Day 4: Greensted Microgreens by Ashley

 With a little bit of a late start to day 4, we went to The Greensted Microgreens in Zumbrota, Minnesota where Mr. Dean Bredlau and Mrs. Jayne Bredlau talked to us about what exactly goes on at their operation. 

At the Greensted Microgreen operation, they grow a variety of lettuce and microgreens. Microgreens are young seedlings of edible vegetables and herbs. Unlike larger herbs and vegetables that take weeks or months to grow, microgreens can be harvested and eaten 10 to 14 days after germination. Not only do microgreens take less time to grow, but they also have about 40% more nutritional value than fully-grown herbs or vegetables. 

Mr. Dean Bredlau explained how they grow microgreens as well as the materials, methods, and time periods that go into production. He explained that the microgreens were grown in 10” X 20” trays that are 2” deep. Soil is spread evenly in the tray and seeds are sprinkled all over the tray creating a high density of seeds in the tray. Due to the limited space the plants are allowed to grow in, that is what keeps the plants a smaller size compared to the same seeds planted with plenty of space that will grow to full size if allowed to. As seen in the pictures the trays are then put onto shelves with lights mounted above them at a night of 8 inches. This is important because the limited space and light placement create the perfect environment for the microgreens to grow. During Mr. Dean Bredlau’s experimentation while learning to grow microgreens he found that the microgreens do best in an environment that is approximately 70-75°f and 60% humidity is optimum for efficient growth. The microgreens are watered daily as well as receive light all the time. 

The Greensted is a Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA, that directly connects consumers and producers to help create a more profitable and transparent local food system. Mrs. Jayne Bredlau explained how people from their community will purchase memberships for the growing season and they will receive a basket of various assortments of vegetables and microgreens every week. Some of which include salad mixes with the microgreens grown at the facility.

After Mr. And Mrs. Bredlau showed us around the facility, we got the opportunity to try some of the microgreens they grow and sell at Greensted. We tried pea, sunflower, broccoli microgreens, as well as many more along with mixes of different microgreens. Everyone enjoyed trying them and some liked them so much they bought some to eat during the rest of our trip. 

Seeds started in trays.

      

This is the equipment used to cut the microgreens.