Our story
When I was a kid, maybe 8 or 10, I'd go out into my grandmother's back yard at her home in Germany to pick berries. Visiting grandma was always such a delight, and in large part she had those berries to thank. There was something about picking something fresh, about handling the plant itself, that resonated with me deeply and first instilled a love of plants and real food. Lo and behold, almost 20 years later I'm running a vertical farming business, that early love of greens having grown into a lifelong relationship with gardening and good food. Boston Microgreens has operated out of South Boston for 9 years and counting, growing the finest microgreens and edible flowers money can buy for chefs and households across the city.
One day, thinking about my grandma Hilde, it occurred to me: why not shrink these racks down and give students the chance to grow something right in their own classroom? School gardens are a ton of work, and it's winter through most of the school year anyway. I'm not trying to turn anyone into a farmer, but who knows what working with living plants might unlock in a kid? One might be nudged to eat more vegetables, another might just want to spend more time under a tree, and another might get hooked on the STEM behind the grow rack. Let's see if this can work.
We ran our first pilot at the Dever School in 2022, then began expanding to other schools in the district. Now we're putting grow labs directly into the hands of teachers across Massachusetts.
OliverFounder & Director
