We all know we need to eat more vegetables, but eating fresh in Scotland over winter can be… uninspiring. Roast vegetables and soup are great, but it’s important to have something fresh and crispy. Something green that’s not supermarket salad. Enter Leafy Scot, Edinburgh’s first urban farm that delivers freshly grown microgreens.
Whether you’re a foody, flavour addict or simply like healthy eating, microgreens are the way forward. Our allotment had a very poor lettuce harvest this year, and we weren’t alone. If the weather is anything to go by (and Brexit issues), growing indoors will become big. Hydroponics doesn’t rely on the seasons so plants can be grown year-round. Perfect for Scotland.
It’s the first business venture for former International Lawyer Susan Kemp, who had an epiphany when writing a book on war crimes in 2019, that perhaps she’d like to do something different, preferably green. Hailing from Dundee, Susie’s grandparents and family grew their own fruit and veg. Fast forward some years, and Susan is keeping the family tradition alive by experimenting with various crops. We recently visited Leafy’s dedicated indoor growing space in north Edinburgh, a plant lovers’ delight!
The basement farm uses recyclable hemp mats, peat-free compost, minimal water and renewable energy. No chemical fertilisers, and as seeds are a powerhouse of nutrients ready to grow into small plants, they don’t need pesticides or herbicides.
Visit the Leafy website to place an order, and it will be grown especially for you. If bamboozled by choice, try a taster box of the four varieties of nutrient-dense microgreens available: radish, broccoli, pea shoots and sunflower shoots. When the order has grown, you receive a text alert and freshly picked microgreens are delivered to your door (within the city bypass). A gift subscription is the perfect Christmas present for the foodie in your life…
Sunflower seed microgreens are especially exciting in cooking, as they are robust enough to be stir-fried and have a gorgeously nutty taste. Susie is experimenting with new crops and we were delighted to see tiny nasturtium leaves at Leafy. Pea shoots (serge) growing in pots are also in the production pipeline, so check out Leafy Scot for up-to-date offerings. I was delighted with my sample of coriander microgreens, delicately flavoured, perfect for sprinkling on top of a curry or baked tatties. It’s the way of the future. (Tracy Griffen)
Leafy Scot: 10B South Trinity Road, Edinburgh, EH5 3NR - 07476 555207
