Meet Chris Thoreau…

Grower, Educator, Researcher, Problem-Solver, and Oxford Comma Advocate…

I’m Chris Thoreau — a long-time microgreens grower, seed nerd, and believer in the power of small-scale food systems.

I started growing microgreens back in 1999 in my home kitchen, just out of curiosity. That curiosity eventually grew into a full-time venture, and in 2008 I launched My Urban Farm, which later became the Vancouver Food Pedalers Cooperative — a worker-owned microgreens business delivering fresh microgreens by bicycle across the city. We kept things small, efficient, and local — and ended up influencing microgreens growers around the world with our systems and values.

Over the years, I’ve developed growing techniques, crop planning systems, and educational tools to help new and experienced growers get better results with less guesswork. In 2019, I co-built one of the first microgreens-specific crop and financial planners — which led to SeedLeaf, a crop-planning and record-keeping platform I continue to develop to support growers of all sizes.

I’m a Professional Agrologist with a degree in Agroecology from UBC, where I focused on urban farming, soil systems, and seed production. I also hold a Master’s degree in Integrated Studies in Land and Food Systems where I explored how local seed systems support resilient local food economies.

Before my years as a microgreens grower and researcher in Vancouver, I ran a small certified organic farm on Vancouver Island, worked as a compost educator, and got involved in just about every corner of the local food movement — from community gardens and markets to policy work and organic certification.

These days, I divide my time between building and designing new tools, teaching growers through online courses and blog content, and testing growing systems in the field and at the microgreens research lab. And when I’m not doing any of that, you’ll probably find me running the trails in the North Shore mountains, thinking about crop yields, or building new spreadsheets.

If you’re looking for real-world insights on growing microgreens, without the hype, you’ve come to the right place!