Recently graduated with a sustainable farming development master degree, Les Tontons Flowers team is using a recycled shipping container in the 14th district of Paris to grow a variety of microgreens and aromatics with no use of chemicals. In a recent interview given to the newspaper Qu4torze, the three founders of the company Antoine, Manuel, and Basile explain their passion and objectives for this project.
“Leveraging our values and skills, we ought to become actors in the vital changes we need to make to develop more sustainable cities. To develop an urban and hyperlocal farming systems respecting both plants and the consumers.” They explained to the French magazine.
Researchers at the USDA Agricultural Research Service have published, as of early 2014, several studies that identify the nutritional makeup and the shelf life of microgreens. Twenty-five varieties were tested, with the key nutrients measured being ascorbic acid (vitamin C), tocopherols (vitamin E), phylloquinone (vitamin K), and beta-carotene (a vitamin A precursor), plus other related carotenoids in the cotyledons. Among the 25 microgreens tested, red cabbage, cilantro, garnet amaranth, and green daikon radish had the highest concentrations of vitamin C, carotenoids, vitamin K, and vitamin E, respectively. In general, microgreens contained considerably higher levels of vitamins and carotenoids—about five times greater—than their mature plant counterparts.
The company delivers twice-per-month greens on direct sales to their neighbors in order to further raise awareness of their solution.
Image provided by Les Tontons Flowers
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