About Us
Our Story
Ken and Sandra's love of farming started from their love of nature and for animals and plants…and it only grew from there. Organic farming came from continuing to follow their impulses to collaborate with nature. Sandra grew up seeing the power of good nutrition first hand. Her mother would feed good nutritious food to people who were unwell, and they'd turn around, and Sandra noticed that. Soon, Sandra found in herself a deep-seated commitment to providing quality nutrition to the people in her community. She and Ken feel farming sustainably is their way of being of service.
At the forefront of Organic Agriculture
In 1980, Sandra started growing wheatgrass in our garage for a local juice bar. Trial and error ensued and still does. Gradually, over time, bit by bit, she developed the skills to get consistent, healthy crops. It took a lot of sticking to it.
Along the way, we developed our philosophy of growing microgreens organically. Our area was one of the origin points in America for the current organic farming movement in the US. Right from the first, we made a commitment to the basic principle at that time: no synthetic chemicals used on the farm. There was no good legal definition of organic farming in the early 1980s. We went further, to advocate for using only organic seed to grow sprouts/microgreens.
Sprouters and microgreen growers use a lot of seed. Conventionally grown seed can use some pretty toxic chemicals. In a small way, we helped write the more comprehensive CA organic law of 1990, which required organic seed. This later guided the national organic law. All this time, we have only used organically grown seed. Not all growers are settled on this issue.
We were first certified organic by CCOF in 1982 and have been continuously certified to this day. CCOF uses the National Organic Program guideline, so they are limited in what they can require. We have gone one more step in organic certification to be certified by Real Organic. Real Organic certification is for the philosophically committed organic grower. Among other requirements, Real Organic does not allow for hydroponic production.
We grow in a large greenhouse, using only sunlight, well water, organic soil, organic seed, fresh air off the Pacific Ocean, and lots of care. Harvest is 5 days a week, in the early morning to catch the greens at their freshest. It’s actually really simple as it turns out.
