FEATURE | t r e n d s
Microgreens Go Macro
Zolfo Springs’ Florida Grows Expands to Wauchula as Business Booms by PAUL CATALA
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THEY’RE LITTLE TOPPINGS with a big bang that just keeps getting bigger as their popularity explodes. In fact, one microgreen farm in Zolfo Springs is going a little more macro. Microgreens are the seedlings of edible plants that are becoming popular for use in meals to add color, flavor, and nutritional value. They are different from larger herbs and vegetables that can take weeks or months to grow in that they can be grown, harvested and eaten a week to 10 days after the cotyledon — a part of the embryo within the seed — has developed. Due to the rapidly growing interest in microgreens, Florida Grows Inc. is moving from its current location to a larger facility in Wauchula. Brent Thompson and his niece Jillian Thompson launched Florida Grows in 2015 with the intent to build an indoor hydroponic lettuce farm, but when an associate from Pennsylvania introduced the pair to microgreens, the roots were planted for their now-booming business. Florida Grows currently serves Polk, Highlands, Hardee, Manatee and Sarasota counties, delivering to restaurants, health food stores, produce stands, and farmer’s markets across the region. Brent Thompson, 48, says the microgreens – which only grow a few inches – come in between 50 and 60 varieties. He says they can have a more intense flavor than larger vegetables and herbs. As far as nutrition, studies have shown microgreens may have more health benefits and can be up to 40 times more potent in phytochemicals – chemicals in plants that affect health. On average, studies have shown microgreens have four to six times more nutrients than their mature counterparts, and that’s led to increased popularity and increasing business for the Thompsons. They’re moving their operations to have more growing capacity. “Because the family has a lot of business entities, this move helps everyone involved,” says Thompson, referring to his family’s citrus caretaking and heavy equipment hauling. Currently, Florida Grows has about two-tenths of an acre of grow space. The new location, which will expand grow space to about a half-acre, will be partly taken over by Jillian Thompson. The company now averages $400 to $500 a week in sales during the busy season. Like farmers across the country and beyond, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has cut into some of its business, but Brent CONTINUED ON PAGE 24
FloridaAgNews.com
CFAN | 15
