Bri and Dee recently visited Pocono Organics, one of North America's largest Regenerative Organic Certified farms, to explore the full journey of microgreens from seed to plate. Their visit began inside one of the farm’s sprawling greenhouses, where they followed the process of cultivating microgreens, tiny but mighty plants packed with nutrients and flavor.

Joined by Jacqueline, a versatile team member at Pocono Organics, Bri and Dee got hands-on experience harvesting microgreens. But as Jacqueline explained, the work starts long before harvest. “It all really starts out with getting our trays, our soil, and then spreading our seeds—that's the key to get this all on the roll,” she said. Once planted, the microgreens grow in carefully controlled conditions. “It can take 7 to 9 days, sometimes 2 to 3 weeks. We even have some that take about 5 weeks—it depends on the variety.”These vibrant greens aren’t just about beauty. Jacqueline emphasized their health benefits and culinary appeal: “They are super fun to grow, and once you grow, you have your nutrition. It’s also great to put toppings and garnishes on your plates.”

The farm-to-fork journey doesn’t stop at the greenhouse. Pocono Organics packages their microgreens for local restaurants and markets, and even ships within a 100-mile radius via UPS. “We don’t have to worry about things being distributed to other facilities,” Jacqueline noted. “We know what we have here, and it’s literally grown, weighed, packaged, sold, or cooked—all on site.”

From there, Bri and Dee headed to the Pocono Organics Café to turn their freshly harvested microgreens into a meal. They were greeted by Chef Lindsay McClain, a Chopped Champion recognized from the Food Network. “The first thing we’re going to make is our asparagus flatbread,” she told them. With ingredients like whipped brie, oven-roasted asparagus, and prosciutto, the flatbread is a seasonal favorite. 

Chef Lindsay collaborates closely with the farm team to plan seasonal menus. One innovation she highlighted is broccoli microgreens, which are freeze-dried and turned into powder—a clever way to sneak vegetables into kids’ meals. “This is my best kept secret as a mom,” she shared. “I’ve put this in brownies, smoothies, mac and cheese, and my 5-year-old doesn't know.”  

To demonstrate, they made the café’s kids’ smoothie—a banana-strawberry blend with hidden broccoli powder. After a few sips, Dee said, “I don’t taste it at all—oh, that’s really good.” Bri added, “You can taste how fresh it is.”  The duo also sampled the flatbread they helped create. “It tastes better knowing all of our hard work went into this,” Bri said. “We are now farmers and chefs today,” Dee joked.

Pocono Organics is open throughout the year, offering seasonal produce, a market, and a café menu that evolves with what’s being harvested. Bri and Dee’s experience highlighted not just the process of growing food, but the passion and purpose behind it—from greenhouse to plate.