GREAT FALLS — When Megan and Jordan Anderson moved to Cascade last October, becoming microgreen growers was not completely part of the plan.
Watch Madison Collier's report on Canyon Roots Company:
Their new property, however, came with two greenhouses and a building already set up for growing the small plant. Rather than let the space sit empty, the husband-and-wife team decided to learn how to use it.
“We didn’t know anything about microgreens before that,” Jordan said. “And we’re like, well, we own the property. We might as well learn and try to grow them.”
Now, that experiment has grown roots of its own, becoming Canyon Roots Company.
Microgreens are young versions of vegetables and herbs, typically harvested when they are only a few inches tall. With just a few dedicated trays, the Andersons raise varieties ranging from peas, sunflowers and radishes to broccoli, cilantro, basil and arugula.
The move brought Jordan back to his home state, while Megan brought a background in biology and experience working with animals as a zookeeper. Growing produce, however, was new to both of them.
“I have a lot of animal background, biology, physiology, all that,” Megan said. “I feel like that kind of applies, but now I’m learning plants instead of animals.”
They said much of that learning has come through trial and error.
To start, seeds are planted in trays of soil before most are weighted, set aside, and kept in the dark, encouraging their roots to grow down. The trays are later moved under grow lights and are watered from below.
They say some microgreen variants can move from seed to harvest in about a week. Others, including cilantro and chives, can take closer to three weeks. Each variety also responds differently to water, light, airflow and temperature.
“To grow one group of plants and then try something else — and all the stuff you learn doesn’t apply to it — was definitely kind of eye-opening,” Jordan said. “You do the same exact thing and it just kills them, and so you’ve got to adjust for every single one of them.”
The Andersons are currently growing a few dozen trays at a time. They sell their microgreens at farmers markets in Great Falls and Cascade, as well as to local lodges, a Great Falls restaurant and nearby customers.
Their biggest win yet? Megan said joining the farmers markets put them in the right direction.
“Getting into the farmer’s market was big,” she said. “I think it got us in the routine of business and growing, and before that it was just experimental.”
The operation still uses only a fraction of the property’s capacity. The Andersons estimate the microgreen room can hold more than 400 trays. The two greenhouses could eventually be used to produce lettuce, herbs or crops such as barley and wheat grass for ranchers.
For now, the couple is balancing that potential with the challenge of determining what a local market would want.
“We’re still new enough to this that we haven’t fully settled on the direction we want to take the business,” Jordan said. “There’s just so much potential with it that we’re not quite sure.”
For Canyon Roots Co., that means continuing to build the business the same way the Andersons grow each tray: from the roots up.
