Honey, We Shrunk Our Veggies!
Meet the Big Ideas and Big Hearts Leading the Way at Micro Acres.
With a history and 15 years of experience working at some of the most prestigious restaurants in Calgary, David and Kirstin of Micro Acres Farm, loved having the privilege of serving amazingly fresh and local products. But with skyrocketing costs and lack of options at the grocery stores, they knew there was an opportunity to do things very differently.
That’s when they realized that vertical farming might be the innovation that could help bring farming costs down, provide 365 days of growing AND produce higher quality and more unique produce that is usually only found on the plates of master chefs!
Enter These Little Guys.
Microgreens.
Microgreens are defined as a vegetable grown and harvested within the first 7-10 days of its’ life. This is really important because what studies have shown is that these microgreens can pack up to 40x the nutritional density of their overgrown relatives.
From a farming perspective, the quick harvests also mean that a very small amount of space (measured in square feet and not acres) can produce a lot of food, very efficiently. This means less space, less water, less soil – and for Micro Acres – absolutely zero pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers are needed.
They Should be Called Fun-Sized Greens
One of the really important decisions that David and Kirstin have made with Micro Acres Farm, is to really focus on unique and diverse microgreens.
Did you know that mustards, were more than just seeds? Did you know that they are basically like spinach?
That is where you can really hear the passion and excitement come intotheir voices, as David and Kirstin describe how incredible it is to taste the incredibly diverse and unique flavours that you can create withmicrogreens like the mildy sweet and buttery leaves of the Fava, or the very spicy finish of the Scarlet Frills Mustard.
Like great wine-makers, Kirstin and David love exploring and experimenting with the growing conditions and harvesting of their microgreens to see how it changes the flavor profiles, texture and complexity of these small but mighty foods.
They think Dan says it best – Once you try microgreens on your burger, you will never be able to go back to lettuce.
6 Ways Microgreens will Change Your Life
1) Burgers - Microgreens instead of Lettuce |
2) Soups - Garnish and texture |
3) Seafood - Garnish and earthy tones |
4) Braised Meats - Igniting the Flavour profiles of the meat |
5) Salad - As an addition to or substitute for Lettuce |
6) Snacking - Seriously. Try a handful instead of potato chips and it will change your life |
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