Teeny Greenie Farming: Local Farmer Producing Nutrient-filled Microgreens
by Kathryn Daniel
July 21, 2018
ALLENTOWN, Fla. (WEAR) — Virginia Bates raises about a dozen crops. She listed off just a few for us, "Radish, broccoli, kale, bok choy, arugula."
Her dozen or so varieties aren't grown in fields or even a greenhouse, but in a small, insulated "grow" shed.
Bates laughed, "This is the type of farming that anybody can do. I think that's what appealed to me, you can farm in heels if you want."
Bates plants and harvests every week and loves her work.
"My goal is to get people to think about what they put in their bodies," she explained.
She grows "microgreens". Research shows that the first leaves of a plant have up to 40 times the nutrients of a full grown vegetable.
She elaborated, "A handful of broccoli microgreens is like eating a pound and a half of mature broccoli. That's crazy."
Once a vegetable reaches "adult" status, its nutrients are spread throughout the entire item. Bates said with micro greens, all of that goodness is condensed into the first, tender shoots.
Bates calls her product "Super Teenie Greenies." She harvests between every seven to ten days to get the maximum nutritional punch.
Bates detailed that anytime a crop is grown without soil, it's done so hydroponically. The medium she grows in only looks like dirt.
"It is organic ground coconut husks," she revealed.
Bates supplies several local restaurants and Ever'man Cooperative Grocery weekly. She and her assistant, Jewel Owens, set up shop at the Palafox Market every Saturday.
Jewel's favorite variety is the kale and spicy mustard combo.
The teenager grinned, "I really like the taste. I like how nutritious they are for you. Normally things that are super nutritious don't taste as good, but these are really, really good."
Bates said many parents buy the Super Tennie Greenies and "sneak" them into smoothies, in sauces and on pizza for their children to get a ton of vitamins and minerals.
She sells a "grow kit" and is shipping them all over the country, which makes this fifth generation farmer feel proud of her healthy fare.
She said, "To hear that my product is able to impact their daily life and make them feel better in a real way that's backed by science."