To hear Ron tell it, the farm and all it entails, is my fault. This was my idea and he is just helping me out to make it successful. Don’t you believe it! (this is from Tom and Jerry cartoon and should be read in spooky voice). From the first raised bed in our backyard to buying a farm, this has been all him. Every time I think we are getting settled into a solid place with Tiny House Farm, Ron throws everything out of whack. He had shoulder surgery in January and was out of work for two weeks. It was just two weeks, people, but he was bored out of his mind by the end of the first day.

Ron has always had a serious addiction to YouTube videos and will search it whenever he has a project and needs some advice on it. But he also searches the site for new and interesting things to do. During those two weeks, he watched, I don’t know how many videos on a number of different subjects.

Which is why THF is now experimenting with microgreens. These are young seedlings of edible vegetables and herbs harvested less than 14 days after germination. They are usually about 1-3 inches long and come in a rainbow of colors. Basically you use the same seeds you would grow a full sized plant from, but you eat these when they are still tiny; just a few inches tall. Microgreens should not be confused with or compared to sprouts.

Sites such as WebMD tout the nutritional value of these tiny plants. There has been a serious amount of research done, and most scientists agree that microgreens have up to 40 times more vital nutrients than mature plants. Of course some plants have more bang for their buck. As with regular sized plants, the most intensely colored ones will have the most nutrition. Microgreens can add incredible flavor to salads, soups, stews, pizzas, egg dishes, potato dishes, sandwiches, pasta dishes – and anywhere else your imagination takes you.

This was soon in my living room. Ron started ordering things that came in large boxes. A large tub, trays, seeds, lights, racks, sprayers and, of all things, a mini Shopvac. I was lucky in that we already had a Brita water filter that he could use, but he needed a PH tester in order to make sure our water was good to use. Turns out our tap water is alkaline and needed to be tweaked. Our costs would have just gone up if he had to buy special water to use. And that was a good thing as growing microgreens takes a lot of water.

And the water issue has been the biggest pain in the butt. Ron runs our water through the Brita water filter, into an empty water jug and then works to adjust the PH. This he does by adding a few drops of vinegar. You would think this would be easy enough. Just add the same amount of vinegar to the same amount of water in the jug and all should be well, right? Well, not so much. He sets out to get 4 gallon jugs of water ready to go and each one came up with a different reading. More vinegar and then more water added again and again. This seems to be his Achilles’ heel.

The growing process itself is simple enough. You soak purchased OMRI certified coconut coir pads in your PH balanced water for 24 hours, I already had a pot large to hold 16 of the pads at one time. (thanks Gram). Then you wring the pads out, lay them on a rack in a tray and then cover with your seeds. Four pads per tray and eight total in your growing trays. Those are the green ones on right side. Turns out it is pretty difficult to get the seeds evenly spread on each pad. The blasted things bounce all over the place. After you get the seeds in place you have to move the pads to another tray and then pour in more water. You are trying to get each pad thoroughly soaked, so it “sparkles”. Then you move them onto the white spacers in your green tray. Each move results in more seeds falling off the pads. Oh, and you have to spray the seeds with hydrogen peroxide. And the green tray and spacers.

Each tray is covered with a Styrofoam lid and left to sit overight. Then for the next few nights, you spray each tray for 30 seconds and cover it again. It only takes a few days before the seeds start to sprout.

Based on germination tables. the cover is taken off and the seeds are then under lights. . We started with kale, radishes, peas, kohlrabi and my personal favorite, shown below, leeks.

These things are just so pretty. As backyard gardeners we have always grown our veggies from seed but are used to seeing one or two seedlings. Not a carpet of plants like these.

Once the cover is off, you no longer spray the plants. Water is poured into each tray, making sure it is deep enough for the roots to reach it. Ron discovered that my fat separator is the perfect vessel to pour water with. It measures out one cup at a time and has a spout for easy pouring. I was just happy that we didn’t need to buy another item for this project. Though I did lose one of my cooling racks and a colander. Now it is a matter of judgement to decide just when these microgreens are ready to cut. We are not cutting them off the pads to sell, but cutting the pads themselves. Each one is cut into thirds and then placed into a food safe container. Yes, that meant more boxes arrived. Ron did serious research to find the right container. They had to be food safe and clear so the product could shine. He found one that was made in the US and partially with solar energy. Made with 70% recycled materials and is recyclable itself.

Timely is everything as our first batch of peas went a day or two too long and we had to crunch them into the container. We packed them up into shopping bags and took them to work. Our test subjects were more eager to try them. They used them in salads, as garnish on eggs and in bone broth. Ron and I sprinkled our leeks on potatoes to give them a solid burst of flavor.

We have been practicing for the last month, trying to get the growing time from start to finish locked in. In Ron’s effort to get this just right he bought a new set of lights. Yea, more boxes in our living room. The lights were pretty cool too. LEDs running at 6500 K that cost much less to use and are designed for easy instillation. No need for the lights to be set inside a bracket system. And each set has its own on / off switch.

Ron has been posting some of our photos on THF Instagram site and they have received positive feedback. We are hoping that our current shiitake customers will become microgreen customers too. Our first real attempt at selling them will take place at the Cornel Cooperative Extension Herb and Flower fest on June 15, 2019.

I really should have sprung for a TV streaming service for him. It would have been much cheaper.