Today we’d like to introduce you to Lisa John.
Hi Lisa, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Growing can sometimes be a passion, or simply something that you just have to do to survive. In my childhood, we always had a big garden and made our own maple syrup. The pride I felt knowing that I helped grow our food was contagious. It leads to many dreams one being a business owner. With many failed attempts at starting several businesses, ( and still learning) I finally found my passion. I had spent several years in the field of digital marketing and sales. As a business owner for over the last 5 years, I have learned how important local networking is to our community. Becoming a stay at home mother to three children gave me even more passion for growing our own food. I started experimenting more with a veggie garden which was so much fun watching all the produce pop up. I grew so much that i had to teach myself how to preserve the food I was growing.
I worked for MPIRG (Minnesota Public Interest Research Group) at a young age which set on a path to living a sustainable and healthy life. These values have carried through to the way Kinney Mini Farms grows and packages its products. In 2021 Kinney Mini Farms won the Sustainable Stillwater MN award for its sustainable business and environmental practices.
Everyone has a mission, Being able to find my strengths talent, and passion has given me the ability to build a mission-driven workplace. I am a firm believer that all employees should have the ability to nurture their own strengths wherever they work within the company. Building a company culture in strength and talent finding makes us a very mission-driven company. As such, Kinney Mini Farms customizes its roles to give employees the chance to identify and cultivate their passions as they grow within the company.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
If building a business was easy I’m sure everyone would have their own. Lol. I like to think that I’m climbing a rocky mountain. There are so many hurdles I have had to overcome because every day is a new day to learn!!!
When I first started, I cut a gallon milk jug in half filled it with dirt, and planted some seeds to see what would happen. My first attempt was ok. With each attempt after that, my growing kept getting better as I did a lot more research. There are always struggles in a business, One that I have had Since we joined the St. Paul Farmers Market we have had a lot of opportunities to grow. Growing pains are really good, and finding that happy medium so that you do not burn yourself out will help in your business success.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
In February 2019, we started growing our first tray, and Kinney Mini Farms was born. Kinney Mini Farms is an urban CEA (Controlled Environment Agriculture) vertical microgreen farm from Cottage Grove. We pay so much attention to detail in our growing, packaging, and how it is presented to you, which helps us strive to be environmentally friendly. The trays we grow on are made of BPA Free plastic and are very durable. We have never had to throw one tray out since we started.
The medium we grow on is made from Jute or hemp fibers are woven together so we don’t have to worry about any nasty glue holding fiber together. This also allows you to have living microgreens without the mess of soil. This has two amazing qualities. 1: as long as the growing mat does not dry out your microgreens will stay fresh for up to two weeks. 2: When you harvest your own microgreens you get 100% of all the nutritional value that microgreens provide.
Our packaging is compost friendly and recyclable. The ink we use on our compost boxes are made with toxic free soy ink.
Our grow racks are designed to be automated for lights, watering and airflow.
We closely monitor the quality of our water.
This year we are having some fun in the kitchen and are proud to announce our newest microgreen products. We came out with the first ever on the market “Microgreen Pesto” made by yours truly. It has been getting some amazing reviews from all our customers and defiantly another fun way to incorporate microgreens to any meal… So keep your eyes open for more fun produces with microgreens from Kinney Mini Farms…
With our attention to our growing and packaging, we love to educate our customers on what microgreens are and how to use them. We even have a Grow Kit if you would like to grow your own microgreens.
Besides getting asked a lot of questions about the microgreens at the market, I do get asked a lot about our name. And we have nothing to do with the Kinney Kinik river in WI. Although I did grow up right across the river, Kinney is my maiden name. I do come from a very long Irish generation of farming. There is a much bigger Kinney Farms so I am the very mini farm.
Kinney Mini Farms grows fresh microgreens year-round. Our Subscription Service is designed to fit your microgreen needs. With our weekly or every other week drop-offs, and your choice on how many months you would like your subscription, you will get three packages of our microgreens/drop-off. We offer a brosica box or the grower’s choice box. It is very easy, fill out this form https://www.kinneyminifarms.com/winter-subscription and you will get an email with how much the subscription will cost.
Being involved with our community is very important to us. When we moved to Cottage Grove, I got a job as a special needs Paraprofessional. Helping my kids find their strengths is a continuous process throughout their life. There are not a lot of job opportunities out there that will allow them to find their passion and strengths. One of our many missions is to be a safe place for our workers to find their strengths in the workforce.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
One of the biggest lessons I have learned in running Kinney Mini Farms is that you can not do everything yourself. You will drive yourself crazy. Having a happy crew to work with and learning to delegate work you know you need help with has been a game changer.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kinneyminifarms.com
- Instagram: kinney_mini_farms
- Facebook: kinneyminifarms
- Twitter: @KinneyFarms
- Other: poplme.co/kmf
Image Credits
Lisa John
