Q. What is a MicroGreen?
A. MicroGreens are a tiny form of edible greens produced from the seeds of vegetables, herbs or other plants. They range in size from one to two inches long, including the stem and leaves. Some Microgreens can have only the cotyledon leaves but often they have the first set of true leaves as well. They are generally one to two weeks old when harvested
Q. How are Microgreens used?
A. Having surprisingly intense flavors considering their small size, MicroGreens are used as a garnish and flavor accent primarily in fine dining restaurants. These restaurants place a strong emphasis on both the creative presentation and flavor of their dishes. MicroGreens’ delicate, fresh appearance adds beauty and dimension combined with a range of distinct flavor elements.
Q. What is the best way to store MicroGreens prior to use?
A. Refrigeration at 38-40 degrees in a closed container. Basil is very sensitive to low temperatures and will turn dark brown or black within a few hours of exposure to temps below 32 degrees.
Q. How long can MicroGreens last once they have been harvested?
A. MicroGreens usually last at least 5-7 days if they are refrigerated at the right temperature. Depending on the variety, shelf life will vary. Some items can last up to two weeks.
Q. What unique items does Fresh Origins grow compared to other growers?
A. At Fresh Origins, we create a steady stream of original innovations. The following items have not yet been duplicated and are not available from anywhere else:
MicroGreens: Micro Mustard DijonTM, Micro Mustard HorseradishTM, Micro Tangerine LaceTM, Micro Mint Lavender, Micro Cucumber.
PetiteGreens: Petite Basil NutmegTM, Petite Pumpkin Green, Petite Lavender, Petite SteviaTM.\
A few more items Fresh Origins created and introduced to the culinary world are: Micro Intensity MixTM, Micro Mirepoix Mix, Micro Iceplant, Micro Wasabi, Petite Fava Leaf, Petite Haricot Leaf, Petite Lucky ShamrockTM, Petite Amaranth Carnival MixTM, FireStixTM (edible flower), and MicroFlowersTM, Nature Straws™ (edible straws).
Q. What growing medium do you use?
A. We grow our products in peat moss (decomposed prehistoric moss plants). Peat moss is not soil and is known to be a very clean material.
Q. Are your products grown in greenhouses or outside?
A. The majority of our products are greenhouse grown.
Q. Where do you ship to?
A. We ship nationwide and to Canada and the Caribbean using overnight delivery services.
Q. How can I purchase from Fresh Origins?
A. Our Products are only available from specialty produce distributors who provide them to professional fine dining chefs. We do not sell direct to restaurants or individuals. If you are interested in our products, please have your favorite produce distributor contact us.
Q. Why don’t you sell direct to restaurants?
A. We let our distributors handle the selling and delivery, allowing us to concentrate on growing and harvesting the best possible product we can. Often this also saves on shipping costs which can be considerable.
Q. Are your products certified organic?
A. No. In fact today, much of the certified organic produce being grown today in the Western United States, is produced on ground that has had conventional fertilizer applied over the last few years. This fraud was recently exposed but unfortunately the people in charge of organic certification have decided not to enforce the rules in order to protect the farmers at the expense of consumers. In other words, certified organic is an almost meaningless term.
Q. Why are you not growing organically?
A. There are many reasons; food safety, is the main one. Organic growers fertilize with animal feces, dried blood, ground up bones, and other slaughter house remains, they also use rotted fish. We prefer not to use these on our crops. Unfortunately, most organic farms would fail any food safety audit. There is currently a major campaign by small, local organic farmers to fight against improved food safety regulations. They feel they should continue to be exempt from having to follow food safety guidelines; instead their preference is not to be accountable for the cleanliness, sanitation and safety of what they produce.
Furthermore, organic farming is not pesticide free, in fact organically approved pesticides like sulfur, copper, petroleum oils, and pyrethrum, are among the most widely used of all, with hundreds of millions of pounds of these agricultural chemicals applied annually in the USA, yet the organic movement perpetuates a myth that they do not use any pesticides. Pyrethrum (a nerve toxin), one of the most widely used organic pesticides, has been declared a likely human carcinogen by an EPA scientific advisory committee. In 2002, Kenya produced 349,000 pounds of the dry flower petals that yield this organic pesticide, the majority of which is used in the USA. There is a high social cost involved since they utilize child labor in the picking for this organic pesticide. Those infants that are too young to work are carried on the backs of the mothers and young girls who do the picking. Many synthetic substances are also allowed and used by organic growers.
There is so much fraud, and dishonesty in organic marketing these days, that we would rather not be associated with it. For example, we have a competitor (S**G**** Organic Distributors) who uses the word organic in their company name but, most of their products are not organic and yet they conveniently fail to mention this to their customers! We have another from Ohio who claims to be Sustainable and “Beyond Organic”, but is not certified organic and not following the rules. This is greenwashing at its finest! Organic certification relies upon the honor system. Certification is based upon periodic reviews of paperwork with little verification required. A recent review of the USDA National Organic Program revealed that complaints have not been followed up on, violations have not been corrected, required testing has not been carried out. In short the rules of organic growing are simply not being followed and nothing is done about it.
Q. Isn’t organic farming more sustainable than modern farming?
A. Actually organic farming has proven to be unsustainable. Just a few generations ago, most farming was organic. Organic farming with its low yields, poor quality, and major crop losses is a bad use of valuable resources and could not be sustained over the long run. That is why today over 99% of farming in North America is no longer organic. Today we have to most abundant fruits and vegetables in our history. Cancer rates have dropped and our average life expectancy has risen dramatically from the old days of organic farming.
