Farming + Wellness

As a global community, we are facing an unprecedented worldwide pandemic with COVID-19. It seems all our lives have changed drastically in one way or another within a week. I have struggled with how to address this surreal situation from a business perspective. As a small business owner, I won’t sugarcoat it–I panicked. I cried. But then a dear friend said, stop your crying and find five things to say thank you for. So I did and I will continue this practice, as I hope you may be inspired to do the same. When you see empty streets, unused buses, closed restaurants, it is easy to be filled with dread of what the future may hold, sadness for our current situation, desperation to cling to life as we knew it. But instead, I invite you to see all the emptiness and the “CLOSED” signs as signs of love. We are giving each other immense love and compassion when we stay home, to the best of our individual abilities, as much as possible. We are protecting each other and looking to a brighter future. Now, on to Farming + Wellness.

In the face of COVID-19, social distancing, and restaurant closures, I gave a lot of thought to door-to-door microgreens deliveries, something I had already been planning to set up as we launched our CSA this summer. I also thought about a pay-what-you-can system for families who find themselves suddenly and unexpectedly financially strapped. I thought about the ways I could bring microgreens to everyone in my community, because I believe in the vitamins and nutrients they provide, especially in these times as our immune systems can use all the help they can get. But, because I also believe social distancing is our best choice right now, I have decided instead to share some information I had already been working on putting together before COVID-19. I am sharing the power of microgreens below. I invite you to take a look, think about what might benefit your family, and start growing. I will post a quick how-to for counter top microgreens in the next few days. Now is the time to look at ways you can grow vegetables, full size or micro, for the health benefits of eating them, and the mental health benefits of growing them. Below you will find a few of our most common varieties on the farm, along with what they offer your body when you eat them. The health benefits are organized as “Facts” + “Extra Nutrients” + “Minerals” + “Vitamins”. You can also see the full version here.

Amaranth: ancient grain + complete plant protein + antioxidants + high fiber + folate, iron, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, calcium + vitamins A, C, E 

Beets: DNA repair + oxygenates muscles + antioxidants + pectin helps remove heavy metals from the body + high fiber + iron, nitrate, folic acid

Mustard Varieties: superfood containing folate + manganese, potassium, copper, calcium phosphorus + vitamins A, C, K, E, B6

Sunflower Shoots: a complete plant protein, containing all of the essential amino acids + iron, potassium, magnesium, copper, phosphorus, zinc + vitamins A, B complex, D, E