Photos courtesy of Bella Verdi Farms

Microgreens could be described as the 100-yard dash of food crop production. Most are ready for harvest in less than 21 days. And because they have such a short shelf life, they’re sent off to restaurants, farmers markets and retail markets within days, if not hours, of harvest.

op, things can go awry, causing you to veer off course. Here’s a few tips to make sure you cross the finish line in good shape.

Mighty microgreens

Microgreens are edible seedlings grown to the first true leaf stage, according to Zachary Grant, extension educator, Local Food Systems and Small Farms, University of Illinois Extension. Microgreens have been popular with growers and consumers for a number of years now. Demand for microgreens has increased since being identified as a national trend in haute cuisine around 2006, according to Cheryl Kaiser and Matt Ernst from the University of Kentucky’s College of Agriculture, Food and Environment.

Health-conscious consumers and restaurant chefs are drawn to microgreens, which contain phytonutrients and plant metabolites, Grant says. They’re added to soups, salads, garnishes and smoothies and served at home and in restaurants. Because they have such a short shelf life, they’re typically not grown on a large scale and shipped for miles and miles like tomatoes, but rather sold directly to local markets, presenting an opportunity for smaller growers.

Because they are considered easy to grow by some and have such a short growth cycle, they can be grown between crops in a greenhouse. They can also be grown year-round in greenhouses and cold frames in warmer climates. Profit margins are fairly high as well. An ounce of microgreens costs about 25 cents to produce and sells for about a dollar per ounce at Whole Foods. Growers can expect to gross about $25 per square foot of microgreens, Grant says.

Pest and disease management

The most serious threat to microgreens appears to be Pythium and Phytophthora.

“Damping off can definitely be a problem with microgreens,” Grant says. “But that can be a result of two cultural factors: too dense of seed spacing in flats and zero air circulation.

Rob Jennings, president and CEO of Bella Verdi Farms in Dripping Springs, Texas, echoes Grant's sentiment. Jennings says the best practices growers can take to prevent disease are to pay close attention to temperature, humidity, growing medium selection and spacing. Because there is such a short growing cycle with microgreens, the seedlings themselves aren’t treated with any type of pesticide.

“We grow our microgreens without using soil. Consequently, we may not see diseases that other growers are faced with,” says Jennings, whose company is a leader in hydroponic growing. “In our experience, most varieties of microgreens are not in the system long enough to suffer from disease.”

Some varieties of microgreens are more susceptible to disease and insect problems than others. “The varieties that come to mind based on past experience are watercress, Swiss chard, Thai basil, mint and nasturtium,” Jennings says. “There may be others, but those are the ones we have tried over the years and have had disease and pest challenges with.” He says problems with pests such as aphids and whiteflies are more common than diseases.

The other disease factor worth noting comes from the seed itself. Seeds can be subject to mildew, so Grant says it’s advisable to sterilize the seed.

Using commercial and kitchen-formulated solutions on seeds will prevent mildew, but may also prevent pathogens that can affect the greens themselves.

Commercial treatments include peroxyacetic acid formulations, familiar with microgreen growers, including Tsunami 100. A “poor man’s solution” is to mix 4 teaspoons of white vinegar and 4 teaspoons of food-grade hydrogen peroxide with 1 quart of water. Seeds can be soaked in this solution for 10 minutes. This is a solution Curtis Stone, popular microgreen grower and author of “The Urban Farmer,” uses in his commercial microgreen operation.

Larger seeds like peas can benefit from an additional 8-hour soak in clean water to help initiate germination, according to Grant. Smaller seeds could also be soaked as a preventive measure, but for a much shorter period of time.

The first line of prevention is to obtain good-quality microgreen seed, Grant says. He says some popular seed companies test their microgreen seed for fecal contamination.

“If I was a commercial grower, I would test my seeds ahead of time to reduce the risk of disease,” Grant says. “But whether you test or not, treat the seed ahead of time, or inquire about seed lot testing from the seed company to reduce the risk of disease and reduce the risk of some of these potential public organisms. Not all growers do it. I would do it for a little peace of mind.”

Microgreens are grown in peat-based soilless medium and hydroponically, about a 50-50 split, Grant says.

“Large commercial urban growers seem to do it more hydroponically,” he says. “If you have a larger automated greenhouse you’re probably doing it hydroponically.” He adds that the soil-less media-based growers would more likely be small, direct-market farms of zero to five acres.

Good sanitation, a sterile medium and a clean source of water will go a long way in preventing a lot of the disease problems mentioned above. Grant discourages the use of untreated surface water from ponds and other sources for watering microgreens because from a contamination standpoint, it is the riskiest.  

If you take the advice of these experts, you’ll increase your chances of winning the race with microgreens.

Neil is a horticulturist and freelance copywriter for the green industry, assisting businesses with advertising copy, blog posts, articles, and other digital content. greenindustrywriter.com

Bigger produce isn’t necessarily better, if you ask David Sasuga. By growing the tiniest edible plants possible at the highest attainable quality, Sasuga has grown his company, Fresh Origins, into the leading producer of microgreens in the United States.

Based in San Marcos, Calif., with a total of 80 acres including 1.4 million square feet of covered production space, Fresh Origins ships an average of 2,500 pounds of miniature greens and produce every day. In addition to MicroGreens and slightly larger PetiteGreens, the farm also produces a colorful spectrum of edible flowers, tiny veggies, and other flavorfully innovative products to serve professional chefs nationwide.

In fact, a chef gave Sasuga the idea to focus on microgreens back in 1995. Before then, Sasuga had spent 20 years producing bedding plants through his first company, Sunrise Growers, which ultimately spun off a plug-growing operation called The Plug Connection in 1987 with partner Tim Wada.

Throughout his growing experience, Sasuga’s interests led him toward edibles.

“I always wanted to grow edibles rather than ornamentals, and that led to growing more herb and vegetable plants for garden centers and nurseries,” Sasuga says. “We were growing some tomato transplants for a special order, and when the man came to pick them up, he was intrigued by the basil seedlings we had. He had never seen basil in that form. He revealed that he was a chef in a fine dining restaurant and wanted to use these tiny basils there.”

Initially, Sasuga was “perplexed” why anyone would want herbs that tiny, but the chef was onto something big. Sasuga worked with a restaurant consultant to test the idea in other kitchens, and soon, the culinary world craved the unique colors, tastes, textures and pizzazz that microgreens added to a dish.

“I began to look at seedlings in a whole different way,” says Sasuga, who began experimenting with earlier harvests of edible crops — starting with “basic herbs like basil,” and gradually adding vegetables over time.

Tiny trials

Discovering which plants can be harvested after a couple of weeks — when they’re only an inch to an inch-and-a-half tall — requires research, trial and error. Factors like seed cost, availability and germination rates determine which plants might work as microgreens.

“It’s pretty much the same [process] on a shorter time span — just younger versions of what we were already growing,” Sasuga says. “It’s interesting because I started with bedding plants that had a fairly short timespan compared to other ornamentals; then went to plugs, which had an even shorter time span; and then microgreens, which have an even shorter time span. My experience as a plug grower went a long way toward helping me transition into microgreens.”

As one of the earliest growers to focus on this niche, Sasuga didn’t have best practices or even definitions to follow. So he developed his own.

“There was a steep learning curve since there weren’t any viable resources on how to do this — including seed selection, harvesting, packaging, sales and marketing,” says Sasuga, admitting that marketing was the biggest challenge in debuting MicroGreens. “Everyone thought they were sprouts. I worked hard to establish a dialogue to educate my customers and the internet in general on the definition of how and why microgreens are different than sprouts.” (For a more detailed comparison of microgreens and sprouts, visit freshorigins.com/microgreen-facts)

Fresh Origins grows microgreen seedlings in 10x20 trays filled with peat moss inside of gutter-connected hoop houses. Through experimentation, the company keeps learning more to improve its operations and plant selection.

“Over the years, we’ve gotten more organized and generally more efficient as we’ve gotten better at understanding this crop cycle,” Sasuga says. “It’s just a lot of small improvements, like what kind of greenhouses we need and how to lay them out properly for a nice traffic flow. We’ve changed from growing on the ground to growing on tables, and we’ve changed from wooden to steel tables — just naturally evolving.”

Major micro-innovation

Fresh Origins continually introduces new varieties, both in response to specific customer requests, and through its own in-house experimentation. Today, the farm produces more than 400 varieties of edible plants and flowers, including Micro Basil Nutmeg, Micro Tangerine Lace, Petite Lucky Shamrock and Petite Pumpkin Green.

The company trademarks the names of individual plants and product categories because: “We work hard to develop our products and want to protect that investment,” Sasuga says. “We believe this is a competitive advantage.”

The farm’s most recent innovations include Herb Crystals, Flower Crystals, and Fruit Crystals, which combine fresh produce with pure cane sugar to create crystals that add a colorful punch of crunchy flavor to dishes, drinks and desserts. Fresh Origins introduced its first crystals about five years ago after nearly five years of research and development.

“Microgreens are highly perishable,” Sasuga says. “I wanted to find a way to provide shelf-stable flavors, so I experimented with ways to preserve the delicate flavors of the greens. The result is that we have authentic flavors in a product that lasts months, without the use of added flavorings or colorants.”

While crystals have helped extend the shelf-life of some produce, the short crop cycles and even shorter windows of salability are constant challenges. Most crops are harvested within two weeks, and in most cases, must be sold within two or three days. Fresh Origins’ team hand-harvests produce at peak freshness, then ships through distributors to chefs who receive their orders the next day.

“All of our crops are planted on speculation,” Sasuga says. “Every seed we plant is with the hope that we’ll sell it, but it’s not pre-ordered. This can mean lots of dumping and losses, so you’ve got to have a market for it. We try to stay close to it so we’re watching production, sales and dumps on a daily basis.”

Sustainable by nature

Fresh Origins’ operations are inherently sustainable, but Sasuga is reluctant to greenwash it. He believes that, “Farming, by nature, is sustainable” — especially the way he does it in sunny Southern California, without any supplemental lighting.

“San Marcos has the best climate for growing microgreens year-round, because we have one of the highest light levels in the country,” Sasuga says. “Other areas with high light levels, like Florida, have too much humidity to properly grow high-quality microgreens. Most of our product goes outside California, because we can provide better quality than what’s grown in other parts of the country (with artificial lighting).”

Using free sunshine drastically reduces the farm’s energy costs compared to greenhouses in colder climates. Fresh Origins also makes the most of other natural resources like water by carefully hand-watering more than 120,000 trays of greens every day. An intricate drainage system captures excess water and rainwater, and stores it in a reservoir on-site.

For pest and disease control, Fresh Origins is careful about its approach to avoid wasting valuable resources, Sasuga says. As a first line of defense, all greenhouses are screened and flanked with miles of sticky tape insect traps to minimize the need for spraying. When spraying is necessary, Sasuga opts for the safest materials, such as garlic, clove and rosemary oils.

Scouting is also a key piece of Fresh Origins’ pest and disease control efforts. “When you have a crop time that fast, you have to watch it very closely because things can happen in hours and days, rather than weeks and months,” says Sasuga, whose team scouts by “walking around the old-fashioned way.”

Though quick crop turnaround has challenges, it makes pest and disease control a little easier. “For the most part,” Sasuga says, “the crops are pretty fast, so insects don’t have a lot of time to get established.”

Not-so-local growth

Culinary demands continue to drive growth for Fresh Origins, as chefs and mixologists search for ingredients that add crispy, colorful panache to upscale dishes, desserts and drinks. Although the company only sells through produce distributors that supply restaurants and food retailers, it stays in close contact with the chefs who use its products.

“We’ve maintained relationships and communication with chefs we’ve met over the years,” Sasuga says, and as a result, chefs regularly contribute recipes, photos, videos and other content that Fresh Origins uses on its website and social media to show its products in action.

Sasuga’s daughter, Kelly, is key to these culinary relationships, through her dual role in Fresh Origins’ marketing department and as R&D chef. (Several other family members are also involved in the family-owned company, which has 375 employees — including Sasuga’s brother, who’s head grower.)

By staying focused on this culinary niche, Sasuga predicts steady growth as Fresh Origins continues to innovate and improve. Because his location in an ideal growing climate has been key to producing the quality his customers demand, Sasuga’s advice for other growers is simple:

“Find out what grows best in your area, then focus on quality and being the best,” he says. “You can grow a pineapple in Chicago, but should you? It will not be sustainable, it will take a lot more resources, and it will be poor quality compared to what’s grown in the right climate. I wouldn’t sacrifice quality for being able to say that it was locally grown.”

Brooke is a freelance writer living in Cleveland.

In terms of attracting consumers, the bigger-is-better sales pitch has been successful for the last couple of decades. Restaurant portions became bigger, sometimes serving twice or three times the recommended amount of food and calories; the words “Family Size” showed up on chip bags; “King Size” candy bars appeared on shelves; large SUVs took over vehicle sales; and people plopped in front of 72-inch (and larger) televisions.

But there’s been a change in consumer attitudes — from one extreme to the other — and some products are cashing in on the trend.

Soda sales have been trending downward for several years, as consumers turned to alternatives such as energy drinks, coffee and flavored water, according to a story in Time magazine. Soda manufacturers took a risk and introduced the mini soda that’s some 4 ounces smaller than the typical 12-ounce can, an 8-ish-ounce can. The smaller cans also cost more per ounce than the larger sodas. Consumers liked the new size and packaging, and Coca-Cola and Pepsi both enjoyed a boost in sales.

Edibles have been riding the “tiny” trend as the demand for microgreens has increased.

Microgreens, which are even smaller than “baby greens,” provide an intense flavor ranging from sweet to spicy. I had the good fortune to tour a microgreens growing operation in Holland several years ago, before I had ever seen them on the shelves of my favorite upscale supermarket. The greenhouse owner clipped these miniature leaves straight off the greenhouse bench for our tour group to taste. When I saw these miniscule plants in my hand, I wasn’t expecting much. I was dead wrong. The explosion of flavor from the microgreens was amazing. Pepper, lemon, mint, anise — so many off-the-chart flavors were packaged in these tiny plants. I was hooked. Soon, I noticed them on HGTV and Food Network shows, saw them in high-end restaurants, and eventually found them in specialty retail stores.

Microgreens have gone from garnish to star status with professional chefs and consumers. Earlier this year, chef Mareya Ibrahim (aka The Fit Foodie) called microgreens “the next ‘it’ veggie.” She says they are “super sustainable and grow in a fraction of the time of their larger scale cousins.”

Learn how Fresh Origins in San Marcos, Calif., has turned small plants with big flavors into even bigger profits. Owner David Sasuga has introduced interesting flavors such as Micro Basil Nutmeg and Micro Tangerine Lace. Our cover story begins here.

As you consider your next product launch, don’t assume that consumers prefer larger edibles. Sometimes the smallest product provides the biggest impact.

krodda@gie.net | (216) 393-0224

Editor’s note: Kelli is the editor of Nursey Management magazine.

Now more than ever, consumers have seemingly limitless choices across the grocery store. As a result, produce companies are tasked with upping their packaging and branding game to catch consumers’ eye as they walk through the store. It’s a problem Pure Flavor, a Leamington, Ontario, Canada-based grower, is trying to solve.

“You really have to re-educate the end consumer,” Sarah Pau, Pure Flavor’s director of marketing, says.

At June’s United Fresh event in Chicago, Pure Flavor’s Leafy Fresh lettuce line was a finalist for the Best New Vegetable Product Award, while its Mini Munchies — which include mini peppers and cucumbers — on-the-go snack pack for kids was a finalist for the Best New Packaging Award. At United Fresh, Pure Flavor also debuted the Cloud 9 tomato, the newest addition to the company’s organic produce line.

Pure Flavor holds weekly meetings to discuss design strategies, and all of its products’ packaging are designed in-house. Reaching consumers is just as important as growing high-quality produce.

Below, Pau explains to Produce Grower what Pure Flavor does to ensure consumers will choose Pure Flavor’s produce over the competition’s at the grocery store.

Produce Grower: Why is it so challenging to reach the end consumer in the grocery store?

Sarah Pau: If you go to a grocery store, and you have two or three or four different grape tomato varieties from all of these different companies with similar packaging, how would you know which tomato is the best? If all of the packaging is the same clamshell, how are you going to draw attention to your produce?

PG: Cloud 9 is one the tomato varieties Pure Flavor showcased at United Fresh 2017. What message are you trying to send to the consumer with it?

SP: As end consumers, we’ve always thought the ruby red tomatoes to be the best. But the [Cloud 9] is specifically bred to not turn like that. Even though the tomato is red, it’s not the red associated with ripeness. So, for that item, we had to do a special packaging. Taste is very difficult to explain, so we had to market that tomato differently. It was originally a popular variety in Europe, and it’s just starting to become popular in North America. The name actually came as a direct result of our own taste tests.

PG: How does Pure Flavor go about finding new varieties that you think consumers will like?

SP: We’re constantly looking for new options and doing taste tests internally and externally to make sure our flavor profile is always consistent. The No. 1 greenhouse development area in the world is Holland. We go to Europe at least once or twice a year to meet with greenhouses and seed companies to see what’s out there and what are the best new varieties. Sometimes, even when you already have the best, you have to look out for what consumers will like next.