Growing Microgreens Podcast

Veteran microgreens grower Chris Thoreau is joined by entrepreneur Pierre Marlow to talk about starting a microgreens business after having the main business shut down during the pandemic. They talk about a slow approach to scaling while maintaining a high-quality product and building a business for retirement rather than scaling into a large-scale operation. They also touch on finding a work-life balance when building and running a microgreens operation. Get time and labor-saving farm tools and microgreen seeds at shop.modern grower.co Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network: Farm Small, Farm Smart Farm Small, Farm Smart Daily The Growing Microgreens Podcast Carrot Cashflow Podcast In Search of Soil Check out Diego's book Sell Everything You Grow on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Sell-Everything-You-Grow-Homestead-ebook/dp/B0CJC9NTZF Chris's online course Growing Your Profitable Microgreens Business https://microgreens.teachable.com/courses

Michael Quinn of Mourne Microgreens joins host Chris Thoreau to talk about his journey of starting a microgreens business in Northern Ireland. He shares the challenges of growing and selling a niche crop in a new market, how he leveraged his previous career experience to navigate the business, and how he has set up the business to create social impact from day one. Click here to learn more about Michael Quinn and Mourne Microgreens. Get time and labor-saving farm tools and microgreen seeds at shop.modern grower.co Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network: Farm Small, Farm Smart Farm Small, Farm Smart Daily The Growing Microgreens Podcast Carrot Cashflow Podcast In Search of Soil Check out Diego's book Sell Everything You Grow on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Sell-Everything-You-Grow-Homestead-ebook/dp/B0CJC9NTZF Chris's online course Growing Your Profitable Microgreens Business https://microgreens.teachable.com/courses

Alex Dale of Hunters' Dale Microgreens in Chilliwack, BC joins host and veteran microgreens grower Chris Thoreau to share her story of how she started her farm with her mother, who initially began market gardening. Alex talks about how they scaled the business, as well as the challenges they faced along the way. Click here to learn more about Hunters' Dale! Get time and labor-saving farm tools and microgreen seeds at shop.modern grower.co Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network: Farm Small, Farm Smart Farm Small, Farm Smart Daily The Growing Microgreens Podcast Carrot Cashflow Podcast In Search of Soil Check out Diego's book Sell Everything You Grow on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Sell-Everything-You-Grow-Homestead-ebook/dp/B0CJC9NTZF Chris's online course Growing Your Profitable Microgreens Business https://microgreens.teachable.com/courses

In this episode, long-time microgreens grower Chris Thoreau joins host Diego to talk all about seeds, specifically, local seed production...or the lack thereof. He talks about what it means to purchase seeds responsibly and how possible or realistic that is. He also takes a look at the local seed movement, how practical and viable it is, as well as some of the challenges that come with both supporting local producers and being local producers. Click here to learn more about Chris Thoreau and his work. Get time and labor-saving farm tools and microgreen seeds at shop.modern grower.co Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network: Farm Small, Farm Smart Farm Small, Farm Smart Daily The Growing Microgreens Podcast Carrot Cashflow Podcast In Search of Soil Check out Diego's book Sell Everything You Grow on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Sell-Everything-You-Grow-Homestead-ebook/dp/B0CJC9NTZF Chris's online course Growing Your Profitable Microgreens Business https://microgreens.teachable.com/courses

Lily Evans of Short Roots Farm in Kenosha, Wisconsin shares her entrepreneurial journey into microgreens starting from how she bootstrapped her business with minimal investment, to scaling up her business by transforming a spare room into a grow room, to expanding her product offering to include mushrooms. She also shares the challenges and successes she faced as she built up a good market for microgreens in their area while balancing multiple jobs along the way. Click here to learn more about Lily Evans and Short Roots Urban Farm. Get time and labor-saving farm tools and microgreen seeds at shop.modern grower.co Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network: Farm Small, Farm Smart Farm Small, Farm Smart Daily The Growing Microgreens Podcast Check out Diego's book Sell Everything You Grow on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Sell-Everything-You-Grow-Homestead-ebook/dp/B0CJC9NTZF Chris's online course Growing Your Profitable Microgreens Business https://microgreens.teachable.com/courses

In this episode, Chris and I discuss using the blackout stage in growing microgreens, particularly broccoli, and whether it's beneficial. The blackout stage involves keeping plants in the dark after the germination stage to make them taller and potentially increase yield. The trial tested different blackout durations (0 to 3 days) to observe effects on crop height, yield, appearance, flavor, and storage. Key findings include: Height: One blackout day produced the tallest plants (7.5 cm), while three days resulted in weak, bent plants. Yield: Longer blackout periods slightly reduced yield, with three days of blackout giving the lowest yield. Appearance: The longer blackout made the plants paler, with smaller leaves and weaker stems, making them look worse overall. Texture and Flavor: Longer blackout made the plants chewier, though flavor wasn't significantly affected. Storage: All plants stored well for 10-14 days, with minor differences. The conclusion is that the blackout stage is not particularly beneficial for broccoli. A one-day blackout might help slightly with height but doesn't justify the extra effort. The results might vary for other crops, like amaranth, which will be tested in future trials. Get time and labor-saving farm tools and microgreen seeds at shop.modern grower.co Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network: Farm Small, Farm Smart Farm Small, Farm Smart Daily The Growing Microgreens Podcast Check out Diego's book Sell Everything You Grow on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Sell-Everything-You-Grow-Homestead-ebook/dp/B0CJC9NTZF Chris's online course Growing Your Profitable Microgreens Business https://microgreens.teachable.com/courses

Jacob Goldfarb of Goldfarm Canada shares his microgreens journey and how he moved his growing operation from his kitchen in his 1-bedroom apartment, to his 3-bedroom apartment, to a commercial growing space, before finally ending up in a larger, fully decked out growing space. He also shares his criteria for new growing spaces, his experience renovating the growing space, as well as the challenges he faced not just growing microgreens in tight spaces, but also the issues that came with moving a growing operation from one location to another. Get time and labor-saving farm tools and microgreen seeds at shop.modern grower.co Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network: Farm Small, Farm Smart Farm Small, Farm Smart Daily The Growing Microgreens Podcast Check out Diego's book Sell Everything You Grow on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Sell-Everything-You-Grow-Homestead-ebook/dp/B0CJC9NTZF Chris's online course Growing Your Profitable Microgreens Business https://microgreens.teachable.com/courses

The benefits of building a microgreens business, and how to keep improving it. Chris's online course Growing Your Profitable Microgreens Business https://microgreens.teachable.com/courses Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/ Follow Diego on IG https://instagram.com/diegofooter Follow PaperpotCo on IG https://instagram.com/paperpot Podcasts by Diego Footer: Microgreens: https://apple.co/2m1QXmW Vegetable Farming: https://apple.co/2lCuv3m Livestock Farming: https://apple.co/2m75EVG Large Scale Farming: https://apple.co/2kxj39i Small Farm Tools https://www.paperpot.co/

Chris Thoreau has grow microgreens for over 10 years, but he recently reached the point where he Chris realized it was time to do something else and move on. Find out what changed and why Chris is changing with it. Chris's online course Growing Your Profitable Microgreens Business https://microgreens.teachable.com/courses Follow Diego on IG https://instagram.com/diegofooter Small Farm Tools and Microgreens Supplies https://www.paperpot.co/ Support my content while you shop at Amazon: https://amzn.to/32FYCqW

In this episode Chris Thoreau joins me to explore the idea - Can you actually make a living growing microgreens? Is it actually possible or just an unrealistic dream? If it is possible what does that look like? How big does the business need to be? How much do you need to be selling? Would you need employees? TLDR: It is possible, with the right combination of luck, skills and hard work. Some people will find it's a fit for them and their lifestyle, but they'll need to be committed. Chris's online course Growing Your Profitable Microgreens Business https://microgreens.teachable.com/courses Follow Diego on IG https://instagram.com/diegofooter Small Farm Tools and Microgreens Supplies https://www.paperpot.co/ Support my content while you shop at Amazon: https://amzn.to/32FYCqW

When you start your farm business, one think that you need to think about is your business structure. Sole proprietorships and LLCs are common ways to go, but there are also other options, like co-operatives... That's how farmer Chris Thoreau of Food Pedalers structure his business, and that's the subject of today's show... Today I'm going up to Vancouver to talk to microgreen farmer Chris Thoreau about a topic that you don't hear discussed a lot in small scale farming circles - how he organized his business.. Chris initially started his business as a sole proprietor, but as he began to grow, both in the size of the business and the amount of people working in the business, he realized he needed to change that. After looking at all of the options, Chris decided that he wanted to do something different, something that went more against the status quo, and something that was equitable for everyone involved - so Chris organized his business as a co-operative. It's an interesting business structure and it's one that most people wouldn't think of when organizing their business. If your business is growing, or if you are thinking about expanding your team, then a coop structure might make sense for you... Today Chris will talk about why he chose that structure, the advantages and disadvantages of it, and what it takes to have a successful member-owner business. Chris's online course Growing Your Profitable Microgreens Business http://bit.ly/learntogrowmicrogreens Follow Diego on IG https://instagram.com/diegofooter Small Farm Tools and Microgreens Supplies https://www.paperpot.co/ Support my content while you shop at Amazon: https://amzn.to/32FYCqW

When you are only growing a 10 day crop, how much of an affect does light quality and temperature have on the crop? A lot. Chris is in Vancouver where he sees day lengths change from 8 hours at the winter solstice to 16 hours at the summer solstice; a large change which affects how much light crops get to grow. Less light in winter means slower or no crop growth. If you are a farmer, you get this. It makes sense, at least for field crops. But what about microgreens? Crops which spend only half of their life in the light, a life that might only be 5 to 8 days. Does seasonality really affect those crops over those 5 days? Yes, and more than you think. In this episode Chris will talk all about the change of the seasons and how it affects microgreen crop growth - specifically the effects of changing temperatures and light conditions. Two factors which can dramatically affect crop growth, yield and quality. Chris's online course Growing Your Profitable Microgreens Business http://bit.ly/learntogrowmicrogreens Follow Diego on IG https://instagram.com/diegofooter Small Farm Tools and Microgreens Supplies https://www.paperpot.co/ Support my content while you shop at Amazon: https://amzn.to/32FYCqW