For more than a decade Steve and Sharon Bacon have been cultivating micro-greens indoors at their home in Port Sydney.
The tiny edible greens are grown from the seeds of vegetables and herbs, and germinate in trays filled with a soilless mix under special lights.
"Everything the micro-green needs is in the seed,” says Bacon. “There is no need for fertilizer. Scientist have found that a pound of micro-greens is almost like 20 to 30 pounds of matured vegetables.”
It started off as a hobby to eat healthy, but sprouted into a business supplying fresh and locally grown greens across Muskoka year round.
Production at Four Season Greens has recently expanded with a greenhouse, where leafy greens like lettuce, kale and Swiss chard grow. The temperature inside is controlled and they use a system called "aquaponics."
The waste from the fish in a set of tanks feeds the plants above with organic nutrients needed for growth.
"It’s a recalculating system so we only use two per cent of the water compared to traditional forms of farming, about five per cent of energy and we will produce about eight to 10 per cent times the produce in that same foot print of land."
It can take the crops between 10 days and seven weeks to fully grow. Once harvested, they're delivered within 24 hours.
Twice a week the produce is delivered to about 60 hotels, restaurants and health food stores across Muskoka. In the past, these businesses have imported greens from other countries.
"The shelf life keeps longer. When it comes from another country, you can only keep the product for another day or two," says chef Richard Lalonde.
Steve and Sharon hope to expand and help improve accessibility to fresh food in more communities.
"No matter where you are, you can grow a lot of food in a small area."
