The Chef’s Garden lies about three miles south of Lake Erie. The land we farm is ancient lake bottom – it is some of the world’s richest sandy loam. Soil is the reason that our plants grow the way that they do, and our team works every day to ensure that the soil on our farm is maintained and even improved. The Chef’s Garden uses a combination of technology and nature to make the soil usable for growing crops. For example, we grow Sudan grass because of its roots that drill deep into the soil, and we use drainage tiles at prescribed depths to make sure that water doesn’t pool on the field. Both of these methods help to ensure that our plants can grow to their greatest potential.
Microgreens, according to a 2012 scientific study, “punch well above their weight when it comes to nutrition. Researchers found microgreens like red cabbage, cilantro, and radish contain up to 40 times higher levels of vital nutrients than their mature counterparts.”
“When we first started growing mesclun,” Farmer Lee Jones remembers, “we wondered if it would remain an interesting product. To help make that happen, we’ve continued to add varieties, with differing textures and flavors – and, here we are, 30 years later!”
The case for microgreens is clearly and independently being made by scientists, researchers, fitness professionals and culinary experts. We’re going to take that concept one step further and say that, although microgreens make excellent garnishes, they are so much more valuable.
DOUBLE TAKE: The act of taking a second look at something or someone, usually with a marked physical reaction – surprise, rage, and so forth, often with eyes popping, face turning red, and (in animated works) smoke coming from the head. It is often used in cartoons. (Comedy: A Geographic and Historical Guide, Volume 2)
“Flowers,” as Farmer Lee Jones points out, “have been used as inspiration for a myriad of things for thousands of years.” They are “one of the most intimate, seductive things that exist. It’s a flower, it’s to attract. You get the beauty of the color, but you also get the aroma and the bouquet of that flower.”