OUR STORY

We stumbled upon 'Microgreens' purely by accident, on social media. 

The universe was reaching out to us, pointing us in the direction of a new family business, a change in diet and lifestyle at a time when it was most needed.

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Chris, 'the good looking one' (you'll understand his sense of humour once you meet him!), was recently diagnosed with a form of a rare neurological condition, spino cerebellar 14, i.e. 'Ataxia'. He was looking for a more natural and nutritious way to improve his wellbeing, diet and future work opportunities.  His 12 hour shift patterns, including nights, were taking their toll on his health and recovery. He was looking for some inspiration to improve his situation. As a family, the pandemic has taught us even more, the importance of each other, our time, our wellbeing, of buying locally and improving our own intake of natural goodness.

 

With Chris' green fingers and his love of growing vegetables and fruit in his garden, this new opportunity to be able to grow fresh produce 365 days a year in a climate controlled environment, using no pesticides, was a delightful challenge. With the climate in Wales, this seemed like an amazing solution and opportunity.

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Another factor in the Graves' household are the fussy eaters, particularly when it comes to anything 'green' and 'healthy'.  The lack of vitamins and nutrition in our current diets was a real concern. With the micro shoots you consume a far less a quantity and the texture is more uniformed to enable a wider variety of vegetables and herbs to be consumed. Even 'hiding' the veg more easily achieved than compared with a plate full of the adult versions. Microgreens are easier to consume for children and adults who have culinary sensory issues for this reason.

 

So with a new spring in his step, Chris began trialling methods and experimenting with various soil and seeds. This quickly led to the development of the physical 'farm' building, built by hand by Chris, in our detached garage. We love that we go to the 'farm', in our garage, daily to check on the progress of our microgreens.  The delight of saying 'we are off to the farm' still resonates with a huge smile. 

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Microgreen's are so therapeutic to watch during cultivation and so rewarding to taste too. These little 'shoots' are changing our lives and we are so grateful for that. 

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We than began to offer our samples to our friends and family members for 'tasting' and feedback. The response and comments were so positive and overwhelmingly impressed with the produce. 

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So the journey continues into the market of supplying private customers, chefs, catering companies, deli's and cafe's. We can be found at the Urban Market locally too, so keep checking social media for updates.

  

 So our urban and vertical farm has given us the ability to have a family business that is improving our wellbeing, physiology and opportunities whilst providing fresh, local, nutritious and tasty produce to the local area too. It's a 'win, win' situation! 

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 From the Graves'

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