Tag Archives: mircogreens

CCE Herb & Flower Fest 2019

Learning Adventures, ,

There are 4 stages to being a vendor at any event. Prep is one of the longest as that entails getting everything ready for sale. This means growing or making your products. Which can mean actual months of work depending on what you are selling. And you have to get your booth set up ready and pray for good weather. The final prep, of course is getting yourself and stock to the site and then getting set up there. Which is a task in and of itself.

This is the third year that Tiny House Farm was a vendor at the Herb & Flower Fest so we knew the routine going in. It should have been smooth sailing for us, but Ron just had to throw in a curve ball with the addition of microgreens being offered for sale. We had no idea if they would sell at all, but we had hopes and of course all the needed supplies. At the last minute and after much discussion, we decided to buy the Square. Now we can give our customers the option to use their credit card.

As always we were up at the crack of dawn so we could repackage our shiitakes into one quart bags. It works out great that way as all we have to do is grab one of the bags out of the cooler and slip it into our stamped bags. We had gobs of shiitakes and I carefully stuffed as many as I could into each cooler. Then it was a quick breakfast, then showers and we started loading up the trailer. By 630 am we were on our way to the Fest.

We took all three vehicles with us this time and somehow, we ended up needed all of that space. Of course the microgreens in their trays took up all of the rear space in my Outback and nothing could be stacked on top of them. When we arrived on site, we discovered that we had been very smart to lower our tent and set out the heavy weights. The wind had kicked up overnight and blown a few other tents over. But the wind had also helped dry the place out. The grass was still soggy but at least the puddles on the roadway were gone. Jo, Ron and I raised the tent and started unloading and setting up. This again was familiar routine. Don arrived and helped us with the finishing touches. Ron’s idea to prop up my shade cloth was a good one. He had attached a PVC pipe T to a six foot long piece of the pipe. Then he drilled a hole into the side bar holding up the shade cloth and through a PVC cap. The cap was affixed to the shade cloth bar and the pole went into the cap. And viola, no more bumping of the head.

Start time was 9 am and by 830 Ron was getting his station set up. He just needed to know where the thermometers were. They are required by the health department. Oh boy, I had forgotten to bring them. Guess what is going to be added to the show stopper list? Jo grabbed her keys and headed home to get them. As she would not be back before we got started, I would be in charges of getting the samples put together. I slipped on Jo’s apron (remember this) washed my hands using our hot water dispenser and pulled on rubber gloves. In the midst of all this, Josi arrived and we were ready to go.

The second stage is the actual event. The gates opened, folks were walking by and Ron was hawking his wares. A mushroom bolt was our first sale. Customer told Don that they wanted to buy a log at our last event but we were sold out by the time they came back around. Jo came back with every kitchen thermometer we had in the house and I gave her back the apron and her spot at the sample table.

Don was kept busy with our logs. He always had a crowd around him and he never stopped his sales pitch. Some logs were taken right away, while others sprouted sold labels. Then we got our first credit card purchase. Now to use the Square you have to plug it into your cell phone or a tablet. My phone was nowhere to be found. I knew it was in the tent area because I had used it to send text to Jo while she was dashing back to Sherrill. She tried calling my phone and we could hear it ring, but still couldn’t find it. Thank goodness the customer pulled out cash so we did not lose the sale. I was supposed to be working the microgreens and my skin care products, but I really needed to find the phone. Jo kept calling it and we kept hearing the ring but no phone. It was 15 minutes later and we had our second request to use a credit card when Jo came to the rescue. My phone had been in the apron pocket all this time. Which explained why when Jo and I were searching the same area we both clearly heard the thing. Good grief. We do have our crisis’s, don’t we?

It was lovely day with a good crowd of people and lots of sunshine. The wind did cause a few issues with our tablecloths, but fix is in the works. Don sold all of our logs included the display. And we did sell some of our greens. Everyone who tried them thought they were delicious. The sticking point seems to be how to use them. I think we will need to a few actual dish ideas to toss out. Maybe even print up a few recipes to hand out.

The third stage of an event is packing up to go home. Everyone is tired, hungry and a bit cranky but it we have to get it done. With so many vendors all wanting to get out, there was little hope Ron could our trailer into play. We packed up everything and waited for the traffic to clear. Our left over greens were given to one of the CCE staffers for her chickens and some were just tossed into their compost bin. Sadly some of our shiitakes ended up in there too. We were luckier than other vendors. Our open trailer allowed us to basically toss stuff onto. As long as we covered it with a strapped down tarp, they would be safe. Other things were shoved into one of the vehicles, hugs for Josi and Don and we were off.

Well, Jo and I left. Ron hung around a bit longer as we were waiting for one of our log buyers to come back and get her log. As of today, Silvia hasn’t made herself known. At home finally, the cars were emptied out and we were done. Well, for that day we were.

The fourth stage is the clean up. This is the most boring, time consuming and annoying stage. We have to unload everything and clean it all before putting it back in the bins. Making note of anything that needs to be replaced too. It poured rain most of Sunday, and we waited until late afternoon to empty the trailer. Now the living room is once again crammed full of stuff. Rainy days all week kept us from getting it all back to the farm. Our next event is the MV Garlic Fest on September 17 and we cannot function with all of this underfoot for the next three months.

There is actually a fifth stage. The after action report. This involves counting the money made, getting said money into the bank account and lots of discussion of how the day went. Every time we do an event we learn something new. Josi recommended I do a better job of hanging up my milkweed stuffed mushrooms. She believes most people thought they were a decoration and not for sale. Ron thinks we need to buy a bigger tent for us to use. My budget is shuddering as I type this. We need to buy another thermometer that I then leave in the cooking supplies bin. We made eight sales using the Square so that was a good addition. I spent some time getting our account organized with prices plus the service charge and photos. And I made sure Ron had the app set up on his phone too. I need a nice sign for my skin care products as people don’t always see what other items we have for sale. Ron and the shiitakes samples are center stage so I need to step up my game a bit.

June 15, 2019 was another good day for Tiny House Farm. We are definitely getting more comfortable in our own skin. But that is the trouble. Jo and I are giddy with happiness when we know what we are doing and what to expect. Ron, on the other hand, to put it plainly, gets bored. And that is when he finds a monkey wrench to throw into our lives. Just to shake things up a bit. And to see what more we can do. One day he just might find out what his two girls can do, when we toss him in the compost pile.

When will he make it end??

Microgreens

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.