines in collaboration with world-renowned experts,” Al Bannai says. 

Beyond academic collaborators, TII is also working with a number of industry partners, such as hyperloop technology company, Virgin Hyperloop. Such industry collaborations, Al Bannai points out, are essential to ensuring that TII research directly tackles relevant problems and has a smooth path to commercial impact in order to fuel job creation across the UAE.

“By engaging with top global talent, universities and research institutions and industry players, TII connects an intellectual community,” he says. “This reinforces Abu Dhabi and the UAE’s status as a global hub for innovation and contributes to the broader development of the knowledge-based economy.”

UNFI Picks Up Living Greens Farm Products in Midwest Expansion

I|mage from: Living Green Farms

Living Greens Farm (LGF), the largest vertical, indoor aeroponic farm in the US that provides year-round fresh salads, salad kits, microgreens and herbs, announced the addition of significant new retail distribution of its products in the upper Midwest to independent, specialty, and co-op retailers.

Starting February 2021, LGF’s full line of products featuring ready-to-eat bagged salad products (Caesar Salad Kit, Southwest Salad Kit, Harvest Salad Kit, Chopped Romaine, and Chopped Butter Lettuce) will be carried by UNFI Produce Prescott (formerly Alberts Fresh Produce). UNFI Produce Prescott is a division of UNFI, which distributes food products to thousands of stores nationwide. Their focus is on independent, specialty and co-op retailers.

UNFI has eight warehouses nationwide. LGF’s products will be carried by their upper Midwest location, located just across the river from the Twin Cities in Prescott, WI. This distribution center services hundreds of retailers throughout Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, North Dakota, South Dakota, Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska. UNFI is the first national Certified Organic distributor, something they take a lot of pride in. Their produce and floral businesses are rooted in local farms and seasonal import growers.

LGF’s proprietary vertical indoor farming method yields the highest quality and freshest produce available. This is because there are no pesticides or chemicals used in the growing process. And because LGF’s growing, cleaning and bagging process significantly reduces handling and time to the retail shelf, consumers enjoy the freshest product on the market. These benefits continue to attract new users and new retail distribution as UNFI Produce Prescott is the second UNFI location to carry LGF. In December, UNFI’s Hopkins, MN location began offering LGF products.

For more information on why Living Greens Farm products are the cleanest, freshest and healthiest farm salads and greens available, go to www.livinggreensfarm.com.

Is AppHarvest the Future of Farming?

Special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, are red-hot right now, with investors clamoring to get into promising young companies.

In this video from Motley Fool Live, recorded on Jan. 28, Industry Focus host Nick Sciple and Motley Fool contributor Lou Whiteman discuss AppHarvest, one such SPAC that is looking to disrupt the agriculture industry. Here are the details on what AppHarvest wants to do, and a look at whether the company represents the future of farming.

Nick Sciple: One last company I wanted to talk about, Lou, and this is one I think it's -- you pay attention to, but not one I'm super excited to run in and buy. It was a company called AppHarvest. It's coming public via a [SPAC] this year. This vertical farming space. We talked about Gladstone Land buying traditional farmland. AppHarvest is taking a very different approach, trying to lean into some of the ESG-type movements.

Lou Whiteman: Yeah. Let's look at this. It probably wouldn't surprise you that the U.S. is the biggest global farm exporter as we said, but it might surprise you that the Netherlands, the tiny little country, is No. 2. The way they do that is tech: Greenhouse farm structure. AppHarvest has taken that model and brought it to the U.S. They have, I believe, three farms in Appalachia. The pitches can produce 30x the yields using 90% less water. Right now, it's mostly tomatoes and it is early-stage. I don't own this stock either. I love this idea. There's some reasons that I'm not buying in right now that we can get into. But this is fascinating to me. We talked about making the world a better place. This is the company that we need to be successful to make the world a better place. The warning on it is that it is a SPAC. So it's not public yet. Right now, I believe N-O-V-S. That deal should close soon. [Editor's note: The deal has since closed.] I'm not the only one excited about it. I tend not to like to buy IPOs and new companies anyway. I think the caution around buying into the excitement applies here. There is a Martha Stewart video on their website talking up the company, which I love Martha Stewart, but that's a hype level that makes me want to just watch and see what they produce. This is just three little farms in Appalachia right now and a great idea. This was all over my watchlist. I would imagine I would love to hold it at some point, but just be careful because this is, as we saw SPACs last year in other areas, people are very excited about this.

Sciple: Yeah. I think, like we've said, for a lot of these companies, the prospects are great. I think when you look at the reduced water usage, better, environmentally friendly, all those sorts of things. I like that they are in Appalachia. As someone who is from the South, I like it when more rural areas get some people actually investing money there. But again, there's a lot of execution between now and really getting to a place where this is the future of farming and they're going to reach scale and all those sorts of things. But this is a company I'm definitely going to have my radar on and pay attention to as they continue to report earnings. Because you can tell yourself a story about how this type of vertical farming, indoor farming disrupts this traditional model, can be more efficient, cleaner, etc. Something to continue paying attention to as we have more information, because this company, like you said, Lou, isn't all the way public yet. We still got to have this SPAC deal finalized and then we get all our fun SEC filings and quarterly calls and all those sorts of things. Once we have that, I will be very much looking forward to seeing what the company has to say.

Whiteman: Right. Just to finish up along too, the interesting thing here is that it is a proven concept because it has worked elsewhere. The downside of that is that it needed to work there. Netherlands just doesn't have -- and this is an expensive proposition to get started, to get going. There's potential there, but in a country blessed with almost seemingly unlimited farmland for now, for long term it makes sense. But in the short term, it could be a hard thing to really get up and running. I think you're right, just one to watch.

Advice For New Vertical Farmers: Grower Spotlight on Andrew Worrall

Last week we spoke about running a farm at LettUs Grow. What excites you about vertical farming? 

It’s the future of the industry. Also, the amount of salad that these farms can produce for their local community. We want to be able to eat salad all year round and we import to make that happen. However, just a small farm can easily provide for its local community, very efficiently and all year round. The sustainability element is also exciting: with our salad there’s no food miles, it’s very minimalistic. You could use an electric van or bike to distribute this crop if you wanted to. It’s a step forward in terms of what we need to do to take care of our planet. 

What do you think are the biggest downsides to vertical farming?

It’s still a new technology and it can be expensive. The biggest roadblock facing the industry is that we need more people and companies to collaborate together to make sure we can build these farms at a sensible rate, so we can provide farms to anyone. We want to be able to provide farms to people, communities and countries that don’t have a lot of money, so that they can provide affordable fresh produce to local people. 

How has vertical farming impacted your life?

Massively!  I wanted to find my passion, a job that I loved - that was very important to me. It’s satisfying to be in a position now where I’m very happy to be doing what I do and I look forward to going into work. I was happy to make the move from London to Bristol. I would have moved even further if it meant being able to continue working within this industry.

Image from: LettUs Grow

How do you see vertical farming playing a part in the future? 

When indoor farming first came about, it had a reputation of being competition for outdoor farming, which just isn’t the case. There’s so much we can’t grow that outdoor farming can provide, such as cereal crops. I’m glad we’re at a stage where indoor and outdoor farms can start to work together to optimise both methods. With these new relationships, there should be a good increase in the amount of indoor farms you’ll be seeing. What LettUs Grow offers with DROP & GROW™ is an exciting project because that’s a 40ft shipping container which can be placed pretty much anywhere. It’s not that big - it could go in a car park or behind a restaurant, but actually provide quite a lot of salad to that area. 

How much of our food should be grown this way? 

Good question. If you had asked me a while back I would have just said salad, but now I’ve changed my mind. Indoor farming can have a massive impact on propagation, especially aeroponics, because of how we aerate and nourish our roots. We could start lettuce for greenhouse projects and we can also propagate tomatoes, strawberries and tree whips. Propagating trees in this way could potentially be hugely beneficial and it’s something we want to do more of. 

We can also quickly grow large amounts of microgreens, baby leafs, herbs and we can grow fruiting crops like strawberries. We are slowly chipping away and it’s really exciting. I’m waiting to see if I can ever say I’ve grown or propagated every crop that can be grown in these farms! 

What do you think are the biggest benefits of vertical farming? 

How fast these crops can grow! The turnover can be as short as 5 days from seed, depending on the crop. Also how clean it can be - I’m very dedicated to making sure these farms are built to ensure they are easy to be maintained and clean. The most exciting part is the crop growth rate though - it’s incredible how fast our crop grows from seed to plate. In a very well maintained growing calendar, which Ostara® is great for supporting, you can optimise your beds so that the day you harvest can also be the day you germinate onto that same bed. Your farms can be forever providing salad at very fast rates. 

Image from: LettUs Grow

What was the biggest change you encountered during your years indoor farming?

Moving from being a production grower to an R&D grower. It has been a great change! As a production grower I knew what I needed to know about growing the plant safely and getting it onto a plate so it was good for the consumer. Now I’m fully optimising, learning and understanding the plants completely, so that I can help the grower that I used to be. We spend a lot of time on crop recipes to make sure that whoever we sell our farms to can start up very quickly and they won’t have to spend months developing their crops. If they have the customers and clients behind them, they can buy DROP & GROW and start producing salad as soon as it's been commissioned. 

What was the biggest change you encountered in the industry?

More and more people are speaking about what’s going on in the industry and getting involved. I get so many messages on LinkedIn with people who want to get into this career. It’s exciting to see that indoor growing is a career people can access now. When I was developing my skills I didn’t know I would end up in indoor farming. There are more opportunities than ever before. For example, our Crop Technician is doing a placement here for 2 years. The aim is that they can gain the skill sets and knowledge they need to then go off and do the same practice in any farm they want. 

What advice do you have for people who are looking to start a career in growing? 

Reach out to companies who are already out there. You could start off part-time or as an assistant. If you are patient and dedicated then it’s a journey I promise you won’t regret. It takes a lot of work, but the outcome is amazing - you’ll be learning so much about this new technology. You’ll also build great relationships: there are so many amazing people in this industry who are so interesting, with different backgrounds, who are willing to share their knowledge. You can always learn more and other people are a great source of that. 

What about for those looking to start a vertical farming business?

Do your homework.  There are people out there who you can reach out to and it’s very easy to get information. It’s very easy to get excited about the idea and jump straight into it, because it is exciting and can be very rewarding, but it’s really important to do it step by step. Know how to scale properly, learning the differences between a small and larger farm. Understand how many people you’ll need and the logistics. I’d also advise people to get some practical work experience before you buy. You want to start the company knowing the tricks of the trade. 

Image from: LettUs Grow

LettUs Grow Blog: www.lettusgrow.com/blog/advice-for-vertical-farmers

Nick Greens Explains The Importance of Food Safety While Growing Microgreens Indoors

CCEA 2019, is the place to commit, learn and apply the bases of controlled environment agriculture (CEA) for owners and operators of greenhouses and vertical farms, and was held in Panama City from November 06 to 08, 2019

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Video: Learn How To Use The Bluelab Pulse Meter To Measure Moisture on A 10 x 20 Tray of Microgreens.

Quickly and consistently measure moisture, nutrient (measured in conductivity) and temperature directly in the root zone without the need for pour-throughs, slurries or extractions.

Pulse connects directly to your smartphone via the Pulse app for automated data collection, measurement comparison, storage and exporting

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ANSWER THESE TOUGH QUESTIONS:

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Ohio: Hillel Day School Students Learn Across Curriculum With Microgreens

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MARCH 24, 2019

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Avi Gilbert (L) and Menachem Simon harvest microgreen crops at Hillel Academy Jewish day school, March 7. Photo: Marshall Weiss.

By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer

Hillel Academy Jewish day school, which champions a project-based approach to learning, has made indoor farmers of its fifth- and sixth-grade students.

With help from a registered dietitian nutritionist — and now from a hydroponic farming educational initiative in Israel — Hillel students began growing and harvesting microgreen crops in January.

Microgreens are edible herb and vegetable seedlings. According to a study at the University of Maryland published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, microgreens have up to 40 times more vital nutrients than mature plants.

“It’s crazy how this tiny little plant has so many nutrients,” says fifth grader Avi Gilbert as he harvests a crop of radish microgreens. “It’s really cool how we actually have a farm inside. There are a bunch of variables that are different from when it is outside.”

Dietitian and nutritionist Shari Jacobs, a parent of Hillel alumni, approached Hillel Curriculum/Instruction Director Dr. Kathy Mecoli with the idea for the farm because of Jacobs’ passion for promoting nutrition, pesticide-free growing, and eco-friendly agriculture, which reduces water use in farming.

“They’re learning science, they’re learning food safety, and nutrition,” Jacobs says.

With funding from Hillel families and alumni, a local farmer installed the school’s microgreen system and showed faculty and students how to get started.

Among their crops are arugula, kale, parsley, radish, mustard, and broccoli.

Through meticulous data collection, the students learn how to maximize their crop yields. And they’re figuring out how to learn from their mistakes.

Fifth grader Logan MacDonald recorded in his microgreens blog, “Some of the microgreens they have been growing recently started dying. The class brainstormed and realized the problem probably was because of saturation, microfiber wicks being cut into thirds, depth in the soil or the soil was too deep. The intermediate class decided to establish a clear step process of jobs to increase the likelihood of less plant death. The class decided to cut the microfiber wicks into halves instead of thirds to stop the problem.”

Mecoli says the school’s approach is to model how to learn.

“What we find is that because they’ve become such good thinkers, they can pretty much solve the problems once you set them in a certain direction,” she says.

“They’re going to be blogging a lot,” says Todd Brisco, Hillel’s instructor of integrated project-based learning. “They’re putting data on spreadsheets to see whether we’re keeping them in the blackout (germinating) period long enough. We don’t know: how long should we let them grow before we harvest, because we made a mistake of harvesting too soon.”

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Chaya Simon sprays trays of seeded soil before putting them into ‘blackout’ for germination. Photo: Marshall Weiss.

Once the students get the system down, Mecoli says, they’ll train the fourth graders, who will carry the project forward next year.

Now, Hillel’s fifth and sixth graders are sharing their data with students working on the same project in Jerusalem. Hillel is the first school affiliated with Israel’s Start Up Roots program outside of the Jewish state.

Robin Katz founded the non-profit Start Up Roots four years ago to bring hydroponic farming to a school for girls from impoverished Haredi families in Jerusalem. The girls also learn how to market their products to the student body.

“In one cycle,” Katz says, “It changed the handout mentality they had, to their hands out with something to give — so proud and excited.”

Katz adds that the school also hired a chef who taught the students what they could do with the vegetables, from drinks to appetizers to desserts.

“They started with a summer camp and then they ended up revamping the whole school lunch program,” Katz says.

In Israel, Start Up Roots is taught in three middle schools, about to enter a fourth, and recently received approval from Israel’s Ministry of Education, which will help it expand.

“Entrepreneurship, life skills, and nutrition: those aren’t taught in schools and that’s such a growing problem,” she says.

Katz reached out to Jacobs when Start Up Roots began to add microgreens at a school.

“We’re learning a lot from Shari,” Katz says. “She’s implementing in a very methodical way that will enable us to really understand how to improve it, how to replicate it, expand it in the most efficient way possible.”

Jacobs is now Start Up Roots’ American educational liaison; she and Katz aim to bring the program to other schools in America.

Hillel is connected to the Shaarei Tziyon school in the Neve Yaakov settlement neighborhood of Jerusalem.

“We’ve been emailing them about things we’re doing for the microgreens, our problems,” says Hillel fifth grader Yiyi Li Kudera.

The Hillel students email their Israeli counterparts in Hebrew, guided by Hillel’s Hebrew instructor, Rina Thau.

“Now there’s a back and forth,” Katz says. “And the kids hope that they’ll meet one day.”

Katz and Jacobs have also developed a Start Up Roots microgreen curriculum that melds science and Jewish values related to food justice, such as why there are blessings over food and the obligation to those in need.

“We did a project on world issues,” says DeLaine Niesley, who teaches Hillel’s fifth and sixth graders reading and writing. “We’re finding out conditions that cause poverty, including what’s here in Dayton. Because there’s this assumption that we’re America: we don’t have that here.”

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Radish microgreens grown at Hillel Academy. Photo: Chaya Simon.

“There are so many parts to it,” Mecoli says of the program. “Each day at lunch, the children put out microgreens on a tray and they go around and give everybody microgreens if they want them with their lunch.

“The little kids see it as cool because the older kids are doing this. I don’t even say anymore, ‘Go get the microgreens.’ They come to me and say, ‘Can we get the microgreens?’ So there’s a lot of independence and a lot of ownership with it.”

Once the students have mastered the science of growing their microgreen crops most efficiently and effectively, Hillel plans to bring its produce to market.

Mecoli says they’ll learn the cost to produce them, the profit, and entrepreneurship.

“Bernstein’s Fine Catering, they are committed to buying them from us to use as garnishes,” Mecoli says. “We’ll engage markets that could buy some from us every week.”

For now, they’re starting small. At Purim, the school was sending shalach manot gift packages to its Life & Legacy donors.

“We’re coming up with a little tower with three boxes of one-ounce of microgreens, and then we’re going to have crackers and hummus in one, and (parent) Rochel Simon is going to bake hamantashen that are more savory, with the microgreens in them, and then we’ve created a little card that says thank you for supporting Hillel,” Mecoli says.

For Passover, the school hopes to have parsley available for order.

TAGS: Hillel Academy of Greater Dayton Kathy Mecoli Robin Katz Shari Jacobs Start Up Roots

How-To: Microgreen Growing

Posted by Nick Greens Horticulturist/Consultant on 11/13/2018

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Are you interested in growing microgreens indoor year round, or for the winter months? Today’s blog will help you make the right decisions while growing healthy and nutritional microgreens. Microgreens are most commonly harvested from leafy greens such as kale, arugula, radish greens and herbs. The taste of microgreens depends on the original vegetable. Microgreens have a very strong and concentrated taste of the original vegetable. This means that cilantro microgreens will still taste of cilantro, but with a stronger taste and condensed format.

Here are your instructions:

1. Get a 10 x 20 tray or container. 10 x 20 trays are the best, but my personal favorite are those clear plastic salad containers with a lid. It’s a little harder to harvest, and you may not get ideal air flow, but the lids are nice for keeping the seeds moist while in the germination stage.

2. Get a growing medium such as bio strate, burlap or soil. Pre-moisten your growing medium by soaking in a 5 gallon bucket or a big bowl. Keep the medium soaking for a couple of hours.

3. Place the growing medium in the tray and make sure to flatten the medium with your hands.

4. Sprinkle seeds over the top of the medium. Don’t worry about spacing. You’ll be harvesting so soon that a nice little carpet is what you’re going for. For best results use a spice shaker to spread the seeds evenly.

5. Spray your seeds with a spray bottle or water lightly and then spray the inside of your humidity dome. Cover your tray with the humidity dome and place in a dark location. Covering the tray helps keeps in the moisture, and the darkness helps the seeds to germinate.

6. Remove cover after seeds sprout, which should take a few days. Remove the cover and place in front of a sunny window sill.

7. Carefully water your microgreens. The best option is to bottom water, which is setting your tray with drainage holes in a sink of water and letting the microgreens soak it up. If you top water, be careful not to flatten the tiny greens.

8.  Cut your microgreens with a sharp knife, most are delicious after they develop their second set of leaves, and are about 2 inches tall.

9. Eat your microgreens! You can eat them on sandwiches, in stir fry, on pizza, in green smoothies, in salads, or as a garnish or other ingredient.

These are simple and easy instructions for growing microgreens year-round. Microgreens can be a refreshing addition to your food in winter months when fresh produce isn’t always as available as it might be in the summer. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to reach out.

Category: microgreens

The Micro Revolution: Growing Hydroponic Microgreens

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Lynette Morgan

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Takeaway: Succulent, slender but packing a powerful flavor punch, microgreens are increasing in popularity both on our plates and as a profitable hydroponic crop with just five days from seed to harvest for some species.

Succulent, slender but packing a powerful flavor punch, microgreens are increasing in popularity both on our plates and as a profitable hydroponic crop. While they may seem tender and delicate, most microgreens are easy to germinate and with just five days from seed to harvest for many quick-growing species, even the most impatient grower will be satisfied with the results.

Microgreens are also ideal for those with a limited indoor growing space – as little as a few square inches can grow a crop packed with the distinctive flavor of the mature plant but in a small, compact and highly nutritious package.

On a slightly larger scale, microgreens make a profitable commercial crop, well-suited to soilless production methods, hydroponic nutrition and a protected growing environment to give a high-quality, clean and grit-free product.

What are Microgreens?

Microgreens originated in California, where innovative chefs started using them in new dishes to incorporate color, flavor, texture and interest, a trend that rapidly spread worldwide. Microgreens are used as toppings, garnishes, flavorings in salads and features in many up-market dishes and are sold as a high-value product in produce stores and supermarkets.

Microgreens are larger than a sprout but smaller than a baby salad leaf and will usually have produced at least two true leaves after expansion of the seedling leaves or cotyledons. Because they are harvested at such an immature stage, seed is sown at a high density to maximize yields from each crop.

This also allows the developing seedlings to grow tall and straight with a tender, almost blanched stem and bright, well-developed leaves. While a diverse range of plant species are grown as microgreens, some are produced specifically for their healthy compounds and properties and these have found a niche market within the health food industry as well as being popular with home gardeners.

The most well-known of these is wheatgrass, which has been grown for many years as a health supplement. Other species such as flax, chia, broccoli and varieties of red brassica also have health compounds of interest. The darkly colored purple and red varieties of radish microgreens, which produce intensely colored young leaves, contain high levels of antioxidants shown to have cancer-fighting properties.

Commonly Grown Microgreens

Microgreens fall into four main categories. Shoots and tendrils such as pea, sunflower and corn shoots, are often used as garnishes, although they all have their own mild and somewhat surprising flavor. Spicy greens include arugula, radish, cress and mustards.

Micro herbs include those used not only as garnishes, but also for their characteristic flavor such as parsley, fennel, edible chrysanthemums, cilantro, basil, French sorrel, mint, dill, chives, onion and shisho (perilla).

Tender greens are highly diverse in flavor, leaf size, shape and color, and include red cabbage, broccoli, spinach, beet (red), tatsoi, mitzuna, amaranth, chard, kale, corn salad, endive, chicory, celery, carrot and lettuce.

Hydroponic Production of Microgreens

Hydroponic microgreens have a distinct advantage over those grown in trays of substrates or soil mixes in that no granular growing medium needs to be used. The high sowing rate and density of microgreens means small particles of substrate can end up in the foliage and since microgreens are not usually washed after harvest, this poses a risk of crunchy grit ending up in the final dish.

For this reason, hydroponic microgreens are best produced on a thin mat or capillary pad that holds the seed in place and retains some moisture for germination. Paper towel, hessian/burlap sheets, rockwool cubes or sheets, thin kitchen cloth and hydroponic microgreen pads can all be used to grow a clean, high-quality crop with little expense.

Seeds that have been specifically produced and packaged for sprout or microgreen production should be obtained, which means the seed will have a low percentage of foreign matter, will not have been treated with fungicides or other chemicals and will have been well cleaned.

This is particularly important when buying seeds for pea, corn or spinach microgreens, as the seeds from these species are often coated with fungicide. Seed companies have also introduced a range of specific microgreen cultivars that are a great improvement on standard varieties.

Many of these feature intensely colored or modified first leaves, such as some of the radish microgreen species and those grown for pea shoots. Some microgreen varieties have seeds that are mucilaginous, meaning that once wetted, the seed forms a thick, gelatine-like layer that holds moisture.

Cress and basil are examples of mucilaginous seed and these seed types should not be pre-soaked before sowing. Larger seeds such as wheatgrass, corn and peas may be pre-soaked in warm water for 24 hours before sowing, although this step is not essential.

Hydroponic systems for microgreens can be as simple as a small, flat, hand-watered kitchen tray or as complex as an aeroponic or nutrient film technique system. Ideally, the growing system needs to have a flat, slightly sloping surface onto which the growing mat/pad paper or cloth can be laid out and wetted down.

The microgreen seed should then be weighed out and sown onto the wetted surface as evenly as possible. Use of seed shakers assists with this process. The correct seeding density depends somewhat on the species being grown.

As soon as the seeds germinate, microgreens require light and nutrients to produce the highest quality product. Artificial lighting doesn’t need to be intense and these young seedlings produce well under propagation lamps provided the lamps don’t produce too much heat, which may burn the tender young foliage.

Once the cotyledons (seedling leaves) are visible and are starting to develop chlorophyll, the seedling will have exhausted the reserves contained in the seed. At this stage, the young plant is starting to photosynthesize and produce its own assimilate and nutrient ions will be absorbed by the root system.

A general purpose vegetative or seedling nutrient formulation is usually sufficient for microgreen production, but wheatgrass has different nutritional requirements, including a higher EC level, for maximum harvest quality. EC levels are typically run at seedling strength for microgreens (0.5 – 1.0 mS cm -1), although they may be adjusted for season in a similar way to lettuce and herb crops.

There is some scope to manipulate growth of microgreens with use of EC – higher EC can be used to boost color development in red types during low winter light if necessary. Control of EC will also affect the shelf life of cut microgreens. Seedlings grown on dilute solutions or in media with a high water-holding capacity can develop softer tissue and a higher rate of water loss post-harvest than those that have received a higher EC and been slightly more hardened.

Nutrient solution needs to be applied regularly and carefully to developing microgreens to avoid flooding the microgreens and wetting the foliage, which encourages fungal diseases, and also to make sure fresh nutrient solution is flushed through the root zone, oxygenating and feeding the seedlings.

Most hydroponic systems used for microgreens don’t use a continual flow of nutrient solution, but intermittent application, followed by a period of drainage with the growing mat/pad or substrate holding sufficient moisture around the roots between waterings.

Food Safety and Hygiene Considerations

Just as with sprout production, there are food safety requirements for microgreen production. Various fungal pathogens can develop and grow on sprouting seeds, particularly under the humid conditions and high densities microgreens are grown at, and these can pose a contamination risk. Generally, high-quality, viable seed, sown into a clean system at the correct temperature for germination and optimal moisture levels, will germinate rapidly with few problems.

Disease outbreaks are more common when old seeds are used or when temperatures are either too hot or cold for rapid germination. Over-watering also poses a risk as seeds may begin to rot before germination can occur. The water supply needs to be high quality – water can carry human and plant pathogens that contaminate a crop, although the municipal water supply is treated to prevent this risk.

There is an increasing concern and more regulations these days relating to food safety so commercial growers of microgreens need to be aware of the guidelines they must follow for fresh salad crops.

Harvesting Microgreens

Cutting height is important, as high-quality microgreens need a good, clean portion of stem below the leaves, but should not be cut so low as to risk contamination with the growing media or material the seeds were sown into.

This becomes particularly important if a light, loose, granular media has been used for production, as particles can easily be picked up during the harvesting process and contaminate the product. Clean, sharp scissors are suitable for cutting microgreens on a small scale, while larger growers use mechanical harvesters.

During warm growing weather, microgreens, just as with herbs and lettuce, are best harvested early in the day when the foliage is coolest and most turgid. This will prolong the shelf life of the packaged product. Some microgreens are shipped out to customers while still growing in trays or cells, prolonging shelf life and allowing on site harvesting as required.

Problems with Microgreens

One of the most common problems seen in microgreen production is seedling rot and disease outbreaks caused by over-watering or high humidity levels, which create a saturated environment around the foliage.

Good levels of air movement (such as portable fans in small areas) help prevent issues of root rot, fungal and bacterial pathogens taking hold in the dense canopy of succulent young leaves. Over-mature microgreens may become too tall and flop over, making harvesting extremely difficult, so this is a crop that must be cut at just the right stage.

For the small-scale indoor gardener, microgreens are an ideal crop – fast, productive and requiring just a few inches of well-lit space, they can be easily grown on a warm, sunny windowsill, or incorporated into a high-tech hydroponic system. Their short shelf life makes them a good prospect for local markets and restaurants, as they are best used fresh within two or three days of harvest.

Although there is a degree of skill required in growing these seedlings at high densities and maintaining post-harvest quality, the wide range of species, diversity of uses and growing popularity makes them a great proposition for hydroponic growers.

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Written by Lynette Morgan

Dr. Lynette Morgan holds a B. Hort. Tech. degree and a PhD in hydroponic greenhouse production from Massey University, New Zealand. Lynette is a partner with Suntec International Hydroponic Consultants and has authored several hydroponic technical books. Visit suntec.co.nz for more information.  Full Bio

Different Types of Microgreens Seeds

Different Types of Microgreens Seeds

June 12, 2018

 This blog will highlight a range of microgreens seeds that can be grown indoors. There are many varieties that can be experimented with. While there are a few different methods used to grow microgreens, our experience is with using high-quality microgreens pad.

Brassicaceae family

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(Cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, watercress, radish, and arugula)

Arugula

Growing Advice

* Can germinate in temperatures as low as 45 degrees F.

* Easy and fast crop to grow.

* Seeds are relatively cheap.

* Make sure you use the right amount of seeds.

Harvesting Advice

* Normally quick and simple to harvest.

* Shortage of air flow makes this crop vulnerable to rot.

Asteraceae family

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(Lettuce, endive, chicory and radicchio)

Endive

Growing Advice

* Germinate and grow in cold conditions.

* Over seeding can lead to stunted growth

* pH sensitive, so please keep it under 7.

Harvesting Advice

* Due to how close endive grows to the medium, use a microgreens   pad.

* Endive doesn't produce a long stem like other seedlings but instead stays short and wide, so you'll want to harvest close to the microgreens pad.

Apiaceae family 

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(Dill, carrot, fennel and celery)

Celery

Growing Advice

* Keep celery in consistent temperatures.

* Celery is a slow grower. It can be slow to germinate and slow to mature.
* Because of it's small cotyledons  it is a crop you will definitely want to grow to its true leaf stage.

* A intricate crop, celery can be easily stunted. Optimal conditions are compromised, it can turn yellow and stop growing.

* pH sensitive, so please keep it under 7.

Harvesting Advice

* Harvest close to the medium.

* Celery micros are compact and extremely lightweight.

* Harvest below the cotyledons to make sure you are cutting the entire seedling with its true leaf.

 Amaryllidaceae family

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(Garlic, onion, leek)

Leek

Growing Advice

* Rinse your seeds to remove dust or debris.

* Soak your seeds for 8-12 hrs. before germination.

Harvesting Advice

* Harvest them close to medium.

* Transfer the microgreens to a plastic bag or clam shell before refrigeration.

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Amaranthaceae family

(Amaranth, quinoa swiss chard, beet and spinach)

Amaranth

Growing Advice

* Keep celery in constant temperatures.

* You can harvest it at the cotyledon stage or allow it to mature and grow true leaves for a different texture.

* Amaranth is a summer crop and prefers the heat, avoid growing it in the winter months.

* Grown as a grain in dry climates, amaranth doesn't like constant soil saturation.

Harvesting Advice

* Harvest close to medium.

* Amaranth is very lightweight and is generally used solely as a slash of color rather than adding to the weight of a mix.

Cucurbitaceae family

(Melon, cucumber, and squash)

Melon

Growing Advice

* Keep medium between 80-90 degrees F.

* Once seed germinate, lower medium temp.

Harvesting Advice

* Harvest close to medium

* Transfer the microgreens to a plastic bag or clamshell before refrigeration.

Cereals such as rice, oats, wheat, corn, and barley, as well as legumes like chickpeas, beans and lentils, are also sometimes grown into microgreens.

If you enjoyed this, you might also enjoy these post:

"Basic microgreens materials" "Growing microgreens at home"

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Basic Microgreens Materials

Basic Microgreens Materials

June 5, 2018

Growing microgreens requires only a few materials. A bit of these things you might have laying around the house, although others will be just a small investment. We started our microgreens business with a 100 dollar bill.

Seeds

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High-quality seeds are a very important part of growing microgreens. Factors that will affect the growth of your seeds are storage, seed source, handling, and age of seeds. If you would sow a thousand seeds, the difference between a 95 - percent germination rate and a 50 - percent germination rate is quite visible. It can be disappointing to have gone through the hard work of sowing and caring for your microgreens trays only to see a small percentage of your seeds sprouting up. When it comes to storing and handling your seeds, you will want to store them in a cool and dry location.  Keep away from great fluctuation in temperature and humidity. During hot, muggy summer days, be careful not to leave them in the sun or let them get caught in a summer rainfall. Accurately caring for your seeds will maintain their viability for a long period of time. Your seed packages offer you valuable information such as lot number, seed variety, germination rate, germination test date, and age of seeds. Unless kept in a special environment, your seeds will last two to five years depending on a variety of vegetable. The amount of time your seeds will stay viable depends on whether you keep them stored in proper conditions.

With access to the wild wild web, you have hundreds of seed companies at your fingertips. For the purpose of growing microgreens, you are looking for seed companies selling in bulk. When trying a new seed company, start with a small quantity of seed. If you ask nicely, many companies will mail you out samples. When you have found the varieties you like, you probably want to move up to buying one pound bags. If you notice yourself using seed quickly,

most companies offer discounts at 5 to 10-pound bags. Seed quality also play a role after your seeds have come up. We have grown arugula that had great germination but had terrible-looking cotyledons. We have had purple radish, which is normally a purple stem microgreen, comes up with white stems.

Trays

We find that heavy duty 10 x 20-inch black plastic trays work the best. These trays are often available at hydroponic stores selling gardening supplies for around $2.50 per tray. Whether you decide to use the 10 x 20 or 10 x 10 black trays, proper drainage is very important. Although often overlooked, drainage is one of the keys for a plant to thrive. While being very important in the garden, it's even more important in your trays. If you are buying or collecting plastic trays, they will probably already have holes cut in the bottom. If you're making your own trays, be sure to create slits or holes to allow excess water to flow through. If there is a lack of drainage, you will find stunted growth, rot, and mold in your microgreens.

Soil

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The core of any indoor or outdoor farm is its soil, and microgreens are no exception. Choosing the proper soil to grow your microgreens in is vital. A rich, fertile soil is filled with biological and mineral interactions necessary for vibrant, nutrient rich plants. During the beginning of our first rounds of growing microgreens, we used several brands of potting soil, looking for the ultimate one. Throughout these trials we were overwhelm to see the differences between them. The soil that stood out the most in both quality and performance had additional ingredients derived from the ocean such as kelp, crab meal, and shrimp meal. Using a high quality soil, you will enjoy strong, even growth and an increase in yield. While yield per tray is less important for the home grower, a commercial grower must pay close a attention to this detail. The cost of higher quality soil is often absorbed by the yields you will reap from your trays. We recommend Ocean Forrest for growing microgreens commercially or at home.

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Humidity Dome

If you don't have a greenhouse to grow in, you will need to invest in or invent humidity dome to cover your trays. This creates a mini-greenhouse effect and keeps temperature and moisture at a more consistent state than if your germinating seeds were exposed to open air. This is especially important in dry climates or in seasons when there is a larger fluctuation between the night and day temperatures. If humidity domes are not used, you may find your seed germination is greatly reduced, uneven, and much slower than covered trays. Any local hydroponic store should carry them. The average price seems to be around $4.00.

Water Sprayer

If you have a small garden or houseplants, you may already have some of the supplies you'll need to water your microgreens. Make sure you can adjust the sprayer head. Out of all the settings provided on your sprayer, a medium shower has been the most effective. If you are going to be grown indoors, you'll need a watering can. Make sure it has an attachment that allows the water to sprinkle out rather than pour out in one stream. Since you are growing the microgreens so densely, air circulation is very important. You don't want to water them so hard that they fall and mat. If this happens, the lack of air and excess water will cause them to rot. If you find that your microgreens have fallen, you can try gently brushing them upright with your hand. The key to good watering is to be gentle while watering.

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Harvesting Microgreens

Harvesting Microgreens

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May 15, 2018

How microgreens is treated during harvest will play an important role in how fast it starts losing nutritional value. No matter what the variety, as soon as a microgreen is harvested it starts to degrade. The more the cellular structure of the plant is damaged during this process, the faster the loss of nutrients. To keep its nutritional integrity, one should put as little stress on the plant during the harvesting process.

Microgreens should be harvested in the coolest part of the day and quickly put into refrigeration. You can see why the scale is so important here. The bigger the farm, the less attention is paid to each variety and the ideal harvesting conditions it requires. Quality of produce is often replaced by the vast quantities needed to be harvested. The small farmer is able to skillfully harvest each microgreens tray, keeping as much of its nutrition intact as possible.

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After microgreens have been harvested, they go through the packing and transportation stage. During this process, the temperature at which the produce is being held determines the speed in which it loses its nutrients. Evidence of this is shown by Penn State researchers Luke Laborde and Srilatha Pandrangi. Their testing was on the speed of nutrient loss in spinach after harvest. It showed that the warmer spinach is held, the quicker it loses its nutritional value. Their research showed that even when held at a steady 39 degrees F (refrigeration temperatures), most of its nutrients were lost after eight days.

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Based on this research, much of the microgreens available to us has already lost the majority of its nutritional value. This especially true when we are looking at perishable greens. Even on the west coast, where much of the country's produce is grown, the majority of the microgreens sold in stores are already several days old. When you look at the extra time it takes to ship all over the country, you can start seeing why local food is so important. The average time that it takes our produce to get from the fields into our homes has increased in the last century as our farms have become fewer and farther away. Not only does this affect the nutritional content of the produce available to us but it also has a substantial environmental impact with the fossil fuel consumption it requires.

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Urban Growing Tips

Urban Growing Tips

April 27, 2018

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Microgreens have become "the thing" to grow while urban growing. There's a ton of secrets popping up everywhere. It most likely explains the big leap in interest among new growers under age 34. According to the 2016 National Gardening Survey conducted by the Harris Poll, an estimated 6 million Americans started growing last year.

We could classify the people who are under 34 and growing urban areas as Millenials, but that's not the goal of this article. New growers are commencing to grow because they want to see where their food comes from.

We went and spoke to an urban farmer that works with us. Alex told us this,  "there was nothing better than harvesting and using items that you produced yourself." We agree too!

Here are some tips that will make your life a lot easier. 

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While in the stage of germination, extreme heat or cold, often plays a factor in poor germination. It is easy to obtain good germination rates with temperatures ranging from 55 to 75 degrees F.

Due to variation from variety to variety, referring to your seed packet can be helpful, as this information is usually provided for you. If you are encountering any problems with the germination of your seeds, don't be discouraged. One advantage of growing a tray of microgreens, versus a field of lettuce, is your small investment of time, space, and energy. Simply start another tray, change any variables that you suspect are hindering the germination, growth and see what happens.

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Furthermore, rot is an issue that tends to happen more often than you think. There are two main reasons why rot can become a problem, The first is that your greens have too much moisture with too little sunlight. In the heat of the summer, we usually water once early in the morning and then again in the evening. This works well when conditions are hot and sunny. However, if a cold front were to move in for a few days, bringing clouds and temperatures in the 60s, watering this same way would quickly result in patches of rot setting into your trays.

With cooler, less sunny conditions, watering once in the morning would suffice. Problems with both over and under watering are your best access to learning what each crop prefers. You have to take time to notice the conditions your greens thrive in and play with the variables, Another possible reason for rot in your trays is quality of water that you are using tap water usually contains chlorine, which microgreens hate. This is easily remedied with most drinking water filters. The pH of your water being excessively high or low is another factor to be aware of.

Nutrients that would normally be accessible to your greens get locked up and become unavailable. There is a bit of a range of pH preference in the common microgreens varieties, but most like a pH of around 6.5. Testing is easy once you acquire the proper equipment. The pH monitors range from liquid solutions to portable digital units. Keeping your pH in check can solve many problems. Not only will you notice stronger growth and increased yields, but most importantly, you will have healthier microgreens that are less susceptible to rot and disease.

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Facts About The Microgreens Grow System

Facts About The Microgreens Grow System

February 20, 2018

How’d you like to learn facts about microgreens grow system built out of plastic and metal, it runs on a  couple of small water pumps and a timer.

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The microgreens grow system utilizing complete bio-hydroponic nutrients, plant-based growing media, and virtually no pest control (10-day growth cycles eliminate most pest problems). The system is comprised of PVC grow ‘channels’ arranged on the steel frame or ‘rack’. Each shelf is four or five channels wide by eight channels high. This vertical, stacked system makes the most efficient use of your indoor space, increasing your production capacity over traditional microgreens, growers using soil-filled trays on benches.

Microgreens are grown on a plant-based mat to hold the seeds in place and keep them from washing away before they germinate. Made of all natural untreated materials, the mat is placed inside the channel, acting as a root anchor for the plants while distributing the nutrient solution evenly to the plants and retaining the moisture between feeding cycles.

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The feeding is accomplished through a plumbing system of feed lines and PVC running from the nutrient tank up to each channel to the microgreens. Microvalves(4) are located on each channel so that flow can be adjusted and feeding can be adjusted at the front of each channel. The nutrient solution drains via gravity from the top feed end of the channel down to the bottom drain end of the channel, then is recirculated back to the nutrient tank, creating a closed system. This reduces waste and keeps the environment unadulterated from runoff. The nutrient tank is emptied 4 times a year for cleaning and remixing fresh nutrients. The nutrient levels are maintained by the grower between cleanings by adding water, nutrient and pH adjustment materials to the tank as needed. More details on this process are going to be discussed in a later post.

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Traditional microgreens growers using soil-filled trays harvest their crops by hand using scissors to manually cut a handful at a time. They then place the harvested greens into a tub, rinse away the excess dirt or other grow media (perlite or peat), and finally dry the microgreens. This method is incredibly laborious.

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Top 4 common Soil Types

Top 4 common Soil Types

January 29, 2018

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The next time your stuck on a growing question, open up our blog post, and you'll be well on your way to becoming a master grower. 

Introduction

To find out the difference among clay, sand and silts, humus, and loam soils; look broader into types. Three basic particles: sand, silt or clay compose all soils. Vast size variations among these particles affect the properties of your indoor garden. Coarse and largest, sand particles are clearly seen and felt in your hand. Smaller silt particles have smooth, flour-like texture. smallest of all, clay particles can be seen through a microscope. The amounts of these different particles determine whether your soil type is primarily clay, sand or loam.

Clay

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Clay is stiff, fine grained earth consisting of hydrated aluminosilicates that become flexible when water is added. Clay is commonly mixed with other soil types to create a medium suitable for lettuce.

Top 10 plants that love to grow in clay:

Broccoli - Brussels Sprouts - Cabbage (red & green) - Cabbage (Napa & Savoy) Cauliflower - Kale - Bean - Pea - Potato - Radish

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                                                      Humus

Humus is the organic constituent of soil, formed by the decomposition of plant materials, and can be bought in bags at local gardening stores. Most of these products claim to be free of bugs and other living matter, but sometimes this is not 100% true. Don't be surprised if you find a worm or green fly in the package. Humus is also sometimes known as compost, but compost is the final mixture of manure, loam soil, and some other media, with added organic matter. Humus is that added organic matter. Humus mixing is a step towards a more natural soil when mixed with clay, and sand and silts.

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Sand and silts

Sand soils can be pure sand or a mixture of sand soil. The problem with sandy soil is that it drains water and minerals out too fast. It is a very dry soil and is not suitable for the lettuce grower's needs on its own. Silt soils are nearly the same as sand soils, expect they have a consistency more like clay and darker in colors. Silts hold nutrients well but do not hold water very well. Like sands, they are prone to quick drainage. Like we said, sands and silts are rarly used on their own to grow lettuce and mostly mixed with other types. Its important to know about them and how they are used.

                                                                          Loam

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Loam tends to be a mix of all of the above. The composition of the mix should be stated on the bag. In fact, in most cases, normal soil purchased in shops has humus, sand, silt, and clay already mixed in. When you buy a bag of soil it is nearly always going to be a loam. Loam is a very fertile soil and for control over the ratios you can even mix your own loam soils.

Loam is soil that contains: 

less than 52% sand 

28-50% silt

7-27% clay

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