Call us! 403-660-2103
Welcome
Lil Green Urban Farm allows you to eat produce so fresh and local it's almost picked in your own yard. We pick our produce and you can be eating delicious goods hours later. We endeavor to keep fresh salad greens and microgreens available year round.
WELCOME
TO
LIL GREEN URBAN FARM
OUR TOP PRIORITY
At Lil Green Urban Farm it is our goal to provide families and businesses in Calgary with fresh locally grown produce year round. Starting in March, our grow tunnels go up and select seeds hit the soil, we will then grow in those beds through until November. Our beds are not certified organic, but we only use organic fertilizers. Our lil greenhouse can hold 200+ hydroponic net pots allowing us to produce fresh greens throughout the year. Our hydroponic systems run with low amounts of high quality fertilizer. Our microgreens are fully organic as both the soil and the seeds are organic. Our top priority is to offer you as much high quality produce as we can provide from our Lil Green Urban Farm.
ABOUT US
Lil Green Urban Farm has been in the making since 2010 with a homemade 8' x 8' greenhouse starting each season with over 200 starter plants for friends and neighbours, and then housing crops of peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers for my family. As the passion grew stronger that greenhouse, nicknamed the 'ghetto greenhouse', was replaced by an 8' x 14' greenhouse. I started experimenting with hydroponics for my tomatoes a few years ago and was impressed by the results (huge robust plants and fruits, with amazing exposed roots below!). That hydroponic success led to more research and I installed a full hydroponic system for growing 250 heads of diffrent greens which runs year round and now takes up the majority of the greenhouse. For 7 years, this was all just a hobby at the home property in NW Calgary. In 2017 Lil Green Urban Farm became a full time hobby and 3 large yards were added to keep up with the demand. - all location are within a 20 minute bike ride from downtown Calgary.
My grandfather (my dad's dad) had Andersons' Flowers, a large scale commercial greenhouse in Ontario. My dad got his hands dirty from the time he was 5 years old, and my parents planted together for 6 years before moving to Alberta. My other grandfather (my mom's dad) was also an avid gardener with a greenhouse. After moving West my mother worked at a greenhouse near Calgary and now owns the Purple Orchid Flower Shop in Mt. Royal just off 17th Ave SW. If its possible, I think a green thumb is in my genetic makeup. I studied agriculture at Olds College and have worked at large farming operations as both a farm hand and as a junior agronomist. I love passing on this love to my one and four year old, and they happily spend time chatting and helping in the greenhouse, while munching on cherry tomatoes, raspberries and peas from the yard (and generally causing chaos and havoc). I can always depend on my family to pitch in for hard labour, taste testing and child taming.
My passion for gardening, food and my family have led me to explore food sustainability and access to fresh, clean, local food. I get ridiculously (according to my wife) excited experimenting with different methods and different plants, seeing the results and watching the seeds grow. I love the science, art, and stubborn hard work of it all.
WHAT & WHY MICROGREENS?
Microgreens are young vegetables or herbs that are harvested when they are in their early development stage. Depending on the variety of microgreens or shoots, they can take a week to 3 weeks to grow and are harvested when they are typically 1 – 4 inches tall and cut from just above the soil.
Sprouts and microgreens are often mistaken as the same thing, but sprouts are grown in water, harvested with the seed haul on; whereas, microgreens are started in a growing medium and cut off just above the seed.
A misconception about microgreens is that they are used just as a garnish as they come in various colors, shapes and textures. Many chefs in upscale dining establishments have been using microgreens for decades to enhance the appearance and taste of their dishes with their subtle textures and distinctive flavors.
Research has shown that microgreens & shoots are actually a superfood as they are packed with different nutrients. Microgreens like red cabbage and radish contain up to 40 times higher levels of fundamental nutrients than their mature equivalent. The cotyledons store all the energy that allows a vegetable to grow into its mature state.
Common nutrients found in microgreens are ascorbic acid (vitamin C), tocopherols (vitamin E), phylloquinone (vitamin K), and beta-carotene (a vitamin A precursor), plus other related carotenoids, cancer-fighting and anti-inflammatory compounds.
The fresher the vegetable or microgreen, the higher the nutritional value. Over time that nutritional value decreases, still healthy but you won't receive the full impact of the produce. Buying from Lil Green Urban Farm gives you access to the freshest, most nutrient packed produce you will find!
CONTACT US!
We would love to hear from you!
Lil Green Urban Farm
Thornhill Dr NW Calgary
Tel: 1-403-660-2103
Email: lilgreenurbanfarm@gmail.com
Look for Lil Green Urban Farm on Instagram and Facebook
Picking up orders
Online orders and microgreen CSA customers can pick up from the Lil Green Urban Farm in Thorncliffe (NW) or at the Purple Orchid (SW). For delivery, please contact us directly.
