Local Highlight - Calkins' Greens

Berthoud Local was formed by a grassroots group of neighbors passionate about providing access to locally-produced food. By highlighting local farmers and food producers, we aim to improve the resilience and economy of the town.

Calkins' Greens

Connect: www.calkingreens.com Facebook page Instagram: @calkins_greens

Located in Mead just on the East side of I-25

What do you produce/grow?

Currently our primary focus is growing microgreens, which for those that don't know is the second stage of growth for a plant. Most people are familiar with sprouts which is the first stage of growth. We grow to the microgreen stage because just like sprouts the greens are super nutrient dense, up to 4 to 40 times more nutrient dense than the mature plant. We are not organic certified, but we use organic practices so no chemicals or pesticides anywhere on or near our greens. We currently grow in a shed with shelves and white led lights. Our plans for the near future is to get into leafy greens like lettuce and get chickens soon so they can eat any scraps we have left over from the greens.

How did you get into this business?

The business includes myself (Dylan), my wife Faith and my dad Ryan. We started business in late 2020 just growing out of my dads house in the basement. Slowly we have been expanding our grow area, adding more and more different varieties of microgreens each year. I think we have around 20 different seed varieties now. 

We got into growing microgreens from my dad. I was getting out of the Army in 2020 and needed something to do while I attended college at UNC. We fell in love with the idea of being able to provide people with food that is not only nutrient dense and not covered in chemicals, but also local and fresh. We did most of our research on YouTube which helped a lot with all the seed varieties we grow. They all have their own unique growth techniques that we have had to master.

Where can consumers get your product?

During the summer we are at the Longmont Saturday Farmers Market and on Sunday at the Loveland Farmers Market. Unfortunately the Loveland Market just ended, but the Longmont Market goes until late November. We also sell greens off our website and even provide a subscription option. Whether you order greens or subscribe, we will deliver the greens right to your home. We do deliveries on Friday's  and use a cooler and reusable container for our subscribers. We also sell greens to restaurants around the local area including Rise Artisan Bakery (Berthoud), Kofe House (Berthoud), Mil Haus (Milliken), and Biaggi's in Loveland. 

Upcoming events:

No events are coming up, just our Saturday market in Longmont until that is over. We are going to be starting our leafy greens soon so subscribers can look forward to a free sample of that in the coming months.

Favorite thing about what you do?

I would say my favorite thing about what we do is being able to provide people with such a healthy opportunity while still providing a lot of flavor. It is always fun watching new people try microgreens and see how much flavor they actually pack in such a small green. 

Favorite thing about Berthoud:

My wife and I graduated from Berthoud High school so we are very familiar with the area. Our favorite thing about Berthoud is how it is still a small town that people can live in and enjoy peacefully. Most of our support does come from Berthoud which we appreciate a lot.