WRITTEN BY TIM MILHORN
FARM FRESH Flower Dandy Sprouts When you grow up in Orange County, it’s difficult to imagine a world exists outside your own, full of greenery and plantlife. This wasn’t the case for Rain Prondzinski. Living in the concrete jungle, she spent her days dreaming about someday becoming a farmer. “Ever since I was small, I fantasized about having my own farm.” Rain remembered, “I wanted cows, pigs, and the space to grow my own vegetables. People thought I was insane. When they asked kids what they wanted to be, they’d respond with the usual firefighter or princess, but I’d always say I wanted to be a farmer.” Rain took every opportunity she could to jumpstart her dream of farming. She started by spending her free time playing farming video games, joined every available community garden, and became a fixture at friends’ homes who had gardens of their own. When she finally moved to Washington, in search of greener pastures, she began growing food inside the house, bogarting every windowsill she possibly could, and harnessing every ray of sunlight to raise an indoor garden throughout her duplex. Rain said, “I was so excited to watch all the stuff grow, but it was always short lived as Washington isn’t known for their surplus of sunlight.” Rain eventually moved to Oroville with her husband Malachi, finding all the sunlight they could possibly need and the opportunity to start making her childhood dream a reality. They decided to start the
journey by growing an indoor vertical farm with microgreens as their staple crop. “Vertical farming is just incredible!” Rain said, “You can stack things on top of each other, water them, and they come to life. I fell in love with microgreens at farmers markets and found that they were not only one of the healthiest foods, but growing them provided a very quick return on my emotional investment. I could plant some, and two weeks later, they were ready to eat. I wanted to share it with the world, so we turned it into a business.” With that, Flower Dandy Sprouts was born, and the two set out to bring healthy microgreens to residents around the Northstate. Though Rain and Malachi’s microgreens are now available at local farmers markets, the real benefit is having them delivered directly to your doorstep—a service they provide in Oroville, Chico, Paradise, Marysville, and Yuba City. “The best time to consume microgreens is right after they’ve been cut.” Rain instructed, “Delivering the plant live to people’s homes allows them to get the most out of their purchase.” To add to their distribution, Rain and Malachi have recently joined Oroville’s new CSA, Co-Op-a-Box, and will also be available at the Oroville Hospital Farmers Market, making their microgreens even more accessible. For more information on Flower Dandy Sprouts, their benefits, and to purchase a subscription, visit them online at www.FDsprouts.com 61
