A Metro Vancouver company is offering a unique way to grow fresh herbs and vegetables in your own kitchen.
The Urban Cultivator is a fully automated indoor growing appliance that lets you grow live herbs and microgreens in the comfort of your home.
"[Microgreens are] a complete food. It's got all the protein you need, all the nutritional value for an entire day," Tarren Wolfe, company CEO, says of the health benefits.
Aside from being delicious, growing your own greens reduces your carbon footprint and saves money. Wolfe estimates the commercial machines can save a restaurant up to $1,000 a month.
Consumers can also grow a flat of microgreens for under $10 a month, just a quarter the price of store bought greens.
"This offers you fresh produce year-round. It doesn't matter where you live, doesn't matter how cold, how hot, you can grow fresh delicious produce in your own home," said Wolfe.
The microgreens are organically grown with no sprays or GMO’s used and take about one to two weeks to harvest. Microgreens also contain 100 times more enzymes than fresh fruits and vegetables, according to Wolfe.
The appliance has already taken centre stage on The Price is Right, and lifestyle expert Martha Stewart, who owns six of the cultivator units, is a fan.
Executive chef Ned Bell at the Four Season's Yew Restaurant in downtown Vancouver has two units as well.
"It doesn't get any better than still alive. I get to cut it and put it on a plate and the guest is eating it within a couple of minutes. You can't beat that," said Bell.
Developers around the world and here in Metro Vancouver are now looking to install the dishwasher-sized units in new residential properties.
The residential units sell for about $2,500 and have the same specs as a dishwasher. The company’s sales have doubled every year for the past five years and it’s now looking to offer franchises in Milan, Zurich, Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
