A pocket-sized bit of land, a small shed, a few trays and lots of health-conscious customers - that is all it took to get Mama Kali’s microgreens farm sprouting.
After starting out selling their produce at farmers’ markets two years ago,Yu Kali and Yu Jiang are now also sending out 2000 packs of nutrient-dense seedlings every week to the vegetables aisles of 30-odd supermarkets in Aotearoa.
The mother and daughter duo started out in a small greenhouse on a rural block on the outskirts of Te Puke in the Bay of Plenty.
Microgreens - closely planted baby vegetable plants harvested after a couple of weeks - were the best crop for two women starting out in horticulture, Jiang said.
“I started doing more research on microgreens and we started to get really, really amazed [by] how beneficial [they] can be to your diet.”
The demand grew so much, they employed friend Kate Crossman fulltime to keep up with the constant task of sowing seeds, sprouting and watering the crop.
The microgreens are harvested by hand. Photo / RNZ / Sally Round
It is then sorted and hand-harvested before being delivered - sometimes in person - and sold directly at local farmers’ markets.
They grow five different types of microgreens, including a customer favourite, a blended pack of eight vegetables, based on a lucky number in Chinese culture.
“We love the number eight, and the more, the better!”
As for family dynamics affecting the flow in the greenhouse?
“I feel like me and Mum definitely [have come] a long way from the beginning, understanding each other’s, like, strengths and weaknesses, and I guess compromising as well.
“Of course, Mum always comes on top, because [she’s] your mother!”
