Small but mighty

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This article was published 27/01/2022 (841 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

One St. James home is alive with varieties of seeds sprouting under the glow of LED lights. But not because its occupants are getting a jump on the spring growing season.

Kevin Korol and Jo-Anna Meilleur are the owners of Real World Greens microgreen company (microgreens are seedlings from vegetables and other plants).

Real World Greens currently offers greens from broccoli, radish, peas, and sunflower. Korol harvests the microgreens around seven to 13 days after a plant sprouts, depending on the species. This brief grow period gives the seedlings a chance to brandish their first leaves.

Next, Korol snips the plants from the soil and, in the case of sunflower microgreens, plucks free the non-GMO shell casings before packaging them for sale.

“As soon as we tried them out, I just kept growing — they were so good,” Korol said.

Korol and Meilleur eat the microgreens as toppings on meals, garnishes, or on their own as salads.

The sunflower and pea microgreens make the best salads, and the radish greens pack a mildly spicy flavour. The microgreens can also be used in lieu of lettuce on sandwiches, tacos, and burgers.

The broccoli microgreens are Korol’s favourite, and Meilleur gravitates towards the radish microgreens, as well as the broccoli.

“I love that Kevin started growing them to add some extra nutrients into our diet,” said Meilleur, who handles most of the company’s customer service and delivery logistics.

The pair maintain an outdoor garden every year, drawing on each of their family’s keen interest in the practice. Korol began growing microgreens as a means to source fresh food in the winter.

First, he grew broccoli. Before long, one tray of plants turned into a few, which expanded into a cordoned-off room in the couple’s basement. In July 2021, Korol quit his job to pursue his passion for urban farming.

“Things have been going really good. We constantly seem to be getting more customers,” Korol said.

One draw of raising microgreens is that these tiny plants contain a higher concentration of nutrients than their adult counterparts, Korol said. These young plants are equipped with much of the vitamins and minerals they need to reach maturation.

Korol was diagnosed with celiac disease at a young age. People with the disease had more limited food options at the grocery store in the 1970s than they do now, he said. A strict diet of primarily non-processed foods shaped Korol’s perception of food and highlighted the importance of eating healthy.

“Food is healing,” Korol said. “One of the things that makes me happy is that I can grow something locally for people, and they can know that it has had no pesticides. I think there are more and more people paying attention to what they eat.”

Korol and Meilleur typically harvest and deliver the microgreens on Thursdays. Real World Greens sells its product in a variety of quantities and mixes. The microgreens can be purchased with or without a subscription.

More information is available at www.realworldgreens.com