Crop Focus: Broccoli Microgreens

Our journey in micro-greens and farming all started with lots of research.  Celiac Disease had left our young family nutrient deficient and we needed to get some highly nutritious food into our diets immediately.   It’s not only us that is struggling with nutrient deficiency, but according to a 2017 study, two-thirds of the worlds population is also suffering the same.  It was surprising to read that nutrient deficiency is not just a third world country problem, but it affects all of the world, regardless of economic strength.  Additionaly, one-third of the worlds population is overweight as well as undernourished.  The food that we are currently surviving on in this world is not doing the trick.

Over fifty percent of the worlds population lives in city centers, but most of the produce is grown in rural areas.  This requires massive distribution efforts.  According to that same 2017 Study, food distribution  comprises up to 10% of the total energy budget.  This system requires food to travel long distances and also limits the food diversity to products that will have long shelf lives.   The result is an increased reliance on processed and or packaged foods, and not on the nutrient dense farm fresh foods that our bodies require.

Microgreens are a solid solution to help us all get the nutrients that our current food model doesn’t allow for.  Broccoli Microgreens specifically, are one of the most nutrient dense foods you can source on this planet!  The same 2017 study found that broccoli microgreens are 1.73 times more nutritional dense than fully grown broccoli flourettes.  Thats a big deal!  Plus, they are a great source of sulphorphane, which reduces the chances of cancer forming by cleaning out the cells.  According to Livestrong.com, broccoli microgreens are at top of the list for foods that contain sulphophane.  At three days old, they contain anywhere from 10-100 times the sulphophane than fully grown broccoli or cauliflower!  Broccoli Microgreens are also a great source for potassium, vitamin K, vitamin C, folate, magnesium and other important vitamins and minerals.  They truly are a living vitamin!

It’s amazing how much nutrition is packed into these tiny leafs.  Not only are broccoli microgreens more nutrient dense, but they also grow over 90% faster and use up to 236 times less water than fully grown broccoli!  Broccoli fouretts typically take 100 to 150 days to harvest, where as the broccoli microgreens are harvested in 10-14 days.  The best part about microgreens is that they are easy to grow indoors and don’t require fertilization or pesticide use.  They can be easily grown regionally and distributed locally which can drastically reduce the environmental strains brought on by the current large scale distribution model.  They are delicate, so they can’t travel far, and will therefor not loose their nutritional content due to long term storage.

The same 2017 Study noted that food sold at a grocery store would travel an average of 1800 miles prior to hitting the shelf.  This travel requirement reduces the available produce to those crops that has long shelf lives.  By adding microgreens to your diet you will be adding to your food diversity as well as your nutritional intake diversity.  It was found that peas stored at room temperature loose 50% of their vitamin C in 7 days and spinach looses 100% of the vitamin C within just 4 days!  When you have to rely on the standard food model grab those micro-greens to get back that lost nutrition!

When you’re in Salida, we have you covered!  Simple Foods Market always has our Broccoli Microgreens in stock as well as a great assortment of farm fresh produce from hyper local farms in our area.  We produce our micro-greens year round to make sure that you can always source nutrient dense food, even in the dead of winter!  If its summertime, we will be at the Farmers Market alongside some great producers in the area that supply our wonderful valley with great produce that doesn’t have to make that travel either!

Make sure you check out our blog post on How to Eat Microgreens to maximize your nutritional benefits!  Also check out our post on Tips for Storing Microgreens to keep them fresher longer.