Little Green Thumb won first place in the I-69 Thumb Region’s Catapult Your Business competition in Genesee County last year.

If Karl Collyer could, he would eliminate iceberg lettuce altogether. “It has no taste and it’s mostly water,” he laughs. “I’d replace it with  flavorful, vitamin and nutrient-packed microgreens.”

Collyer, who currently lives on Flint’s Eastside and “loves the innovative urban farming culture going on in his neighborhood,” grew up on a six acre farm in Monroe, then after serving in the U.S. Navy, settled in Argentine before moving to Flint. Collyer has revived the soil, growing and agricultural skills learned in his youth.

In fact, Collyer is putting those skills to use in a new way. In February, he became a cuttingedge,indoor, urban, vertical-growing microgreens farmer – who owns and operates Happy Little Greens Farm inside the former Mid-Michigan Lock and Safe building at 1831 Bennett Avenue. He describes his location as “right in the middle of the green zone at Franklin and Bennett.” His journey began after participating in the University of Michigan-Flint Outreach Center’s (IN) Innovation Incubator “On the Road” program, where he earned first place in their pitch contest.

Read entire story at MyCity Magazine