Urban farmer grows a variety of plants and markets them primarily to restaurants because of the stable business model
Hundreds of newly sprouted microgreens can be nurtured together when crowded into close confines. The conditions for growing them are not usually overly complicated and they are easy to maintain. Harvest can be as quick as 11 days to seven weeks, depending on the variety.
Microgreen farmer Riccardo Baldini of Strathcona Microgreens has built a successful farm with his indoor growing process.
Baldini’s business is in the heart of Edmonton’s south side. Within an unassuming warehouse is a green oasis where more than 30 varieties of baby plants are poking out their heads, reaching for the grow lights less than 30 centimetres away.
Baldini grows radishes, mustards, broccoli, bok choy, daikon radish, purple Genovese basil, fennel, chervil, cilantro, dill, leeks and other plants. The red-veined sorrel and purple amaranth are especially visually striking.
Following a life-altering accident, Baldini came to microgreens as a way to reclaim some of his old passions.
“When I was looking around, I knew I wanted to do something with business….When I found microgreens, I knew that was it,” he said.
He began by selling at farmers markets in September 2021, but soon switched to selling mainly to restaurants because it created a more stable way to market his crops.
He changed his business model and started to grow everything on order.
“Everything that you see growing there, it’s sold. I produce specifically for each chef what they want. We have very little waste in this way.”
Baldini approached Edmonton chefs directly with samples of his microgreens.
“(With microgreens) there’s a lot to work with, flavours and colours. When you bring the sample, you see the gears of the chefs working.”
Over the last year, Strathcona Microgreens has grown to serve about 60 client restaurants. The microgreens are also available to the public through Baldini’s website.
Harvests happen every Monday, with free delivery to customers on Tuesdays. A fresh round of newly germinated grow-trays goes under the lights on Thursdays. Working under a well-planned schedule, Baldini is able to get a top quality product ready when he needs it.
“There is a lot of planning around that. Every single step is really, really intentional for creating the product that I want.”
Growing demand has prompted Baldini to move his facility once, and “since we moved to this facility, we expanded (by) 30 percent,” he said.
Baldini grows his microgreens in traditional soil because he loves the flavour and nutrients the method offers. The soil carries all the nutrients the crops need through their short growing cycle.
In tune with wanting to stay as sustainable and waste-free as possible, Strathcona Microgreens has partnered with the local Green and Gold Community Garden, which uses the microgreen soil after harvest for their own community garden, Baldini said.
Baldini said demand for locally grown produce is strong.
“There is a lot of know-how that goes along with it. There are some crops that are easy. You start with the basic pea shoots, sunflower seed, radishes and broccoli, for example. Those are fairly easy crops to grow. Then when you go to a more longer cycle of basil or fennel, they (are) kind of finicky to grow properly,” said Baldini.
