MendoGrass
Sun Grown & Local Power Greens—Available All Year!
by Torrey Douglass
When Mendo Grass owner Adam Goldberg and his wife, Amanda Tuttle, started their wheatgrass and microgreens business in 2020, he was “hell-bent on growing with the sun.” Sungrown plants have better flavor and a lower carbon footprint, and this approach aligned with Adam’s priority to work with what he already had in order to keep overhead costs low. It is also less time-intensive since he doesn’t have to purchase and maintain complex climate control systems—though he does use a germinator shed where plants spend their first 3-5 days. This shed can be warmed or cooled, protecting young plants from winter’s freezing temperatures and extreme summer heat. After that, they are moved to the greenhouse where they will stay until harvested 10 to 21 days later, depending on the time of year.
Unlike diversified farming, wheatgrass and microgreens can be grown year-round, even when eschewing climate manipulation. This means Adam’s schedule doesn’t include the cold-season break other farmers enjoy. “It’s a marathon,” shares Adam. “Winter is slower but still busy. The rhythms are different from a regular farm.” Thanks to the greenhouse environment, Adam’s microgreens business is easier on his body than traditional farming. He doesn’t have to work on the ground, and the use of vertical space means a lot can be grown within a smaller footprint.
The success of Mendo Grass can be traced back to Adam’s past job with the former Solar Living Institute in Hopland, where his role included growing wheatgrass and microgreens for local restaurants and grocery stores. The program was let go after a time, but he had seen its potential as a sustainable local business. So when he and Amanda moved into a tiny home outside of Hopland in 2020, he had the time and bandwidth to launch Mendo Grass.
That was also the year that Adam lost his mom to cancer. He’d always admired how she had “lived on her own terms,” as he put it, balancing career, family, and personal interests so she could make the most out of the time she had. Her illness put things in perspective, motivating Adam to follow her example and take the entrepreneurial plunge so he could build a career that provided more time for family, as well as experience the satisfaction that comes from working for oneself. As someone with a Master’s in International Education, Adam appreciates how the intellectual and analytical challenges of running a business complement the physical and mental demands of farming. “I appreciate the balance of admin and dirty hands,” he reflects.
An early break helped get the business off the ground, when a Hopland business owner saw the potential for Mendo Grass and granted Adam a rent-free year on his ranch to get started. There was no infrastructure save a vineyard pond, but the price was right, so Adam and Amanda built a greenhouse on the site and proceeded to figure out, through trial and error, what it takes to grow and sell organic wheatgrass and microgreens to Mendocino and Sonoma counties.
These baby plants sell themselves in a lot of ways. They contain up to nine times more nutrients than their adult counterparts, making them beloved as an immunity-boosting superfood. Microgreens work beautifully as a garnish for restaurant dishes, delighting both the eye with their bright green hue and the palate with their tender taste. They go great in salads, smoothies, and sandwiches—for example, they add a little crunch and a lot of fresh flavor as a topping on avocado toast.
For folks who like to include fresh wheatgrass or microgreens in their morning smoothies, a convenient subscription program is available. You can find Mendo Grass microgreens at the Ukiah Farmers Market, Ukiah Natural Foods Co-Op, and Mariposa Market. Outside of the county, they are at the Healdsburg and Sebastopol farmers markets. In addition to the microgreens and wheatgrass, jars of fresh “peasto” and refreshing “Mendomosas”—a mocktail that combines a shot of wheatgrass, orange juice, and kombucha—are for sale. Both were developed by Amanda, whose expertise includes a background in the culinary arts. In addition to creating delicious, value-added items for their farmers market table, she also manages branding and marketing for the business.
Adam and Amanda’s belief that Mendo Grass was a viable business idea has been proven correct thanks to their hard work and creativity. Now, four years in, the business is stable, and they are a year or two away from hiring a manager to help carry some of the load so they can enjoy an even better work-life balance. Even with all the demands launching a startup business requires, Adam feels it allows him to live on his own terms, able to spend time with Amanda and their daughter, providing food that supports his customers’ health, and growing his plants according to his values: organic, sungrown, and watered with rainwater. “We are part of our community, very embedded,” Adam shares. “Being a local farm business and providing local, healthy foods is very rewarding.”
To get a delicious taste of Adam’s microgreens, make your avocado toast with the recipe below for a tasty and healthy start to your day.
Great Start Avocado Toast
INGREDIENTS
1 slice of artisan bread, toasted to perfection (we love Grainsong bread!)
1/4 cup Mendo Grass Peasto
2 oz microgreens
1 avocado, mashed
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Salt + pepper to taste
Optional: red pepper flakes or toasted pumpkin seeds
INSTRUCTIONS
Toast a slice of bread until it reaches your desired level of crispiness. While the bread is toasting, mash the avocado in a bowl until smooth. Season with lemon juice, salt, and pepper to taste.
Spread the mashed avocado evenly over the toast. Next, generously spread ¼ cup of Mendo Grass Peasto on top of the avocado. Top with 1 oz of Mendo Grass Microgreens, then sprinkle more salt and pepper over the microgreens if desired. Serve immediately and enjoy the delightful combination of flavors and textures!
Subscribe for regular deliveries of wheatgrass and/or microgreens at mendograss.com, or visit Healdsburg, Ukiah, and Sebastopol farmers markets to purchase.
Photo courtesy of Mendo Grass
Torrey Douglass is a web and graphic designer living in Boonville. Her life’s joys include reading by the fire, cooking something delicious, and drinking good coffee with a friend.
