Photo: Vernon Farmers' Market

Starting a business during a pandemic has been a lesson in creativity for Vernon's Lake View Farms.

The local producer of micro greens started out just two months ago, and with product ready to sell, Greg Hewitt began hitting the road on his E-bike, to make deliveries.

Now the Vernon Farmers' Market is open, they are set up there Mondays and Thursdays, outside Kal Tire Place.

"We are maintaining social distancing, making wider aisles, booths are farther apart, sanitation stations and customers do not handle the products," organizer Ingrid Baron said as the market got underway with a delayed start this spring.

The market is operating without all its usual vendors, however, having cut back to just essential food service providers.

The new members have caught the eye of more than just locals.

Hewitt and partner Dawna Bates have just been featured on the website microgreenology.com.

They told the site: "We started just when precautions for COVID-19 were being put in place. Our first farmers' market was cancelled ... We pedalled our micro greens to customers online and delivered by E-bike, with a bike trailer and cooler. 

"We then got an offer to supply 100 units a week to a company that sells boxes of groceries to people via home delivery."

Lake View grows sunflower shoots, pea shoots, radish shoots, and mixed salad shoots.

"We used to have a lot of time off. Now, we get up early, water, plant, wash trays, etc. We love the growing, but we don't seem to have much time off… this is funny, as this was supposed to be a retirement hobby farm.'"