 In an earlier blog "Cress to Supercress" published back in 2016 we described creating an even more potent microgreen by using blue single sourced LED lights. Our original light system finally failed so we replaced them with larger (24W vs 10W) blue LED lights. With our new growing systems we have also cut down the grow times considerably. Our new test setup was done growing dahong pak choi or purple chinese cabbage. We chose this plant due to quick growth and the purplish colors which are markers for anthocyanins in the plants. These anthocyanins are believed to help prevent CVD (Cardio Vascualar Disease), cancer, and may help cognitive function. Our initial tests were run on the cabbage grown for 10days under the same conditions and planting density. The only difference is that the sample on the left was exposed to the blue LED lights for the final 3 days of growing. There is a significant size and color difference between the blue crop and the control. Notice how much stronger the plants were (the leaves on the blue were so dense that the leaves were fighting for space) and the colors showing the deeper and stronger purple coloration. Note that both samples were grown under red/blue LED's initially and for the duration on the control sample. We will be running further tests and production under the blue LED's and look forward to increasing the nutritional value of our microgreen crops.
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 Not often seen but spectacular Tokyo Bekana cabbage has been called the japanese version of chinese cabbage. The beautiful lime green micro provides a striking contrast to the deep greens of most of our crops. It has a nice crunch and sweeter flavor that gives you a nice flavor boost in your microgreen arsenal. Recently chosen as a leafy green for space travel, Tokyo Bekana is introduced in a recent blog entry from NASA. "The crop was chosen after evaluating several leafy vegetables on a number of criteria, such as how well they grow and their nutritional value. The top four candidates were sent to Johnson Space Center’s Space Food Systems team, where they brought in volunteer tasters to sample the choices. The Tokyo Bekana turned out to be the most highly rated in all the taste categories." Here is NASA's take on it, "For the first time, a Chinese cabbage variety named Tokyo Bekana will be grown in space. The cabbage was chosen as a good candidate because it is a quick growing leafy green that is rated highly from a nutritional and taste perspective. " So we offer you a way to have the benefit of NASA research and space agriculture to bring this superior microgreen to your table ... no need to be in space! See our Tokyo Bekana microgreen kits here.  Pea Shoots ready for harvest at 9 days Long a european and asian favorite, the young pea plant stem, leaves and tendrils known as pea shoots are quickly becoming a darling for those looking for new sources of nutrients and amazing taste and textures. Disrtibuted food production at its best, our micro farm unit will provide a nice supply of pea shoots that you grow and harvest right in your home, bringing a farm to your windowsill.
The nutritional benefits from pea shoots are truly amazing. Did you know that pea shoots provides more than seven times the Vitamin C of blueberries and four times the Vitamin A of tomatoes. They are also an amazing source of Vitamin K where one cup provides 66% of the daily value as prescribed for adults. Our pea plants are specially bred to provide pea shoots with graceful tendrils and leaves. You harvest the shoots by cutting just above the second leaf on the plant and the plants will branch another set of tendrils and leaves to harvest. Typically you will get multiple shoots from every plant in your tray. One tray will provide you an ongoing supply of pea shoots bringing a farm to your windosill. We recommend a pre soak of the peas and you should be ready to harvest your first shoot in 8-10 days. The Grow to Eat Pea Shoot Kit contains supplies for three complete crops of peas specially bred for tendrils and shoots. Also included is our Grow to Eat self watering trays for easy windowsill farming. The WonderSoil coco peat compressed growing media is specially blended and contains worm castings, trace minerals and kelp to promote superior plant growth. Pea seeds are all Non GMO. All supplies are sourced from US suppliers. You can purchase it here.  We have talked a lot about the process of growing microgreens but have rarely given you a glimpse of how we use them. Our new Grow to Eat kits provide a great vehicle for growing microgreens and this particular tray has our tasty salad mix (broccoli, kale, arugula, kohlrabi and cabbage). This particular tray was ready to be harvested at 8 days from seed to our table. We made a southern style ham and bean soup (leftover christmas ham bone) with a kale and red cabbage salad. My son and I used half of the tray to garnish both the soup and salad to get our dose of microgreens. Incidentally, we harvested and used the remaining half on our salad tonight. Our self watering trays make for really great way to grow microgreens. We take a 4-6 serving per tray measure depending on the crop. We are creating deluxe home kits that will give you 2 servings a day with continuous production (5 growing systems) one that gives you 4-6 servings a day (10 growing systems) depending on your family size. Both kits include a supplemental LED grow light that we use to actually grow out our trays. Kits will be available this weekend in our store.  Our self watering microgreen Grow to Eat kits are being used in many restaurants and resorts in Mumbai, Maui and soon coming to Moscow. We are offering a starter kit with supplies and an LED grow light that can be used to create an eye catching display of your fresh microgreen crops waiting to use. The introduction of freshly grown microgreens right in your establishment can make quite a statement to your customers. Fresh and clean microgreens to give them the finest in taste and nutrition. Zero miles and farm to fork rolled into one! This kit contains 10 self watering growing trays (reusable), enough supplies to grow out 30 trays of assorted microgreens, "rain" head bottle topper for moistening the seeds for initial germination, seed spreader for ease of seeding, one 7" LED grow light that could be put over 2-3 trays for display purposes and grow lighting. We will provide detailed instructions and ideas for display. Contact us directly for custom orders and consultation for your particular installation. Large installations like the Andaz Delhi have several hundred trays going at once that allows their chefs to have access to the finest nutrition and visual components for their customers. Join the Grow to Eat revolution and up the bar for nutrition and visual highlights to your dishes!  Nasturtiums are all the rage with their beautiful edible flowers gracing so many dishes and salads. But did you know that the little stems and flowers are also edible. Known earlier as "Indian Cress" the edible plant had the peppery flavor of cress. Nasturtium also have medicinal uses as the microgreens have a high content of Vit C and iron, while the leaves also have antibiotic properties that peak before the plant flowers. Because of these properties, the inclusion of these nasturtium microgreens can help with things like sore throats, common colds and bacterial and fungal infections. Our Nasturtium Microgreen Kit is available now.  Taking our original SIP design, Linesh Pillai from Urban Green Fate Farms in India has engineered a breakthrough product for microgreen growing. The product has been used in schools, institutions, restaurants and high end resorts to provide “zero carbon greens” from seed to fork in 7 to 10 days. No transportation or chemicals so you get guaranteed fresh nutrition, you cannot get any fresher than “grow to eat”. The “Grow to Eat” kit provides our innovative microgreen growing system (2 piece bottom wicking tray system) and includes 3 sprouting seed packets of our Non GMO Salad Mix (broccoli, kale, arugula, cabbage, kohlrabi and mustard). The growing media is provided by 2 Wonder Soil organic wafers which is enough coir based “soil” for 3 full trays as pictured). The kits are manufactured in India and contain US sourced non GMO seeds and US produced compressed coir Wonder Soil to complete it. We have included a supplemental instruction sheet on the reverse side of the packaging and provide internet based support and help. One of the biggest hurdles for the microgreen grower is the watering of these tiny plants. Our Grow to Eat kits allow the plants to "sip" the proper amount of water without any work other than keeping water in the lower tray. The kits contain enough supplies to grow three complete trays as pictured. Ready to eat in 7-10 days! Not only the freshest but most nutritionally rich food you can get! Now available online in our web store and soon in selected stores and distributors. Contact us for more info. Our new Grow to Eat Microgreen systems are delivering superior nutrition and farm to fork freshness to restaurants in India. The most publicized installation is in the Andaz Delhi's Anna Maya restaurant that now features microgreens grown and harvested right in the restaurant. This second new installation is for the Olive Bar and Kitchen, Bandra West, Mumbai which is under construction now. The location will feature fresh microgreens grown in this on premise microgreen farm that will showcase our super efficient Grow to Eat Microgreen systems. We are getting ready for the holiday season and today are proud to introduce our new web store where we will be introducing our SIP grow system in the next few days. Our system will feature our bottom self watering design in an easy to grow system that will take a lot of the uncertainty in growing microgreens. We think these new kits will be the hit of the holiday season! Today though, we want to introduce our new internet store ... click through to see our kits and equipment.   Our newest crop is probably our brightest. These Detroit red beets are spectacular in taste and visually stunning. The beets have proven to be fast growing (12-21 days) and produce one of the most visually stunning microgreens we grow. These tiny powerhouses contain vitamins A, B, C, E and K along with Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Zinc. Trace Elements, and antioxidants that have anti-inflammatory and natural detoxification properties. The red pigment found in beets and also the leafy Detroit red beets, called Lycopene, is believed to reduce the risk of several types of cancer. Great fun to grow and consume, our red beet microgreens will be a hit. Kits now available here. |
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