Customer Story
Scaling output
Scaling output
without scaling space.
By All Means Microgreens · Gaylord, Michigan
917 lbs
Total 2025 production
833 lbs
Total 2024 production
14.5 lbs
Weekly yield before AutoKit
2 systems
Second added one year later
The Operation
A two-person team in northern Michigan, selling out every week.
By All Means Microgreens serves restaurants, weekly subscribers, and direct customers across northern Michigan. Laura Sides and her partner Rebecka Millsap run the day-to-day, with Laura's husband Spencer anticipated to expand their grow space soon.
Their lineup is deliberately diverse: sunflower, pea shoots, baby tatsoi, mustard greens, leaf lettuce, arugula, butterhead, dill, cilantro, leeks, chervil, parsley, basil, and amaranth. Top shelf varieties command $8 to $9 per ounce. Value lines run $4 per ounce. Subscriptions are tiered by box size.
By All Means started in 2023 growing in soil and coco. Within two years of switching to Urban Greens recirculating systems, they produce over 900 pounds of microgreens and baby greens annually from the same footprint.
AutoKit system at By All Means Microgreens · Gaylord, Michigan
The Challenge
More demand. A production model that couldn't keep up.
Before switching to Urban Greens systems, Laura and Rebecka were producing around 14.5 lbs per week from up to 57 soil and coco trays. More output meant more space, more soil, and more labor, a hard ceiling for a two-person team.
They needed to eliminate soil entirely to reduce costs and move to a more consistent growing substrate. The constraint was not demand. The constraint was a production model that would not scale without breaking.
Soil & coco trays before
57
trays
Varieties in production now
22
varieties
Weekly waste across all varieties
<1
lb per harvest
Est. weekly capacity at full optimization
85
lbs / week
The Result
Same footprint. Nearly 10× the weekly output.
Laura and Rebecka started with one AutoKit in August 2024, with assembly help from Spencer and his son. Within a year the results were clear enough that they added a second unit, doubling their channel capacity.
In 2024, their first full year running hydroponic, By All Means produced 833 lbs total. In 2025 that number climbed to 917 lbs. Their tender leaf mix sells out every week with waste under one pound per harvest cycle.
They achieved this inside the same grow space as before. Operating costs dropped with soil eliminated. With both systems fully optimized, Laura and Rebecka estimate they could reach 85 lbs per week, nearly six times what they were producing before.
Since adding the systems, the team grows consistently healthy, vibrant microgreens across a wide variety of crops. Spencer's anticipated space expansion is the next growth lever.
“
Urban Greens has become a huge part of our success as microgreen growers.
Laura Sides · By All Means Microgreens · Gaylord, Michigan
In the Grow Room
See the operation in action.
By All Means Microgreens · Gaylord, Michigan
Harvest day at By All Means Microgreens
About the System
AutoKit, built for exactly this kind of operation.
System
AutoKit
Starting At
$2,985 USD
Channels
20 standard / 40 max
Reservoir
60 gal recirculating
Energy
15 kWh / day
Operating Cost
~$500 / yr
Grow Space
75 sq ft per unit
Lead Time
3 weeks build-to-order
Warranty
1 year, all equipment
Shipping
International available
Water Use
150 to 200 gal / week
Waste
<1 lb per harvest cycle
Ready to build your operation?
Tell us about your space and goals. We'll help you figure out the right system and the right path forward.