There is a precedent for micro-greens. In Britain inexpensive\ntrays of \u201cmustard and cress\u201d grown on fiber pads have long been available in\nmarkets, to be clipped as needed for salads and sandwiches. In North America\npeople have been growing trays of buckwheat \u201clettuce\u201d and sunflower \u201clettuce\u201d\nfor years. These are both used in the same way, and cut when they produce their\nfirst true leaves (or even before). The idea of micro-greens takes this a step\nfurther and introduces a wide variety of new plants to provide a unique taste treat\nrather than extra nutrition (though they have that too). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Growing micro-greens gives you a practical way to make use of some\nof the excess seed that inevitably accumulates when you start saving your own\nseed (in fact it is a good reason\nto start saving seed).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Crop use<\/strong>: Growing microgreens is a practical way to grow flavoring and\nsalad materials year round, and can be very useful if you live in a very cold\nor very warm climate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ease of growing: <\/strong>Growing <\/strong>micro-greens is closer to\nsprouting than it is to vegetable gardening. They are grown for such a short\ntime and in such a controlled environment that there is little chance of things\ngoing wrong (though inevitably mishaps can happen occasionally).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nutritional content<\/strong>: The nutritious young plants are rich in vitamins A, B\u2019s, C, E\nand K as well as calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium. They also\ncontain various antioxidants and beneficial phytochemicals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Planning<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Days to harvest<\/strong>: This can be anywhere from 3 – 21 days, depending upon the crop\nand growing conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When<\/strong>: One of the nice things about micro-greens is that they can be\ngrown inside or outside. This means you can have cheap fresh salad materials at\nany time of the year, no matter how cold or hot it gets outside. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In winter you can grow them in the house or greenhouse. In spring\nand fall you can grow them in the greenhouse or cold frame. In summer you can\ngrow them in a shady part of the garden, or back in the house (for growing cool\nweather crops).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Containers<\/strong>: Almost any type of container can be used to grow microgreens.\nThe kind you choose will depend on what you want. If you want to grow as much\nas possible as quickly as possible you might use the same wooden flats used for\nstarting transplants, or large plastic trays. If you want something cute to put\non your kitchen window you might use decorative ceramic or terracotta pots (if\nthey don\u2019t have drainage holes, you can put some gravel in the bottom for\ndrainage). If you live in an apartment you might use the plastic containers\nthat fruit or salad mix comes in (just put some drainage holes in the bottom).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soil mix<\/strong>: The mix is more important for anchoring the plants and supplying\nwater than it is as a source of nutrients, because they are in the ground for\nsuch a short time. It is best not to use garden soil to fill the containers, as\nit contains weed seeds and living soil organisms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can buy a potting soil mix, but it is relatively expensive and\nyou can easily make it yourself (a simple mix would be 1\/3 sand, 1\/3 peat moss\nand 1\/3 compost). You don\u2019t need to completely fill the container either, you\nonly need to put an inch or two in the bottom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Seeds<\/strong>: Use only untreated seed as you don\u2019t want anything with\nfungicide on it. You will need quite a lot of seeds to grow microgreens and\nthis can get expensive if you are using individual seed packets (though you can\nuse those left over from planting the garden). You can save money by searching\nout bulk seed or seed sold for sprouting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The best place to get seeds for microgreens is your own garden, by\nsaving them yourself. Seed saving is a perfect complement to growing\nmicrogreens because it gives you a way to use up a lot of those surplus seeds\nthat often just sit around until they die. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You can use a mix of seed for microgreens, but you may have a\nproblem if they germinate and grow at different rates. An extreme example would\nbe if you mixed heat loving basil with fast growing cold tolerant bok choy. You\nwould have a crop of bok choy before the basil has even germinated! If you\nplant more than one kind of seed in a container it is important that they grow\nat roughly the same rate, so you can harvest at the same time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It is usually simpler to plant each type of seed in a separate\ncontainer, as each one can then grow at its own rate. You then just cut what\nyou want and mix it together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Planning<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Planting<\/strong>: The seeds are scattered on the moist growing medium, keeping\nthem very close together (\u00bc\u02dd apart maximum). Don\u2019t cover them with soil as it\nwill make for soil covered microgreens. Keep the containers in a warm place\n(70\u00b0F is optimal for most salad crops). The container should be misted as\nnecessary to keep the growing plants well supplied with moisture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Succession sowing<\/strong>: Micro-greens are a very short term crop and the frequency of\nsuccession sowing will depend upon how much you plant and how much you use.\nAfter a couple of sowings you will work this out for yourself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Care <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Warmth<\/strong>: Micro-greens don\u2019t need much attention, so long as it is warm\nenough for germination and growth. The ideal temperature is around 70\u00b0F in the\nday (and slightly lower at night), though it varies with each crop. Many grow\nfaster if it is warmer than this. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You can achieve a warm temperature in a cold house by putting them\nnear a heat source, or using a seed tray heating pad. Of course in cooler\ntemperatures it makes sense to concentrate on cold tolerant crops such as\nBrassicas and lettuce. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If the temperature gets too hot for the germination of lettuce you\ncan pre-germinate it in the fridge. See Lettuce<\/strong> for how to do this.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Watering<\/strong>: The soil in the containers needs to be kept moist at all times,\nso the seeds don\u2019t dry out (which they can do easily when they are sitting\nexposed on the surface). A spray bottle works well for watering as it gently\nmists the plants without splashing the seeds around too much. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Professional growers often water from below by immersing the\ncontainers in a tray of water for a minute or so to thoroughly moisten the\nsoil. This keeps the tops drier, cleaner and less prone to rot. They may also\nput lids on their containers to keep the plants moist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Light<\/strong>: The seeds don\u2019t need light until they have germinated, so you\ncan start them anywhere. Once they have germinated they need plenty of light\nfor good growth. The best source is the sun, so a greenhouse is probably the\nbest place to grow them (unless its warm enough to have them outside). A sunny\nwindowsill is also good (and more convenient) but usually limited in size. I\ndon\u2019t really like electric lights, but they are a necessary evil if you have no\nbetter light source. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course the seedlings don\u2019t last for very long anyway, so it\ndoesn\u2019t matter if they don\u2019t get full sunlight all of the time Even if they are\nsomewhat light deprived you can still eat them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Harvesting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When<\/strong>: The best time to harvest is about 5 minutes before sitting down\nto eat. Commercial growers harvest in the early morning when the plants are\ncool. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The plants are usually cut within 2 – 3 weeks of planting, when\nthey have their first true leaves. However you can let them get somewhat bigger\nif you want. This will make the harvest bigger, though the leaves may be less tender and mild (though I\u2019m sure your\nteeth can still handle them).<\/p>\n\n\n\n How<\/strong>: Before harvesting you should gently brush off any seed husks\nthat remain attached to the leaves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The best way to harvest is to cut them with scissors just above\nthe soil level, so you don\u2019t disturb the remaining plants (try not to get them\ndirty as you want to minimize washing). If necessary rinse them carefully and\nuse straight away. Unfortunately, unlike mesclun, they won\u2019t regrow after cutting, they are a one time deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unusual growing ideas<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Outdoor growing<\/strong>: In warm weather the best place to put your microgreen containers\nis outside in the shade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In theory it could be possible to grow microgreens in the ground\nin a growing bed, but they are so small and close to the ground that it would\nbe hard to keep them clean enough for use (misting instead of sprinkling would\nhelp a lot.) You could also try building wooden frames for growing them\nslightly off the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Varieties<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The best seeds for growing microgreens are those that grow rapidly\nand taste good, which includes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Beet and chard<\/strong>: Prized for their color more than their\nflavor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Brassica family<\/strong>: There are\na lot of these and they tend to be fast growing and pungent in flavor. All of\nthem are good, but arugala, bok choy, garden cress, mizuna, mustards, radish\nand turnip are perhaps the fastest (you can be eating them in a week). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Lettuce<\/strong>:\nThe staple of micro-greens and mesclun mixes, they are tasty and sometimes\nspectacularly beautiful too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Basil<\/strong>:\nSlower than the others (and needs more heat), but has a wonderful flavor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Celery<\/strong>: This is fairly slow, but adds a great\nflavor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fennel<\/strong>: Delicious anise flavor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sunflower<\/strong>:\nFast and tasty (needs warmth for fast growth).<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Other useful plants <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n These are also worth experimenting with\nas micro-greens:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Amaranth<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Chervil <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Chia<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Chicory<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Cilantro<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Clover<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Cornsalad<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Dill<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Escarole<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Fenugreek<\/strong> (one of my favorites)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Flax<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Onion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Plantain <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Purslane<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Quinoa<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Radicchio<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sorrel<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Spinach<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Water Pepper<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"\"](\"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/microgreens3.jpg\")
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