As we reignite EYM, everyday is full of activities and progress!

With it more hands on deck are needed! Thank goodness Mike is back! (link to “Mike is Back”)

As you may know, it has been a bit of a challenge 🫣, mainly dealing with moving my business from indoor place to indoor place every 3 - 6 months. My last option for an affordable and long-term indoor place was awarded to others, with simple businesses–I feel like my lack of Dutch fluency has hurt me in this regard but at the same time, many Dutch/people are by default frightened by anyone who grows plants indoors as they automatically link it with weed. Unfortunately, this should not be the main reason, as every other entrepreneur in this antikraak space is just selling a service and not changing the status quo. Perhaps everyone here is a conservative 😛 .

Thankfully last summer, I managed to secure a permanent location, with of course, other drawbacks…you cannot have so much ground space this close to Amsterdam without another tradeoff that is! This one mainly being electricity, sufficient cover, and insulation. As a result, I have been busy making many repairs, drawings, calculations, installations, building & assembling, then dismantling, and also sanding, cutting, painting, and so much more (Built my solar panel frame yesterday).  As you can imagine, creating a homestead paradise in NL takes a lot of work and patience (still waiting on a spring-like feeling with less rain 🤞). 

Moreover, since my production of microgreens has slowed down and come to a halt, I have adapted to a new market of encouraging other motivated friends to learn and grow microgreens themselves. 

I have discovered through my own experience that 1020 flats and trays are the best way to grow your microgreens (1020 is a USA term for these trays, which translate into their measurements in inches - so 10 inches by 20 inches). 

Perhaps you are looking to feed yourself, your family, your friends, your community with nutritious microgreens. If so, picking up a couple of 1020 flats (1 with holes and 1 without) is exactly what you need to get started. 

The entire process from seed until harvest can be quite easy. Just be sure to follow the step by step approach to germinating, growing, lighting, and harvesting. Also keep in mind the importance of temperature, humidity, and aeration (more on www.eatyourmicrogreens.nl/blog). 

At the same time, with the new demand of EYM 1020 trays, a new bottleneck has been created within our “Shipping Department” so to say!

The dimension of a 1020 is unique and therefore, it is very difficult to find any box with this dimension and buying bigger ones is a waste of money and material. 

Therefore, Mike and I have rejoined forces to tackle the need for durable and sustainable shipping boxes at a low cost. And if you ever visit a recycling station you will see how much perfectly good cardboard is thrown out. If you really stop and look, it's amazing how much waste us little humans create to support this economy. There are countless opportunities to be more sustainable but oftentimes, it requires higher costs and is less profitable. 

First, Mike and I asked what would be the ideal design? 

Two designs were presented: 1 with glue required and the second with inserts instead of glue. 

The second design is currently in beta testing 😉 with a few orders. 

The next step is to automate the box cutting process and speed up the cutout of the upcycled box. 

So if you have any ideas for upcycling more material like cardboard, please let us know and join us!

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