People

Corie Brooks and part-time market help

Farmland

5 acres in Forestville, about 60 miles to San Francisco

About

Corie, who has a background as a food scientist, launched the sprout business in 1996. She named her business “Brooks and Daughters” in honor of her two young girls. She is proud of the business and sells 80% of the sprouts directly to consumers. Brooks and Daughters uses only clean water and organic compost on their sprouts. All sprouts and microgreens are started on specially designed racks under a large shaded structure. As the seeds begin to sprout, they are planted in soil or open-bottom nursery flats and moved into greenhouses. The sprouts and microgreens then grow for one to four weeks in the greenhouses before they are ready for market.