WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.360 --> 00:00:03.319 They've taken off in the culinary world, but now health 2 00:00:03.359 --> 00:00:06.960 conscious people are starting to turn to microgreens because there's 3 00:00:07.040 --> 00:00:09.599 such a fun and healthy food that you can integrate 4 00:00:09.640 --> 00:00:12.480 into your cooking, into your diet in many different ways. 5 00:00:15.320 --> 00:00:18.039 You're listening to the Plant Based Diet podcast where we 6 00:00:18.120 --> 00:00:21.239 talk about all things plant based. I'm mister Garfin, the 7 00:00:21.280 --> 00:00:24.359 host of this show and founder of Alternative Food Network. 8 00:00:24.640 --> 00:00:26.920 Join me in my amazing array of guests who are 9 00:00:26.960 --> 00:00:30.960 a mix of healthcare professionals, industry executives, and people with 10 00:00:31.000 --> 00:00:34.039 an interesting story to tell about their plant based journey. 11 00:00:34.439 --> 00:00:37.560 Let us help you with your journey wherever you're at 12 00:00:37.600 --> 00:00:43.840 to learn the what, why, and how to eat plant based. Hello. Everyone, 13 00:00:44.079 --> 00:00:47.359 glad you're here in joining us today. You know how 14 00:00:47.399 --> 00:00:49.679 there are times when you want to be eating healthy 15 00:00:49.759 --> 00:00:52.600 but you don't quite have the time to fuss over it, 16 00:00:53.560 --> 00:00:56.000 or maybe you're making a nice dish that could benefit 17 00:00:56.039 --> 00:01:00.240 from an attractive garnish. Well, this episode can help. We're 18 00:01:00.280 --> 00:01:02.920 going to be talking about microgreens, which are a very 19 00:01:02.960 --> 00:01:05.400 easy add on to your meals and they pack a 20 00:01:05.480 --> 00:01:10.159 nutritional punch. I'm joined by Oliver Hamburg, who co founded 21 00:01:10.200 --> 00:01:15.400 Boston Microgreens, which is Boston's most central urban farm, supplying 22 00:01:15.439 --> 00:01:19.560 over one hundred restaurants, businesses, and residential customers with fresh 23 00:01:19.879 --> 00:01:24.640 microgreens and specialty herbs. They produce over seventy five varieties 24 00:01:24.640 --> 00:01:27.439 of microgreens and have been working with the best chefs 25 00:01:27.480 --> 00:01:32.959 in Boston since they started. Welcome to the show, Oliver, 26 00:01:33.079 --> 00:01:34.200 so nice to have you on. 27 00:01:34.680 --> 00:01:35.640 Thanks for having me ester. 28 00:01:36.359 --> 00:01:40.200 Yes, you know, I had been curious about microgreens for 29 00:01:40.239 --> 00:01:43.879 a while and I was at a plant based expo. 30 00:01:44.719 --> 00:01:47.120 I was at a booth and they were selling microgreens, 31 00:01:47.200 --> 00:01:49.680 or they were displaying microgreens, and then I ended up 32 00:01:49.719 --> 00:01:55.000 buying broccoli microgreens and I'm like, you know what, I 33 00:01:55.040 --> 00:01:57.359 want to do an episode on this. So I thank 34 00:01:57.400 --> 00:02:00.400 you for joining us today, and I think I just 35 00:02:00.439 --> 00:02:02.599 want to get right into it for the audience to 36 00:02:02.680 --> 00:02:07.159 understand why I'm even doing an episode on microgreens. What 37 00:02:07.359 --> 00:02:10.360 are they and what's their nutritional profile? 38 00:02:11.439 --> 00:02:15.360 So microgreens you can think of as baby plants, right. 39 00:02:15.560 --> 00:02:19.719 Technically they are the stem and the first two cottalidens 40 00:02:20.199 --> 00:02:22.599 of any kind of plant that you might know, but 41 00:02:22.680 --> 00:02:24.960 I like to call them baby plants. And if you 42 00:02:24.960 --> 00:02:27.479 can imagine what a seed is. A seed has so 43 00:02:27.599 --> 00:02:31.039 much energy trapped inside of it in that food store 44 00:02:31.080 --> 00:02:33.680 that a plant needs in its first couple of days 45 00:02:33.800 --> 00:02:37.960 or weeks of life before the plant is able to photosynthesize. Similarly, 46 00:02:38.560 --> 00:02:44.520 microgreens have a very dense amount of vitamins, minerals, nutrients. 47 00:02:44.560 --> 00:02:47.680 In other words, they have a high vitamin mineral nutrient 48 00:02:47.759 --> 00:02:51.560 density right as compared to their mature counterparts. 49 00:02:51.960 --> 00:02:54.000 They're also very. 50 00:02:53.840 --> 00:02:57.719 Cute and you can grow all kinds of different microgreens. So, 51 00:02:57.919 --> 00:03:01.919 for example, a sunflower. You wouldn't eat an entire sunflower plant, 52 00:03:01.960 --> 00:03:04.960 including the stalk, including the leaves, and the petals, but 53 00:03:05.599 --> 00:03:09.000 a sunflower plant when it's seven days old is actually 54 00:03:09.560 --> 00:03:12.560 totally edible from the stalk to the leaves, obviously no 55 00:03:12.759 --> 00:03:18.759 flowers yet, and is actually an incredibly nutritious food, a 56 00:03:18.879 --> 00:03:20.719 super food you could even call it, even though that's 57 00:03:20.759 --> 00:03:25.960 a loaded label, right, but you know it contains you know, 58 00:03:26.000 --> 00:03:28.800 all seven amino acids, a bunch of fiber. 59 00:03:29.000 --> 00:03:30.919 And it's also really sweet and crunchy. 60 00:03:30.960 --> 00:03:33.520 So that leads us to the third cool thing about 61 00:03:33.560 --> 00:03:37.240 microgreens is that they're incredibly nutritious, which also leads to 62 00:03:37.319 --> 00:03:38.280 a lot of flavor. 63 00:03:38.759 --> 00:03:40.960 And again, you can grow all kinds of things. 64 00:03:40.960 --> 00:03:43.840 So, I mean, we grow seventy five different varieties of 65 00:03:43.840 --> 00:03:48.280 microgreens at our farm, and there are surely many more 66 00:03:48.319 --> 00:03:51.479 that you could grow. So you know, you're not only 67 00:03:51.520 --> 00:03:54.520 getting a high nutritional density, but if you're mixing different 68 00:03:54.960 --> 00:03:58.639 types of microgreens, different varieties together, you would be getting 69 00:03:59.080 --> 00:04:03.199 the nutritional of all of those different plants. So they 70 00:04:03.319 --> 00:04:06.439 lend themselves to I'm just going to keep launch in, right, 71 00:04:06.439 --> 00:04:09.680 they lend them so well to so many applications. You know, 72 00:04:09.759 --> 00:04:12.520 you can use them. They've taken off in the culinary world. 73 00:04:12.639 --> 00:04:15.520 But now health conscious people are starting to turn to 74 00:04:15.599 --> 00:04:19.319 microgreens because there's such a fun and healthy food that 75 00:04:19.360 --> 00:04:21.480 you can integrate into your cooking, into your diet in 76 00:04:21.519 --> 00:04:22.360 many different ways. 77 00:04:23.160 --> 00:04:25.439 Yeah, well, since sort of on that thread, why don't 78 00:04:25.439 --> 00:04:27.240 we just go right into that one. 79 00:04:27.680 --> 00:04:28.040 Sure? 80 00:04:28.319 --> 00:04:33.560 So I and again, I've only used broccoli microgreens to 81 00:04:33.680 --> 00:04:36.040 my knowledge. Maybe I've had other ones, but I just 82 00:04:36.079 --> 00:04:40.360 didn't realize. But r yeah, probably I put them in 83 00:04:40.480 --> 00:04:44.160 salads and I add them to my smoothies. What else. 84 00:04:44.680 --> 00:04:48.720 And I know you part of your clientele they're chefs, 85 00:04:49.000 --> 00:04:52.800 So where have you seen microgreens being used in what 86 00:04:52.920 --> 00:04:53.639 creative ways. 87 00:04:54.079 --> 00:04:57.600 So microgreens are really fun because there are so many 88 00:04:57.639 --> 00:04:59.399 different ways you can use them, and I think, you know, 89 00:04:59.480 --> 00:05:03.040 your cre creativity is honestly the only limiting factor. Like 90 00:05:03.079 --> 00:05:05.759 you said, you can put them in salads, you can 91 00:05:05.800 --> 00:05:08.759 put them in smoothies, you can put them on top 92 00:05:08.800 --> 00:05:11.319 of your soup. You can you know, put them on 93 00:05:11.360 --> 00:05:14.199 a sandwich or in the taco or in your bowl. 94 00:05:14.560 --> 00:05:17.160 You can actually have a whole salad base that was 95 00:05:17.360 --> 00:05:20.879 just microgreens. And I think that's where maybe just broccoli 96 00:05:20.920 --> 00:05:23.720 would get a little, you know, monotonous. But if you 97 00:05:23.800 --> 00:05:26.439 had a different, you know, a blend of microgreens, that 98 00:05:26.480 --> 00:05:29.000 could be quite fun. The way I like to use 99 00:05:29.040 --> 00:05:32.639 them the most is in that sort of way where 100 00:05:32.639 --> 00:05:34.600 you're just kind of like taking a little handful and 101 00:05:34.639 --> 00:05:37.079 you're just throwing that onto every plate that you're preparing 102 00:05:37.079 --> 00:05:40.120 in the kitchen, right because then they're going to take 103 00:05:40.199 --> 00:05:41.920 up some of the flavors of maybe the sauce or 104 00:05:41.959 --> 00:05:43.839 the dressing that you have and adding a little bit 105 00:05:43.839 --> 00:05:47.000 of crunch, adding a little bit of fiber, adding a 106 00:05:47.000 --> 00:05:50.680 little bit of nutrition and color to any plate. 107 00:05:51.959 --> 00:05:56.399 Okay, and other than broccoli, as we've mentioned, and sunflower. 108 00:05:56.680 --> 00:05:59.040 What are some of the other types of varieties that 109 00:05:59.120 --> 00:06:01.879 maybe are more I'm in or that we'd find in 110 00:06:01.920 --> 00:06:02.920 a supermarket. 111 00:06:03.360 --> 00:06:06.439 Sure, I mean, radish and pea shoots are the first 112 00:06:06.439 --> 00:06:09.560 ones that sort of come to mind as your sort 113 00:06:09.600 --> 00:06:13.519 of bulky, hardy, pretty universal microgreens. 114 00:06:13.560 --> 00:06:15.120 The radish has a little bit of a spice. 115 00:06:15.480 --> 00:06:17.720 The peas there are a couple different varieties, but they 116 00:06:17.759 --> 00:06:20.759 tend to be sweet and crunchy and a little bit 117 00:06:20.800 --> 00:06:24.240 more leafy. Sunflower is sort of the queen of microgreens, 118 00:06:24.639 --> 00:06:28.120 just because I'll just say she has, you know, such 119 00:06:28.240 --> 00:06:32.560 a wide and balanced variety of. 120 00:06:34.439 --> 00:06:38.120 Minerals. But then we get into the fun stuff. 121 00:06:38.120 --> 00:06:40.759 I mean, there's there's probably like twenty different varieties of 122 00:06:40.800 --> 00:06:44.519 mustard that you can grow that are just so tasty. 123 00:06:44.560 --> 00:06:46.680 And I'm just gonna say, by the way, everyone who's 124 00:06:46.680 --> 00:06:47.920 listening grow them at home. 125 00:06:48.040 --> 00:06:50.600 I think you probably have a windowsill. 126 00:06:50.319 --> 00:06:52.560 Like you can do this at home, and it's one 127 00:06:52.600 --> 00:06:54.879 of the most rewarding crops because it grows so quickly 128 00:06:54.920 --> 00:06:57.879 and then it's about the freshness in the end of 129 00:06:57.920 --> 00:07:01.079 the day. You can grow all sorts of herbs as microgreens, 130 00:07:01.399 --> 00:07:05.360 anything from parsley to basil, to cilantro to chervil, to 131 00:07:05.560 --> 00:07:10.000 chive to dill, right again with an intense dill flavor, 132 00:07:10.040 --> 00:07:12.600 an intense parsley flavor that you might not get in 133 00:07:12.639 --> 00:07:16.800 your you know, your mature dill, and then we can get. 134 00:07:16.639 --> 00:07:18.759 Into sort of all sorts of weird stuff. 135 00:07:18.839 --> 00:07:21.480 Japanese purple chiso is one of our top sellers here 136 00:07:21.480 --> 00:07:23.160 in Boston. We work with a lot of you know, 137 00:07:23.279 --> 00:07:26.879 Japanese restaurants. You've got tuna senensis. It's a it's a 138 00:07:27.000 --> 00:07:29.639 it's a mahogany tree, but when you grow it for 139 00:07:29.680 --> 00:07:32.439 a week, it's it's got the most intense onion flavor. 140 00:07:32.439 --> 00:07:35.360 Our whole delivery van smells like onion when you open 141 00:07:35.399 --> 00:07:38.399 the door, just from one live tray of the tuna sentensis. 142 00:07:38.560 --> 00:07:39.800 The list goes on and on. 143 00:07:40.319 --> 00:07:42.600 You know so many things that you could grow again 144 00:07:42.720 --> 00:07:44.759 that you wouldn't eat the mature plant, but that you 145 00:07:44.800 --> 00:07:46.079 can eat as a micro green. 146 00:07:46.800 --> 00:07:50.879 And if you were blindfolded and someone gave you something 147 00:07:50.959 --> 00:07:53.480 to taste, well, maybe not you, since you're the expert, 148 00:07:53.480 --> 00:07:56.319 but me someone blindfolded me and then gave me some 149 00:07:56.439 --> 00:07:59.079 would I be able to say Oh yeah, that that's 150 00:07:59.120 --> 00:08:01.680 a pee. It tastes kind of like a pee. So 151 00:08:01.759 --> 00:08:03.639 that must be a pea microgreen. 152 00:08:04.439 --> 00:08:07.240 For for the pea, absolutely, for the you know, for 153 00:08:07.279 --> 00:08:10.240 the sunflower, we don't really know what they taste, right, 154 00:08:10.519 --> 00:08:13.279 but I mean a couple more varieties that that that 155 00:08:13.360 --> 00:08:17.600 are fantastic. Arugula, oh my god, the arugula microgreens are 156 00:08:18.360 --> 00:08:21.600 probably my favorite in terms of flavor. They've got this nuttiness, 157 00:08:21.600 --> 00:08:25.839 they're sweet, they're spicy. You know, we have a wasabi 158 00:08:25.959 --> 00:08:29.399 micro green. It's it's a mustard variety. Technically it's not 159 00:08:29.439 --> 00:08:34.240 the wasabi root varietal, but you know that is is 160 00:08:34.399 --> 00:08:36.080 just a fantastic flavor. 161 00:08:36.559 --> 00:08:38.200 And a lot of them just taste green. I mean, 162 00:08:38.240 --> 00:08:40.000 I think and in line with your broccoli. 163 00:08:40.080 --> 00:08:44.639 You've got cabbage, kale, you know, all your brassicas, and 164 00:08:44.679 --> 00:08:47.320 they taste generally green. So maybe you wouldn't have the 165 00:08:47.360 --> 00:08:50.320 same sort of flavor recognition, so it depends, but a 166 00:08:50.320 --> 00:08:51.519 lot of them absolutely. 167 00:08:52.279 --> 00:08:55.679 And and how does a micro green compare to a sprout? 168 00:08:56.480 --> 00:08:59.000 Okay? So a sprout okay, so think of this. 169 00:08:59.360 --> 00:09:02.840 A sprout is like the seed with the first root, 170 00:09:02.879 --> 00:09:06.279 that tap root coming out, and that seed has popped open, 171 00:09:06.919 --> 00:09:11.240 and so you've basically got a the very very first 172 00:09:11.320 --> 00:09:15.879 stage of life. It's a sprouted seed. A microgreen is 173 00:09:16.879 --> 00:09:20.440 an established plant. So it's that stem, so it's already germinated, 174 00:09:20.480 --> 00:09:23.519 it's come out of the soil or it's or above 175 00:09:23.519 --> 00:09:26.639 the soil, and it's and it's popped open its first leaves, 176 00:09:27.519 --> 00:09:27.759 you know. 177 00:09:28.080 --> 00:09:30.600 And technically a baby green would be that third leaf. 178 00:09:30.639 --> 00:09:32.200 And the third leaf is usually the one that has 179 00:09:32.240 --> 00:09:34.240 the characteristics of the mature plant. 180 00:09:34.320 --> 00:09:36.440 So the kale leaf would be like, you know, have 181 00:09:36.559 --> 00:09:40.679 those little frills. I call them all microgreens. So the 182 00:09:40.720 --> 00:09:41.919 microgreen is a little plant. 183 00:09:42.000 --> 00:09:44.600 It's a little plantling, right, and it's probably like an 184 00:09:44.600 --> 00:09:48.720 inch to two inches tall, and a sprout is just 185 00:09:48.759 --> 00:09:50.720 that seed with the root coming out. Now, they both 186 00:09:50.799 --> 00:09:55.240 have their you know, unique benefits. Right, Sprouts are also 187 00:09:55.360 --> 00:10:00.200 very healthy. Microgreens are a little bit more esthetic, and 188 00:10:00.240 --> 00:10:04.279 they can be used as you know, garnishes and salads, 189 00:10:04.320 --> 00:10:05.240 and they're more. 190 00:10:05.039 --> 00:10:08.960 Colorful, they're a little bit more fun. Right. Both could 191 00:10:08.960 --> 00:10:11.039 be very beneficial as part of your diet. 192 00:10:11.960 --> 00:10:15.840 And then if you left a micro gain to just 193 00:10:15.960 --> 00:10:17.000 keep growing. 194 00:10:17.360 --> 00:10:18.960 It would turn into the mature plant. 195 00:10:20.759 --> 00:10:23.799 It's funny because we recycle all of our soil. So 196 00:10:23.840 --> 00:10:26.200 we grow in these flats right ten by twenty flats, 197 00:10:26.240 --> 00:10:28.320 and when we're done, we harvest them. So we have 198 00:10:28.399 --> 00:10:31.519 this flat with all the stems and the roots and 199 00:10:31.519 --> 00:10:33.039 some of those seeds still in there, and then we 200 00:10:33.399 --> 00:10:35.840 put that in a community garden in Boston, so we. 201 00:10:35.799 --> 00:10:39.000 Try to give that soiler second life. Then the roots break. 202 00:10:38.840 --> 00:10:41.960 Down, the stems break down into organic material, but some 203 00:10:42.000 --> 00:10:45.039 of those seeds survive. So we have these garden beds, 204 00:10:45.200 --> 00:10:47.840 and so instead of weeds that are your like normal 205 00:10:48.200 --> 00:10:52.559 Boston weeds, you have cabbage and kale and cilantro and 206 00:10:52.759 --> 00:10:58.240 rysanthemum just exploding. And it's so fun to see what 207 00:10:58.399 --> 00:11:01.080 is sort of dominant and how that garden bed, if 208 00:11:01.200 --> 00:11:04.320 left alone, which we've done as an experiment, sort of 209 00:11:04.320 --> 00:11:08.879 transforms over the season. It's a beautiful thing to watch. 210 00:11:09.080 --> 00:11:10.080 Yeah, But of. 211 00:11:10.000 --> 00:11:12.799 Course, you know, say you had, say you had a 212 00:11:12.879 --> 00:11:15.759 ratish tray, and I mean I haven't counted them exactly, 213 00:11:15.799 --> 00:11:19.240 but there are thousands of ratish seeds on a ratish 214 00:11:19.279 --> 00:11:23.240 tray of microgreens that's twenty inches long. They obviously wouldn't 215 00:11:23.240 --> 00:11:26.919 develop radishes because they were too dense, right, they would 216 00:11:26.960 --> 00:11:30.039 crowd each other out. Okay, right, If you took one 217 00:11:30.039 --> 00:11:32.320 of those little plants or seedlings and put them in 218 00:11:32.399 --> 00:11:35.840 enough space, then of course they would turn into whatever 219 00:11:35.879 --> 00:11:36.320 they hey. 220 00:11:36.600 --> 00:11:40.799 And just for the audience to understand how your company 221 00:11:40.879 --> 00:11:44.720 grows these microgreens, it's vertical farming. 222 00:11:45.399 --> 00:11:48.399 Absolutely, So it's vertical farming, which means, you know, it's 223 00:11:48.480 --> 00:11:52.600 happening on a vertical axis. So in this case, horizontal 224 00:11:53.000 --> 00:11:56.759 planes on top of each other, right, five planes to 225 00:11:56.799 --> 00:12:01.240 be specific. We operate this business out of basement in 226 00:12:01.279 --> 00:12:03.759 a commercial building in South Boston, so right in the 227 00:12:03.759 --> 00:12:06.360 middle of the city, which is cool because customers can 228 00:12:06.399 --> 00:12:09.159 come in and they can taste their way through shelves 229 00:12:09.200 --> 00:12:11.559 and shelves of all these different microgreens and herbs and 230 00:12:11.559 --> 00:12:16.320 get inspired and let their you know, creativity go wild. 231 00:12:16.399 --> 00:12:18.480 And that's that's really fun for our customers. And it's 232 00:12:18.519 --> 00:12:21.639 also cool because the food is really fresh. So we're 233 00:12:21.639 --> 00:12:23.679 harvesting twice a week and we're going out to all 234 00:12:23.679 --> 00:12:26.879 these different restaurants, more than fifty restaurants in the Boston area, 235 00:12:27.600 --> 00:12:32.039 and the food is delivered within two to three hours 236 00:12:32.080 --> 00:12:34.720 of it getting harvested, so that means the knife goes 237 00:12:34.759 --> 00:12:37.559 to the microgreen and it's in the walk and cooler 238 00:12:37.919 --> 00:12:42.600 that day, that morning, that afternoon, so it's incredibly fresh. 239 00:12:42.919 --> 00:12:45.679 And it's also it's also nice because it's sort of 240 00:12:45.679 --> 00:12:48.320 a hyper local business where we have a lot of 241 00:12:48.480 --> 00:12:52.759 direct access with our customers and the ecosystem of our 242 00:12:52.919 --> 00:12:55.559 community is very tangible, manageable, local. 243 00:12:56.080 --> 00:12:57.519 You know, it's real, it's in front of us. 244 00:12:57.919 --> 00:12:59.200 Can they actually go to your. 245 00:12:59.080 --> 00:13:02.320 Location, Absolutely, and they can kind of check it out 246 00:13:02.320 --> 00:13:04.200 and just to come back a little bit to sort 247 00:13:04.200 --> 00:13:06.639 of the technical aspect there. I mean, it's really cool 248 00:13:06.639 --> 00:13:08.919 because you walk into this room and what you have 249 00:13:09.080 --> 00:13:12.200 is basically that we've created the perfect spring day, but 250 00:13:12.279 --> 00:13:14.399 it's three hundred and sixty five days a year, right, 251 00:13:14.440 --> 00:13:17.639 So we have lights that are growing the microgreens, and 252 00:13:17.679 --> 00:13:20.639 we're you know, it's climate controlled, and we do all 253 00:13:20.679 --> 00:13:22.960 of these things to make sure that we keep that 254 00:13:23.159 --> 00:13:27.399 environment perfectly consistent. Another thing that's really interesting about this 255 00:13:27.600 --> 00:13:31.600 is that the whole farm runs on renewable energy, right, 256 00:13:31.840 --> 00:13:36.320 So it's very interesting to see this because it's like 257 00:13:36.399 --> 00:13:39.120 it's farming, but it's happening inside a room. But then 258 00:13:39.559 --> 00:13:43.799 you know it's got this incredible energy consumption, and so 259 00:13:43.840 --> 00:13:48.679 we do what we can in that space to kind 260 00:13:48.720 --> 00:13:55.720 of maintain holistic agricultural elements, right, so growing in soil 261 00:13:55.879 --> 00:14:00.799 instead of growing in a totally soilist medium, using techniques 262 00:14:00.840 --> 00:14:02.600 that are as close to nature as you can within 263 00:14:02.679 --> 00:14:06.159 this modern system. So it's sort of fusing agricultural traditional 264 00:14:06.200 --> 00:14:12.639 agricultural techniques and microbiology with modern science operations. Efficiency and 265 00:14:12.879 --> 00:14:15.679 as you can imagine if you picture a room full 266 00:14:15.720 --> 00:14:19.639 of microgreen towers, it is a beautiful dance that we 267 00:14:19.679 --> 00:14:22.279 do in there every week to make sure that we're 268 00:14:22.320 --> 00:14:26.279 able to move product through that facility in an efficient way, 269 00:14:26.559 --> 00:14:31.600 get product out to our customers, and make sure that 270 00:14:31.639 --> 00:14:36.440 we're delivering a certain standard and quality, because, after all, 271 00:14:36.519 --> 00:14:39.639 it is a business, and that's something sometimes. Something that 272 00:14:39.720 --> 00:14:44.480 is challenging with farming, especially and vertical farming or indoor 273 00:14:44.480 --> 00:14:47.159 farming in particular, is that you have a lot of 274 00:14:47.240 --> 00:14:50.919 variables to manage, and you know, in the end of 275 00:14:50.919 --> 00:14:53.279 the day, you're still selling produce, so you need to 276 00:14:53.279 --> 00:14:56.200 make sure that that bottom line stays in the green. 277 00:14:56.480 --> 00:14:57.799 But it is a lot of fun. 278 00:14:58.039 --> 00:15:01.000 And you've been doing this for about eight years. 279 00:15:00.759 --> 00:15:02.879 Yep, coming up on eight years now. So we started 280 00:15:02.879 --> 00:15:05.679 the business in this apartment. Actually it's a it's got 281 00:15:05.679 --> 00:15:07.879 a lot of light and a tiled floor where we 282 00:15:07.879 --> 00:15:09.720 were able to get really dirty in the first couple 283 00:15:09.720 --> 00:15:12.879 of years, and then we moved it to a commercial facility. 284 00:15:13.639 --> 00:15:15.559 So how did you get started in this. 285 00:15:17.399 --> 00:15:19.080 That's that's a good question. 286 00:15:19.240 --> 00:15:22.320 I mean, I've always been interested in plants, and it 287 00:15:22.440 --> 00:15:25.080 was actually so I co founded the company with a 288 00:15:25.080 --> 00:15:28.480 friend of mine college roommates, and we I think we 289 00:15:28.600 --> 00:15:30.399 just had we had done some other projects and we 290 00:15:30.399 --> 00:15:33.200 were really interested in plants, but we also had a 291 00:15:33.200 --> 00:15:36.039 good working relationship, and I think that was part of it. 292 00:15:36.039 --> 00:15:42.039 It was having someone that inspired you to to to create. 293 00:15:41.679 --> 00:15:44.519 With right, and then we just saw YouTube video how 294 00:15:44.559 --> 00:15:47.600 to grow microgreens and make blah blah blah dollars, and 295 00:15:47.720 --> 00:15:48.919 you know, and and of course I. 296 00:15:48.879 --> 00:15:50.799 Didn't have the month two or month three, but it did. 297 00:15:50.919 --> 00:15:51.279 It did. 298 00:15:51.360 --> 00:15:54.240 Year two, we were, you know, month two we were 299 00:15:54.399 --> 00:15:57.399 we were cash flow positive because we were able to 300 00:15:57.679 --> 00:16:00.840 go in a very low barrier to entry, very hard 301 00:16:00.879 --> 00:16:04.480 to do it well, but you know, racks, lights, soil, seeds, 302 00:16:04.480 --> 00:16:06.440 and then we were just bringing these samples to the 303 00:16:06.519 --> 00:16:10.559 to the restaurants, you know, and I say month too, 304 00:16:10.879 --> 00:16:14.120 month two, correct, Yeah, because we spent I think we 305 00:16:14.159 --> 00:16:17.639 spent like one thousand dollars on our first first setup 306 00:16:17.679 --> 00:16:20.399 and then and then of course later on we then 307 00:16:20.960 --> 00:16:24.159 but we funded ourselves. We funded ourselves pretty much from 308 00:16:24.240 --> 00:16:26.639 from the beginning with with the with the revenue. And 309 00:16:26.679 --> 00:16:29.080 now for anyone thinking about doing this, trust me, there's 310 00:16:29.120 --> 00:16:31.919 plenty of YouTube videos that can they can teach you. 311 00:16:31.919 --> 00:16:34.679 How, and it's not as easy as you think it is. 312 00:16:34.919 --> 00:16:38.440 But we do offer consulting if anyone really is is 313 00:16:38.480 --> 00:16:40.879 that interested in the business. 314 00:16:41.440 --> 00:16:45.000 Well, that's a nice success story. So is there anything 315 00:16:45.120 --> 00:16:48.279 else about micro greens that you think we should know? 316 00:16:50.120 --> 00:16:51.480 I mean, micro greens are awesome. 317 00:16:51.519 --> 00:16:53.759 I think the most important thing I would tell your 318 00:16:53.799 --> 00:16:58.639 audience is to try to grow them at home, not 319 00:16:58.879 --> 00:17:01.039 just because they will get to eat the microgreens, but 320 00:17:01.159 --> 00:17:04.480 because they are such a fun crop to interact with. 321 00:17:05.000 --> 00:17:06.920 And I think that and it's. 322 00:17:06.759 --> 00:17:09.359 Actually not I know you're thinking, well, I've tried to 323 00:17:09.400 --> 00:17:12.000 grow a ccculine and I killed it and whatever, Right. 324 00:17:12.039 --> 00:17:15.400 This is different. I promise They're pretty easy to. 325 00:17:15.359 --> 00:17:20.880 Grow and just seeing that dense canopy of vegetation erupting 326 00:17:21.000 --> 00:17:27.240 in your kitchen is going to do something to you physiologically, spiritually, mentally, emotionally, 327 00:17:27.240 --> 00:17:30.079 whatever you want to call it. That I think is 328 00:17:31.119 --> 00:17:33.839 almost just as valuable as the nutrients you're then going 329 00:17:33.839 --> 00:17:35.519 to put in your body. And you can do all 330 00:17:35.559 --> 00:17:38.279 these little blends and you can experiment with different varieties. 331 00:17:38.359 --> 00:17:40.759 So that's a lot of fun. And I think if 332 00:17:40.759 --> 00:17:42.680 we wanted to touch a little bit more on the 333 00:17:42.759 --> 00:17:47.400 sort of specific health attributes of the microgreens, and again, 334 00:17:47.480 --> 00:17:50.000 there are plenty of studies that back this up, and 335 00:17:50.039 --> 00:17:52.680 I would always say do your own research, and I 336 00:17:52.680 --> 00:17:56.799 would especially say that what is the most important about 337 00:17:56.960 --> 00:18:00.240 microgreens and about food in general, is that it's rush 338 00:18:01.279 --> 00:18:05.839 and the way that it's grown. Because an organic tomato 339 00:18:06.480 --> 00:18:10.559 grown in compost or manure or in a regenerative soil 340 00:18:10.640 --> 00:18:16.279 system is a completely different food source than a hothouse 341 00:18:16.319 --> 00:18:21.319 tomato grown in a hydroponic system. Hands down, it's a 342 00:18:21.359 --> 00:18:24.160 different thing that you're eating there. And maybe I can 343 00:18:24.160 --> 00:18:26.720 come back and talk about soil and. 344 00:18:27.000 --> 00:18:30.079 Yeah, I mean, are you talking from a taste and 345 00:18:30.240 --> 00:18:32.640 a nutrition profile perspective? 346 00:18:33.039 --> 00:18:36.480 Absolutely, because really, and I'll do a little bit now, 347 00:18:36.519 --> 00:18:40.640 but really, what plants spend most of their you know, 348 00:18:40.759 --> 00:18:44.720 resources on in a natural system is not building plant material, 349 00:18:44.839 --> 00:18:49.160 it's secreting hormones into the ground called exudates that they 350 00:18:49.240 --> 00:18:52.960 use to communicate with the microbiological life that's in the soil. 351 00:18:53.319 --> 00:18:56.240 So they say, okay, today I need zinc, and a 352 00:18:56.319 --> 00:18:59.160 fungi might pick up that signal and go harvest some 353 00:18:59.240 --> 00:19:01.279 zinc and exchain it with. 354 00:19:01.119 --> 00:19:02.440 The plant in the root zone. 355 00:19:02.640 --> 00:19:05.480 For those exodates, it's the carbons, the sugars that they 356 00:19:06.880 --> 00:19:09.079 break off of carbon dioxide and photosynthesis. 357 00:19:08.960 --> 00:19:10.599 It's most of it's going down into. 358 00:19:10.480 --> 00:19:14.240 The and so plants are eating sort of a la carte, right, 359 00:19:14.480 --> 00:19:18.720 but in industrialized agriculture, which obviously we need. And it 360 00:19:18.759 --> 00:19:20.640 makes sense how we got to this point. You know, 361 00:19:20.680 --> 00:19:22.680 we're sort of we're sort of saying, oh, no, you 362 00:19:22.759 --> 00:19:26.039 need this, you need nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and Wednesday you're 363 00:19:26.079 --> 00:19:28.079 going to get your calcium, and on Thursday you're. 364 00:19:27.920 --> 00:19:30.400 Going to get your iron and your boron. And really 365 00:19:30.839 --> 00:19:31.279 we're not. 366 00:19:31.359 --> 00:19:38.440 Taking advantage of the beautiful intricacy and intelligence that already 367 00:19:38.519 --> 00:19:41.880 exists through four billion years of evolution. Right, So all 368 00:19:41.960 --> 00:19:45.359 that to say that now we're discovering in farming, in agriculture, 369 00:19:45.440 --> 00:19:49.559 how to leverage this intelligence of nature to grow crops 370 00:19:50.079 --> 00:19:53.000 in a way that is in fact cheaper for the 371 00:19:53.039 --> 00:19:56.440 farmer because you're not buying a bunch of external nutrients. 372 00:19:56.440 --> 00:19:59.000 And the agrochemical companies are not going to like that 373 00:19:59.279 --> 00:20:02.480 we're talking about this, but it's true, and you're going 374 00:20:02.559 --> 00:20:06.119 to get a better quality product, so less inputs and 375 00:20:06.160 --> 00:20:09.839 a better quality product, and that's obviously better for the 376 00:20:10.319 --> 00:20:12.119 end customer too. You're not having to put a bunch 377 00:20:12.160 --> 00:20:16.359 of kelated salt nutrients and you're not having to use 378 00:20:16.359 --> 00:20:20.039 as much pesticide. So I think this there's an agricultural 379 00:20:20.519 --> 00:20:23.799 revolution under wagh Esther, and I think that anyone listening 380 00:20:23.839 --> 00:20:27.319 to your show is probably interested in and will be 381 00:20:27.359 --> 00:20:29.880 a direct beneficiary of this. And so I will say 382 00:20:30.160 --> 00:20:34.079 that there's hope and that it's all about education, not 383 00:20:34.240 --> 00:20:37.599 just for farmers but for consumers as well. But anyway, 384 00:20:37.720 --> 00:20:40.000 back to the back to what I started with, which 385 00:20:40.039 --> 00:20:44.079 is the microgreens, because they're extremely high vitamins and minerals 386 00:20:44.119 --> 00:20:48.240 and antioxidants, right, and so you know, just like any 387 00:20:48.279 --> 00:20:52.279 doctor will tell you the antioxidants they help combat the 388 00:20:52.279 --> 00:20:55.640 oxidative stress in your body. They could potentially help with 389 00:20:55.920 --> 00:20:58.279 lowering the risk of chronic diseases. You know, all that 390 00:20:58.319 --> 00:21:01.559 fiber is helping for your diet ingestive health and supports 391 00:21:02.359 --> 00:21:08.000 healthy gut cardiovascular benefits including the reduction of bad cholesterol 392 00:21:08.079 --> 00:21:10.599 and increasing overall heart function, and you. 393 00:21:10.559 --> 00:21:13.759 Know, even things like eyesight weight management. 394 00:21:13.799 --> 00:21:17.160 You have a food that's so nutrient dense that doesn't 395 00:21:17.200 --> 00:21:19.160 have a lot of calories, so it's kind of helping 396 00:21:19.200 --> 00:21:19.839 fill you up. 397 00:21:20.279 --> 00:21:22.640 And again I would say that a lot. 398 00:21:22.440 --> 00:21:24.599 Of foods can do that for you, but microgreens are 399 00:21:24.599 --> 00:21:29.319 cool because they have such a condensed amount of these 400 00:21:29.400 --> 00:21:33.400 vitamins and nutrients and antioxidants, right. 401 00:21:33.319 --> 00:21:36.119