There’s a “new kid on the block” at Everett Farmers Market this season and I just had to check them out last weekend. I now know what microgreens are and picked out some tasty sunflower shoots. This turned out to be an excellent addition to a chilled green salad during the warm days we’ve been experiencing lately. The business is called Firetrail Farm, and I stopped by to have a chat with owner Jason Goodwin.
Where is Firetrail Farm located? Our farm is located in Marysville at the bottom of “Firetrail Road”.
What is the size of the farm? The total farm property is just under 8 acres but our total vegetable garden is only 1/5th an acre with one greenhouse we use for our nursery. The Nursery is a 22’ by 96’ greenhouse, and is where we grow all of our microgreens. Using the greenhouse we can grow microgreens all year round.
What is the definition of “microgreens” as opposed to other things typically grown on a farm? Most produce on a farm is typically grown out to at least a semi mature plant before being cultivated for consumption no matter what your growing. Microgreens, however, are typically harvested soon after the germination process when the first single or pair of leaves have been produced by the plant. Not only are these sprouts more tender and flavorful, the nutritional value packed in these greens have been found to be up to 100 times more nutrient dense then their mature counterpart. This is why many microgreens (if not all) are labeled as “super foods”. For those people who tend to not like the taste or lack of taste vegetables sometimes have, microgreens are typically tender with a pleasant flavor many people seem to enjoy. I know we do! We have many different flavors including spicy and mild mixes of greens but also nutty and sweat including some herbs as well.
How long have you been coming to Everett Farmers Market? This is our first year at the Everett farmers market, we began in the middle of the season.
How did you get into farming and how many years have you been doing it? I have always loved to garden and landscape, and two years ago I discovered small scale farming. From there I started taking online farm courses and read many books that focused on small scale, four-season farming that can still provide a gratifying life and a living wage. I Was finally able to started growing December 31st 2019 and from there I have learned a lot about microgreens! Another major important factor was proving the community with a product that is beneficial for the body and local economy with a focus and sustainability and low impact. Our goal is to become organically certified and we use compostable packaging where appropriate. No harsh chemicals or impact to our soils. We strongly believe in “healthy soil, healthy people”!
How many people are you employed at your farm? Currently I am self employed with no employees. However, it would be wrong to not include my lovely girlfriend, mom and dad for all their help getting this place up and running, including some friends as well! I’m very lucky!
What kinds of microgreens do you grow at your farm? As far as I know we have one of the best selections of microgreens around including 15 different varieties with more coming that I’m currently experimenting with. Items include sunflower and pea shoots, broccoli, kale, bok choy, and lots of others. We also offer a Spicy Mix (wasabi, red mustard, and radish) and Nick’s Mix which is milder (broccoli, Chinese cabbage, and kale). Finally we have several different salad mixes.
What items are most popular among the Everett Farmers Market crowd? Our Most popular products are the Spicy Mix, Nick’s Mix, and Sunflower Shoots
What are your favorite things to grow? My favorite things to grow are Sunflower Shoots, Carrots and Tomatoes
Can customers buy directly from your farm? Customers will be able to buy from our website after the market season is finished. We will be delivering microgreens and veggies to your door on Fridays for free on orders $20 or more or if you set up recurring payments for our microgreens subscription which you can customize or cancel at anytime.
Is there anything else that you would like to say about your farm for this story? I’d just like to say thank you to all the people that have supported my farm so far. I look forward to finishing out the season strong and beginning a new season next year even stronger. Visit the farm’s website at FiretrailFarm.com and enter in your email address for updates on our new delivery service coming out soon as well as new products! We are also on Facebook and Instagram under facebook/FiretrailFarm, @firetrailfarm
Joe Clark is a retired Boeing Project Manager. He enjoys volunteering, writing, exercise, discovering new things in Snohomish County, and trying to grow the perfect jalapeno peppers at his Bayside P-Patch plot.