Well, simply put Microgreens are sunflower sprouts, carrot sprouts, etc. A plant is the most nutritious in the first week of its life. Which makes them very profitable if you can grow them by the thousands due to the high turn over. I have a design for a production model which my only involvement with product (after it's built) will be twice a week for a few hours to plant the seeds, harvest the g
reens and take them to market. I want this to be as automated as possible, so I will be applying a series of solenoid activated water valves being controlled by a raspberry pi to handle all of the irrigation for me, which is the most critical part of growing microgreens. I will begin by selling to local chefs and farmers markets. In the first phase we will also introduce a landscaping service which will be the first introductions for many people to our organization. We will offer a subscription based, tax deductible service for various levels of landscaping, including a spin farming type garden plot in which we would share in the produce
. We then plan to collaborate with local organic farmers to create a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) exchange where we will bundle their wares along with ours and sell them to subscribers and chefs. After three years of filing as a successful 501c3, we should be qualified for an agricultural loan from the Farm Bureau which would give us the funding to expand. I think we could accomplish this phase of our journey with just the help of our family as co-founders. Phase 2,
The urban market garden. Since we would already have water control systems in place in previous projects, it would be relatively easy to shift into an Aquaponics model and grow fully mature vegetables and fish simultaneously. We would like to use Dr. Nate Storey's ZipGrow Tower as a growing media. This man has done extensive research on growing as much food per cubic foot as possible. He does this by growing vertically, in tubes filled with reticulated foam being fed a constant stream of nutrient dense water in a soil-less environment. The fish would be a welcomed bi-product for new volunteers. At this point we will need some manual labor, not too much, just simple things like picking tomatoes or pest control in an atmosphere conducive to mental health. We have been helping a group of homeless veterans for the past few years. Some pick themselves back up on their own, others are chronically homeless because they have difficulty reintegrating in to what we call society today. We hope to give these guys a stepping stone up to a better life if they chose to take that step. We would provide food and shelter in exchange for voluntary participation in the organization. If we can provide them a work reference and a permanent address, they could more easily reintegrate back into society, if that was their choice. We would seek a therapist to provide services to those requiring counseling. Eventually we will seek interns to help with the book keeping, sales and marketing. Once the organization pays off the initial Ag loan and reaches a sustainable income stream capable of paying for a new Ag loan on a substantial piece of property, We will purchase 75 to 100 acres of land to begin Phase 3. Phase 3,
The Eco Village. This will be the culmination of everything we have worked for. With the income streams from my other ventures we will build a sustainable community where we could bring in large numbers of homeless men and women and give them opportunity. On this property we will employ silvopasture farming methodology to produce livestock, fruit and nut trees, and vegetables that require soil to grow using many permaculture techniques. We will create a literal "food forest", in which people may live. Here we will also be free to use various low cost, energy efficient building models which wouldn't be permissible in more urban environments.
