Commercial cultivation of microgreens picks up in Thiruvananthapuram

how more people in thiruvananthapuram are taking to growing microgreens on commercial basis

Santhosh Kumar S’ farm is in a 100 square foot room. The crops, one to three inches tall, shine bright in shades of green, pink, yellow and purple. This is Santhosh’s microgreen farm, where he grows different varieties of greens.

Although many had tried their hand at it during the lockdown, Santhosh is among the handful of people in Thiruvananthapuram who have taken to commercial cultivation of microgreens, which are the first true edible leaves produced from seedlings of vegetables and herbs. It is the phase between sprouts and baby plants.

Hailed as a superfood because of the richness in nutrients, microgreens are eaten raw; added to salads and sandwiches; and blended to make smoothies. Flavours of these greens vary from sweet to bitter and even tangy, depending on the variety that is used to enhance flavour, texture and even the look of a dish.

Ananthu Raj RC and Rahul GB are also microgreen farmers who run their venture, Chew Fresh, at Chavadimukku near Sreekariyam; Sunesan K’s brand, Nutrigreens Microgreens, is at Pravachambalam.

Microgreens are produced from edible plant species and over 100 microgreen varieties are available the world over of which 12 to 15 varieties are commonly grown. This includes red and white radish, broccoli, sunflower, arugula, yellow and green mustard, bok choy, fenugreek, beetroot, sweet corn, and amaranthus. The rare ones include kohlrabi purple, purple sango radish, Swiss chard, purple red cabbage etc.

“I have orders for 80 grams each of arugula microgreens and mustard microgreens from a cafe at Ambalamukku every week. In addition, I have subscription-based orders for four boxes per month from employees in Technopark,” says Santhosh. He grows the greens at a friend’s house at Chandavila, 20 kilometres from Thiruvananthapuram city. A software engineer with an MNC in Technopark, Thiruvananthapuram, he has been running a hydroponics farm for the last nine years at his house at Karyavattam and started growing microgreens eight months ago. His produce is sold under the brand, Fresh Leaves.

In the case of college mates Ananthu and Rahul, microgreens farming was an option they tried out when their plan to start a hydroponics farm did not materialise. “We tried producing microgreens on a small scale a year ago and now we grow over a dozen varieties in a 100-square foot room,” says Ananthu, who used to work as a logistics executive with a company. Rahul is employed in Technopark.