![]() Would like to share our recent blog posting on our Urbafresh website regarding a true asian superfood that is not commonly seen here. "Besides being a spectacular looking microgreen, Red Komatsuna or japanese mustard spinach is a great tasting rich nutrient source. Long known in asia, the komatsuna is actually part of the brassica family so contains many of the cancer fighting compounds but also with the beautiful coloring providing even more compounds. The brassica family is prized for its potential cancer fighting effects from the presence of glucosinolates and the added anthocyanin boost from the coloration. Komatsuna itself in its mature form is nutrient dense and rich in beta carotene, calcium and Vitamins A, B2, C, K on top of the cancer fighters. An interesting insight into its health benefits can be seen by looking at asian use of the komatsuna for health benefits. Here is an excerpt from a "Shizuoka Gourmet" blog entry from 2010 highlighting komatsuna. "HEALTH FACTS: -Combined with dried sardine whiting, or with sakura ebi/Cherry blossom shrimps, or with scallops, or with konbu/seaweed, helps preserve human bones, and activate rejuvenation. -Combined with tomatoes, or with wakame seaweed, or with carrots, or with green chili peppers, povides for extra stamina, and helps prevent cancer. -Combined with rice vinegar, or with orange, or with lemon, or with strawberries, helps prevent stress, and sore back/articulations, and helps swift recovery. -Combined with konnyaku/devil’s tongue tuber, or with mushrooms, or with celery, or with bamboo shoots, helps combat obesity and prevent high blood pressure. Helps lower down blood cholesterol." Our Red Komatsuna Microgreen Kit provides a hydronically grown sampling of this "new" (actually very old) super food. See our new Kit offering now live on etsy.
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![]() In an effort to standardize our offerings and simplify things, we have prepared this comparison look at our three kit sizes of hydroponic and media growing systems. All of our trays are made from 100% Post Consumer Recycled (PCR) plastic from bottles. We had searched long for this specific trait as we believe that these reusable grow trays and their origin have a positive impact on our environment and our lives. The three sizes are illustrated by the pictures of the trays and of our sustainably sourced, US produced Kenaf grow mats. Our "soil" based offerings highlight our custom blended Wonder Soil compressed coir wafers with worm castings and kelp. The photo of the three nested trays show the overall footprint of our growing kits while the picture of the mats show you the growing area for seeding purposes. Note that the measures of the trays are approximately 6" sq for the small, 7" sq for the standard, and 9" sq for our large size. The last photo is of our standard tray seeded today with some radish seeds in order to give you a sense of the density for seeding. We are in the midst of revamping our store offerings to give you a choice of sizes for the growing kits. We should have all offerings updated by mid week to reflect the sizes. ![]() The extreme health benefits of microgreens are indisputable as basic research has shown that microgreens contain anywhere from 4 to 40 times the nutrient value of their mature counterparts. We have in our growing kits things like sprout mixes that can be eaten in 3-4 days ... and microgreens from 7-30 days depending on the crops. We have grown red arrow radish to harvest stage now successfully in 5 days (see pics below). These fit in between the sprouts and micros so I am referring to them as hyper greens for their rapid growth. Found also another fascinating reason these are essentially a super grouping of radishes. It has been shown that the compounds in broccoli and radish are cancer fighters, but even more fascinating is there is a degradation in the amounts of the glucosinolate which is the cancer fighting compound from the seed stage, so the quicker a radish is grown, the more potent the levels of cancer fighting compounds. Research studies also show that the glucosinolate in the radish might be superior to broccoli since radish has a different path to oxidizing the compound. Additional benefits come from eating the radish early in the sprout cycle and in its raw or fresh state. Our new Hyper Green Kits feature hydroponically grown radish micros as pictured. Aside from these great benefits for health, these are spectacular looking greens with a pinkish red stem and bright green leaves. The taste is radishy so it adds a zing to salads and sandwiches! ![]() Here is your chance to experience and compare two different methods of growing wonderful microgreens. We have chosen two of the most popular methods of growing and include all the supplies and equipment needed to grow 4 crops of Radish Microgreens in your own home. Our kit includes enough seeds and all the equipment to grow 4 complete trays of wonderful Non GMO, Organic Red Arrow Radish. The trays are our medium sized trays that approximately 6 1/2" square and made from 100% recycled plastic bottles. The new kit includes 2 kenaf based grow mats for hydroponic growing. Also included are 2 custom blended Wonder Soil wafers that are formulated with compressed coir, worm castings and kelp. We also include our seed spreader and a spray bottle for misting the seeds as they germinate. We provide complete instructions and support through the web. This is a great way to get an introduction to the exciting Micro Farming revolution bringing fresh and live nutrition to your table. There is nothing fresher and more potent than microgreens that you grow and bring to your table! Click Here to purchase a kit now.
Our strategic partner, Terrafarms India is pleased to unveil a custom MicroFarm installation at the Andaz Delhi. Managing Director Linesh Pillai designed and manufactured this initial installation to custom fit the requirements of Chef Alex of the AnnaMaya restaurant in this spectacular property. Scroll down on this sway to see the story ...
![]() We just got our lighting unit and have started our internal testing. We have observed that microgreen growing can be done with relatively low levels of growing lights. We have also found that the red/blue LED's or high K whites can produce great results. We are using a 16hr light cycle in our application. These inexpensive lights provide enough lighting to grow out nice crops microgreens in a normal amount of time. The color mix works to create healthy and vibrant products. Problem is the light bar providing a horizontal "point" source of lights so the plants will tend to bend to the middle of the trays. You can counteract this by rotating the trays themselves, but it should be enough to harden the crops by finishing under a more diffuse light or sunlight. You can find these in our curated Amazon store where we have highlighted two inexpensive LED light units that work well. Each unit will provide enough light to grow at least 16 our our trays and 32 if you rotate them out. The trick is to manage the height of the light to allow for enough spread to cover your crops. Pictured is our 2ft test unit that fit our space better, but for actual production the 4ft units in our store are more optimal. ![]() We have just posted our Farmers Market kits in the new Urbafresh Store which can now be found at urbafresh.biz. The complete kit contains enough supplies and accessories to grow 16 containers of our purple microgreen mix for sale. These trays are designed to be sold at $5 - $7.50 per container but you will need to check the viability of that pricing in your local markets. Each kit contains 4 10"x10" trays, 16 grow containers with hydroponic grow pads, Non GMO seeds and a reusable seed spreader, a sprayer head to use on a recycled plastic bottle, and trace mineral nutrients to water your trays. Also in the store you will find refill kits for 8 containers w supplies both with and without trays but including the mats, seed and nutrients. ![]() Grow Your Own and know that you have a Non GMO food. Simple yes, check out our GYO kits to ensure what you eat is live and vital. Grow your own microgreens so you get enhanced nutrition while enjoying tending your farm right in your home or apartment. There is no disputing that broccoli and kale are superfoods by any measure. These nutritional powerhouses have proven to be highly effective versus cancers and cardio vascular diseases. By adding nutrients to your diet through natural and live sources you provide these essentials nutrients the way nature intended. Researchers have also shown that microgreens can provide anywhere from three to forty times the amount of these vital nutrients versus their mature forms you buy in the supermarket. Not only are microgreens far more potent, but by GYO, you ensure the absolute finest fresh and live food available anywhere! ![]() One of the common questions we get is from people wanting to try their hand at producing microgreens for small commercial use. Farmers Markets provide a nice test bed for growers just starting out. We have designed a kit to answer the need for a starter commercial microgreen operation. In order to see if this will work for you, simply go to some farmers markets in your area and see if anyone is selling microgreens and what is the common prices being paid. Our kits will provide live microgreens and we suggest selling them by the tray and not processed. In most venues, by selling the live trays of microgreens, you bypass a lot of health regulations dealing with processing microgreens for sale (research that also as regulations vary by locations). The pictures are of our basic kit that features a 10"x10" holding tray that is basically 1/2 a standard seed tray. Each holding tray will house four 5"x5" growing trays that are your unit of sale. We have foung a fair pricing is anywhere from $5-$7.50 per tray as pictured below. Our kits will be available as hydroponic, our coir based growing wafers or you can use your own media as several of our customers are doing. The kits will be available here this week and we will also feature a lighting system for indoor growing. Kits will also include Non-GMO seeds as shown. We will provide specific growing instructions and support. Our suggestion is to grow out a tray or two to familiarize yourself with microgreens, but most crops take from 7-10 days so your initial learning curve can be fairly quick. We wanted to get these kits to market so you would be ready for spring and the markets. Contact us for further info on your situation and stay tuned this week for the release of our Farmers Market Kits! ![]() As promised last week, here is our followup post chronicling our two crops started last week. The growth has been astounding and the development of the leaves and flavors outstanding. Here are the photos from today at exactly 7 days from planting on our hydroponic mat. Proper watering was easily accomplished as simple visual inspection allowed us to maintain a constant pool of water for the root systems. The photos below show what the crops look like after 3 days when we first exposed the plants to light and the top row was taken today showing what the microgreens look like at one week. We are now doing a finishing grow by placing our trays under some blue LED lights for another 3 days to accentuate the colors and nutritional content of the Pak Choi microgreens. We should have part three later this week so you can then see the entire process. We will have hydroponic kits available before the end of the month that will allow you to grow these amazing crops. |
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