Check the menu of a fine restaurant or the produce part of a specialty grocery store, and you’re likely to spy microgreens: tiny, delicate greens that add color, texture and taste to quite a lot of meals as a garnish or ingredient.
Big on nutrition and taste, microgreens could be costly to purchase. But they may also be grown cost-successfully at dwelling, in a tiny area and with easy supplies. In case you have a sunny home windowsill, a shallow container, some potting mix and suitable seeds, you have bought all the essentials for growing your own microgreens. This is a superb crop for urban gardeners who are limited to a windowsill, balcony or fire escape.
Also known as „vegetable confetti,“ microgreens are generally confused with sprouts — germinated seeds which are eaten root, seed and shoot. Microgreens, nonetheless, embrace quite a lot of edible immature greens, harvested with scissors less than a month after germination, when the plants are as much as 2 inches tall. The stem, cotyledons (or seed leaves) and first set of true leaves are all edible.
Which seeds work best?
Salad greens, leafy vegetables, herbs and even edible flowers will be grown as microgreens, although some varieties are higher suited than others. Learners often start by growing one type of seed, corresponding to broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, mustard, chia, sunflower or buckwheat — among the easiest-to-grow kinds of microgreens — in a single container. (You’ll be able to simply develop different seeds in a number of containers, and blend your microgreens after harvesting.)
You too can find seeds for salad mixes and specifically selected microgreen mixes that combine greens with related growth rates, suitable flavors and exquisite coloring including reds, purples and greens. Since they were created with grower success in mind, they’re additionally a good selection for beginners.
If your local weather is suitable, microgreens will be even be grown outdoors within the garden, under shade. Like all fragile seedlings, you may have to protect them from weather extremes and drying winds, to not mention hungry garden pests.
The place do I start?
Start with a warm, sunny home windowsill (direct sunlight from a south-going through window is good) and a small, clean container. Plastic take-out dishes and disposable pie plates work well, as do clear fruit or salad boxes. In case your chosen container doesn’t have constructed-in drainage, poke just a few drainage holes in the bottom. Then, put together to plant:
Steps
Read the seed packet to see if there are any particular instructions.
Cover the bottom of the container with an inch or two of moistened potting soil or mix. Flatten and level it with your hand or a small piece of cardboard, taking care not to over-compress the soil.
Scatter seeds evenly on prime of the soil. Press gently into the soil using your hand or the cardboard.
Cover the seeds with a thin layer of soil. Dampen the surface with a mister. In case you want, you can skip this step and instead cover the container with a clear lid or plastic wrap till the seeds are sprouted.
While waiting for sprouts to look, usually within three to seven days, use the mister a couple of times every day to keep the soil moist however not wet.
Once seeds have sprouted, remove the cover (if you happen to’ve used one) and proceed to mist once or twice a day.
Microgreens need about 4 hours day by day of direct sunlight to thrive. In winter months, some may have even more. Leggy, pale greens are a sign of not sufficient sunlight. Light wants can also be satisfied with a grow light.