OCTOBER 2019 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC


Kootenay grower shoots forward


with microgreens Nepal trip was a turning point for Kieran Poznikoff


by BRIAN LAWRENCE CRESTON—When Kieran


Poznikoff graduated from Creston’s Prince Charles Secondary School, farming was the furthest thing from his mind. He studied kinesiology for a year in university before the itch to explore and travel took hold. He never returned for a second year. The Ki Mana Acres owner


did, however, find his true calling – and all it took was a trip to Nepal. He lived with a tribe in the Himalayan foothills for 35 days, working in exchange for board and helping with corn and millet crops. “They had a fully rounded, sustainable farm,” said Poznikoff, who grows microgreens on his farm in Erickson, just east of Creston. He’d done a previous work


exchange in Italy and later studied permaculture in Taiwan and Hawaii, but the Himalayan experience stuck with him most strongly and he realized the lifestyle fit well with his personality. “I am by nature a provider,”


he said. “I like making healthy food for people.” Many who buy his


products at the Creston Valley Farmers’ Market are enjoying his efforts, and several restaurants serve Ki Mana Acres greens in their menu items. Providing for


customers helped bring the 22-year-old back to his roots. “When I was little, I ran


around barefoot in the garden, and I separated from that in school,” he said. He didn’t want to


disappear into the mountains like the Himalayan tribe he lived with, so in 2018 he started a market garden on his grandma’s Erickson property and made regular deliveries of produce boxes to 25 families.


But with another Creston


Valley farm already providing a similar service, Poznikoff shifted his focus to microgreens, which require less growing space and are more nutrient-dense than other produce. “They’re just little power-


packed shoots,” he said. “You can eat a whole head of lettuce or a pinch of micro greens and get the same thing.”


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Having received some initial guidance from YouTube videos, Poznikoff now grows about a quarter-acre with the help of his girlfriend and an employee. The growing area is split between his own yard and his grandma’s, and he plans to grow to a half-acre next year. “I like the concept of farming on underutilized yards,” he said. “My slogan is, ‘Lawn to lettuce.’” Each crop is grown in a bed that measures 50 feet by 30 inches. A crop is harvested three times, with Poznikoff using a drill-powered Quick- cut Greens Harvester – which combines a sharp blade and macramé brush – to cut the shoots of kale, chard, peas, radish and other greens. Keeping in the spirit of his


farm’s name, which incorporates the Japanese and Hawaiian words for “life force,” Poznikoff makes sure the soil is well prepared for the crops he plants. “We always feed the soil


first,” he said. “If you have healthy soil, you have healthy greens.”


He wants to pass that health on to his customers, using 100% organic growing methods, with a goal of becoming certified. Poznikoff is also looking into the production of microgreens year-round, a step toward helping the Creston Valley, and ultimately, the Kootenays, become less reliant on imported greens. “We’re definitely


progressing as a community – everyone wants to eat more local,” he said. “It’s going full circle.”


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Kieran Poznikoff harvests microgreens using a drill-powered Quick-cut Greens Harvester. He started specializing in microgreens and hopes to grow them year-round soon. BRIAN LAWRENCE PHOTO


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