🌱 Our Story

"Healing doesn't always come in a little bottle.
It sometimes comes in a tiny seed."

The story of how a 7-year-old with chronic pain chose seeds over pharmaceuticals and turned that decision into a mission to empower 5,000+ families to grow their own food.

🌱 Read Connor's Story 🎥 Watch the Video

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🌿 Non-GMO · Heirloom · Organic

Where It All Began

One Seed Changed Everything

This isn't a brand story. It's a survival story, and a mission that started long before there was a business.

Age 7, The Struggle Begins

When I Couldn't Get Out the Door

At seven years old, I was on medical homebound. I couldn't get out the door. The pain was immense, more inflammation than my doctors had ever seen in someone my age.

After years of searching, the answers finally came, five diagnoses that explained everything:

POTS EDS Dysautonomia MCAS Hashimoto's

"The doctors kept saying the same thing: 'We see something, but we don't know what it is.'"

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Connor Hiebel, Founder of Island Microgreens

Connor Hiebel
Founder & Grower

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Connor holding a tray of fresh microgreens

14 Years
Growing 🌱

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8 Months Later, The Turning Point

From Surviving to Thriving

We had two choices: the traditional path of taking drugs that would lead to more drugs or let food be thy medicine. I chose the seeds.

I started growing microgreens at home. Simple, clean, alive. Within 8 months, the difference was night and day. My digestion improved. My brain fog lifted. My pain reduced. After 7 months away from school, I was finally able to return.

"I still live with my conditions today. But they're manageable. And the mental benefit of harvesting something that actively helps my health? That gave me my power back."

COVID 2020, The Mission Is Born

I Was Doing Better. The World Was Not.

When COVID hit, I saw the world struggling, people cut off from fresh food, grocery stores emptied out, families feeling helpless. I had spent years figuring out how to grow my own food at home. I knew I could help.

That's when Island Microgreens was born. A kit so simple that all you have to do is open the box and start planting. More economical. Easier to grow. And anyone can do it.

"If a 7-year-old with chronic pain can grow his own medicine, you can too."

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Island Microgreens
Est. 2020 🌱

Dart the bearded dragon, Angel and Snowball, Connor's pets that inspired pet microgreens

Dart 🦎 · Angel 🐾 · Snowball 🐾

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The Pets That Started It All

Then My Pets Wanted In 🐾

Microgreens changed my life, and it turns out, they can change your pet's life too. My bearded dragon Dart was the first to show me just how much animals thrive on fresh, living greens. Then my dogs Angel and Snowball got in on it, and there was no going back.

Watching Dart go after a fresh tray of greens with the same enthusiasm I had at my first harvest, that's when I knew we had to share this with every pet parent out there. Our pet microgreens line was born right here at home, tested by the most honest critics I know.

"Dart didn't care about the brand story. He just wanted the greens. And honestly? That's the best review I've ever gotten."

🦎 Bearded Dragons 🐕 Dogs 🐱 Cats 🦎 Reptiles

🎥 Connor's Story

Hear It Straight From Connor

Watch the full story: from chronic pain at 7 to empowering 5,000+ families to grow their own food at home.

Years Growing

5,000+

Home Growers

Days to Harvest

40×

More Nutrients

More Than a Business

🎗️ U.S. Pain Foundation

For Everyone Still Searching for Answers

I spent years being told "we see something, but we don't know what it is." The U.S. Pain Foundation fights for the millions of people still in that place, still waiting for a diagnosis, still searching for relief, still trying to be believed.

Supporting them is deeply personal. Up to 5% of our profits go to US Pain Foundation. We sponsor their events and advocate for chronic pain awareness, because no one should have to fight alone for the answers that could change their life.

"This one is personal. I was that kid. I sponsor this because I know what it means to finally have someone in your corner."

Fresh Food for Everyone

Microgreens are one of the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet, and they're tender enough for people who struggle to eat traditional raw vegetables. That makes them uniquely powerful for communities that need fresh food most.

We grow microgreens for our local homeless coalition. Fast to grow, easy to prepare, and packed with the vitamins and minerals that are hardest to get when food access is limited. Fresh food is a right, not a privilege.

"Microgreens don't care who you are. They just grow, and they give back."

🌱 Schools Program

Growing the Next Generation of Growers

Because of my health, I missed out on years of traditional schooling. I know firsthand how isolating that can be and how much a hands-on activity can change a child's relationship with learning and food.

We're bringing microgreen growing kits into classrooms, giving kids a way to engage with science, nutrition, and the miracle of growing something from a seed. We're just getting started, and we're building something that will last.

"If I had this as a kid, it would have changed everything."

Schools Reached

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Growing

As Seen In & Heard On