Four Season Greens
Four Season Greens is a producer of sprouts and micro-greens in Muskoka, operating since 2010. We supply most of the restaurants in Muskoka, specialty retail outlets, resorts and caterers with fresh produce year-round. Individuals also purchase our products through our sprout subscription program ("CSA") where we deliver weekly to 15+ or more depots throughout Muskoka. We also do sprouting and nutrition workshops, and sell sprouting kits, seeds, supplies and resources through our on-line store.
We are passionate about:
Fresh, local food: making it available and accessible year-round, for everyone.
Healthy eating: raising the bar on good-for-you food choices among all generations, to improve quality and quantity of life.
Local food security: improving food security in Muskoka by producing food year-round.
Four Season Greens takes food safety very seriously all the time, but especially during the current pandemic. Staff working in our packaging areas are required to wear hairnets, gowns, gloves and masks. Equipment is meticulously cleaned both after and prior to use. We are regularly inspected by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food. Our sprouts and micro-greens are produced using only certified organic sprouting seed, and all our inputs are chemical-free.
Living in Muskoka, Ontario, where the leaves are off the trees for 7 months of the year, winter is severe, and many year-round residents are seasonally under-employed. We are aware that it is difficult to get local produce year-round, especially organic produce. We are also concerned with the high number of diet-related diseases in our community, as well as in the rest of North America; diseases not of poverty but of affluence. With increasingly stressful lives, where quality family time is difficult to find and processed food is more affordable than fresh, we often opt for quick and easy meals. Or perhaps that is all we've ever known.
Ignorance may be bliss, but when it comes to food, it is killing us.
With these issues in mind, several years ago we began researching nutrition and sustainable agriculture, and discovered that there are real food options which work in a northern climate. Chief among them is sprouting, as it does not require specialized equipment, is economical, and can be done on a kitchen counter.
Sprouts and micro-greens are superfoods, as the nutrition of plants is maximized within a few days of germinating the seed. They are highly nutritious and effective in dealing with all sorts of health issues, from cancer and digestive problems to obesity and high blood pressure. However, sprouts and micro-greens aren't just good for you, they taste delicious, and can be incorporated into all sorts of delicious foods like sprout bread, crackers and hummus.
Another northern climate growing idea we researched is aquaponics, which integrates fish culture with hydroponic gardening. With our family of five children, we built an aquaponics system in our backyard greenhouse, and successfully grew a variety of greens and even carrots in gravel grow beds.
Reaction to our adventures was mixed; many didn't understand why we were so passionately experimenting and developing these alternate agriculture practices. Others enthusiastically watched from the sidelines, began their own food projects, and urged us on.
Spurred on by this encouragement, we developed a seminar on sprouting and nutrition and began to give workshops in our community. The fundamental building block for this seminar is the rhetorical question, "If you owned a $5 Million race horse, would you feed it junk food?" It goes without saying that our children, and even ourselves, are worth so much more; in fact we are all priceless.
