Microgreens can be grown at any time of the year with very little in the way of equipment and it is super easy to get started. For many of us home gardeners, the season for salad greens can be short. And I don’t know about you, but I still crave fresh greens in the wintertime. The easiest answer to supplementing our greens is to grow microgreens indoors.
So, today on Just Grow Something we’re getting started with growing microgreens; what supplies you need, which are the easiest ones for beginners to grow, and what you need to know about selecting seeds to use as microgreens. Let’s dig in.
Episode Resources and References:
Check out the selection of microgreens from today's sponsor, True Leaf Market!
Assessment of Vitamin and Carotenoid Concentrations of Emerging Food Products: Edible Microgreens
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This is positively farming media.
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Many of us home gardeners, the season for salad greens can be
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short. Either you're in a climate that
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gets way too hot in the summertime to grow decent
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greens, or you're in a climate that has a very short growing
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season and it gets too cold too quickly.
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And even if you're in a more moderate climate where you can
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grow through the winter, as the daylight hours shorten, the
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plants begin to grow much more slowly.
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And I don't know about you, but I still crave fresh greens in
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the winter time. The easiest answer to
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supplementing our greens is to grow microgreens indoors.
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The microgreens can be grown at any time of the year with very
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little in the way of equipment, and it is super easy to get
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started. There are so many different
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crops that can make great microgreens, there's bound to be
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something that fits the palette of everybody in your family.
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My favorites happen to be sweet peas and sunflowers, but I also
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enjoy the spicy cake of some radish greens and the
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nutritional kick of broccoli, which is a really good point.
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Microgreens are exploding with nutrients.
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According to a research study in the Journal of Agricultural and
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Food Chemistry, microgreens contain higher concentrations of
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vitamins and carotenoids than their mature counterparts, so
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this is a great way to bump our nutrition in the winter months
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when the variety of fresh foods coming from our gardens is
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sorely lacking. And it's super easy to do so
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today on Just Grow Something. We're getting started with
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growing microgreens, What supplies you need, which are the
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easiest ones for beginners to grow, and what you need to know
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about selecting seeds to use as microgreens.
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Let's dig in. Hey, I'm Karen and I started
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gardening 18 years ago in a small corner of my suburban
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backyard when we moved to A5 acre Homestead.
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I expanded that garden to half an acre and I found such joy and
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purpose in feeding my family and friends.
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This new found love for digging in the dirt and providing for
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others prompted my husband and I to grow our small homestead into
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a 40 acre market farm. When I went back to school to
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get my degree in horticulture, I discovered there is so much
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power in food and I want to share everything I've learned
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with as many people as possible. On this podcast, we explore crop
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information, soil health, pests and diseases, plant nutrition,
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our own nutrition, and so much more in the world of food and
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gardening. So grab your garden journal and
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a cup of coffee and get ready to just grow something.
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Growing microgreens at home does not require any special tools or
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equipment, and besides the seeds, you should be able to
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find everything you need in your existing garden stash or around
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the house. Anything you're missing can
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easily be picked up at the store, and I promise there's not
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much that you'll need to shop for.
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A lot of the plants we already grow in the garden can be used
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as microgreens, so you actually may already have the seeds on
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hand too, and it's a really good way to like work through an
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aging stash of seeds that may not be viable for much longer.
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So how do we get started? First thing is the container.
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Use shallow trays, seedling flats, or any similar container
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with good drainage. You can even use something as
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simple as a shallow takeout container, microwave trays from
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frozen meals or clamshell Berry containers, anything that can be
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thoroughly cleaned prior to use. The key is to make sure there is
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a way for the water to get away from the roots, and these
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containers can be shallow. In fact, in most cases shallow
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containers are better for growing microgreens.
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These greens will be harvested sometimes as quickly as five
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days after sprouting, so you'll need much less growing medium
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than if you were growing a full size plant.
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Speaking of growing medium, that's item number two.
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Use a sterile, well draining growing medium, like a soil less
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peat based seed starting mix, potting mix, Coco cuar or a hemp
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mat specifically for microgreens.
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And keep in mind you want something that will retain some
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moisture, but not so much that it attracts pests or encourages
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root rot. The capacity to hold soil
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moisture and how often you'll need to water your sprouting
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greens will depend on what you use.
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What you normally use for starting garden plants indoors
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can also be used for growing your microgreens.
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The third thing you'll need is the seeds.
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You have a huge variety to choose from here radish, kale,
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beets, Chard, lettuce, basil, broccoli, cabbage, peas,
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alfalfa, celery, arugula, spinach, mustard, you name it.
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My favorite for super fast growing microgreens is radish.
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It sprouts quickly and it gains lots of size in just a few days.
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Some of our favorite garden companions like marigolds,
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nasturtium, and sunflowers are also great microgreens.
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You really can try just about any plant you grow in the garden
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that you would eat the whole plant of, so stay away from
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things like tomatoes and Peppers.
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If you wouldn't eat the stem or leaves of the mature plant, then
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you likely shouldn't grow it as a microgreen.
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Those members of the nightshade family contain high levels of
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solanine and tropanes as young sprouts and they as can be
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poisonous. Everything else though is fair
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game. I've even tried popcorn as a
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microgreen, which is surprisingly tender and very
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sweet. Now, the only other things we
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might need will be a spray bottle for misting our sprouts
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and a good pair of scissors for harvesting.
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Our final consideration is light.
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Natural sunlight in a window, on a balcony or on a porch is
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generally enough to grow microgreens.
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In fact, I've found the places that don't seem to be great for
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starting seedlings because the light isn't quite enough is
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actually great for microgreens. It's enough light to get them to
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sprout and grow, and it makes them a little leggy, which in
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this instance is actually a good thing.
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I found that it's easier to harvest microgreens without
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getting any soil on them when they've stretched up a little
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bit taller than usual. Now, if you don't have a good
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sunny spot, you can absolutely supplement the natural light
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with a source of artificial lighting.
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Whether it's a small grow lamp or just a fluorescent bulb.
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This is perfect if, like me, your kitchen window is full of
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house plants and you need to grow your microgreens in a space
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that's a little bit more out of the way, but maybe doesn't have
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a natural source of light. In this way, microgreens are
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perfect for indoor gardening. As our gardens wind down for the
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season and we start having fewer options for freshly harvested
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greens, microgreens become a perfect solution for keeping up
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our nutritional impact. From using them for salads to
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topping on pizza blended into smoothies or topping our soups,
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microgreens really do give us a huge bang for our nutritional
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buck. This week's sponsor, True Leaf
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Market, has a huge selection of microgreen seeds to choose from,
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including some of my favourites, sweet peas and sunflowers.
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They also carry a variety of starter kits to make it easy to
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get all your supplies all in one place.
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Go to justgrowsomethingpodcast.com/micro
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to quickly find true leaf selection of microgreen seeds,
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mixes and kits. Just
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growsomethingpodcast.com/micro or use the link in the show
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notes for True Leaf Market. Now that we have the growing
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medium, the containers, the seeds, and the appropriate
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amount of light, how do we actually grow our microgreens?
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In general, you're going to follow the germination
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guidelines for the specific species of plant that you're
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growing, just the same way you would if you were starting it as
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a seedling. To transplant into the garden.
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Some species need light to germinate, some need dark,
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others require the seeds to be pre soaked.
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So and that is since you're going to need a few cups for
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soaking the seeds in water and a small colander to rinse the
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seeds out once or twice before germination.
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I usually use a Mason jar for soaking, it's just easy to see
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what's going on. A couple examples of these that
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need to be soaked are things like sweet peas, beets and Chard
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and sunflower seeds. And keep in mind you'll be
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growing these plants much more closely together than if you
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were growing them to full size, and that will differ according
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to the size of the seed. Place your potting mix, or the
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medium of your choice in your chosen container and water it
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thoroughly. Broadcast the seeds thickly on
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the surface of that medium, with the seeds about an eighth of an
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inch to 1/4 inch apart. The larger the seed, the more
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space you're going to want between them, because that means
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a larger seedling. Press the seeds firmly into the
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medium for maximum soil contact, and then cover lightly with more
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potting mix. Or medium or some vermiculite if
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you're choosing to use a hemp mat or something similar.
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This is for all but those plants that require light to germinate,
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like celery. Those you don't want to cover,
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use your spray bottle to keep the soil moist, but not soaked
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until the seeds sprout. Using the spray bottle rather
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than a watering can keeps the seeds from shifting around while
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they're sprouting. Don't let them dry out, but
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don't keep them sitting in water either.
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The spray bottle is going to help with that too.
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Microgreens can be germinated on heat mats, which will get them
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to sprout more quickly, but a nice warm, sunny spot in a
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window will do just fine. The ideal soil temperature is
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around 75 Fahrenheit, or 24 Celsius.
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After your plants have sprouted. Be sure they get a good amount
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of light during the day, whether that's sunlight or artificial
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light. 8 to 10 hours is great, but as few as 6 is fine.
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Now again, here's that little trick.
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When I'm growing microgreens under artificial lights, it's
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usually advised to keep your growing lights closer to your
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seedlings so that they don't stretch for light and they don't
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get long and laggy. But for microgreens, I leave the
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light up a little way higher than usual, because I want those
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greens to stretch out just a little bit to make it easier for
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me to cut them. Now, if you're growing in a
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window, I would rotate your tray each day so they don't start to
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lean toward one side or the other.
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They'll grow at a more even pace.
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The preferred air temperatures for greens, once they've
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sprouted varies according to the seed, but in most instances room
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temperature is fine, somewhere between 65 and 75 Fahrenheit, or
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18 to 24 Celsius. At this point you can either
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continue to miss them with water, or you can just water
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them from the bottom up by placing the container inside
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another one and just allowing the moisture to Wick up into the
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growing medium. Just don't keep them constantly
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soaked. Once your microgreens have
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reached at least a few inches tall, then you can start to
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harvest. Simply just take a sharp pair of
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scissors and trim the greens off at the base just above the
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growing medium. Cut them just prior to using
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them to make them the freshest. Or you can cut them all at once
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and then just store them in a clamshell in the refrigerator.
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I prefer to cut them as I use them unless I'm just not getting
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to them fast enough and they're getting a little tough.
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And then I just cut them all at one time and throw them into the
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fridge. When you harvest is really kind
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of up to you. I prefer them very young and
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tender, and generally speaking, you want to harvest them before
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they get their first true leaves.
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At that point, they do tend to get a little bit tough.
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This can be as early as five days for some types, or as long
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as 21 days for larger sprouts. Now, there are some that are
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easier to grow than others, just like all plants, and so these
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might be the ones that you want to start with if you are a
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beginner radish super, super easy germinates really quickly.
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It grows really quickly and it really isn't too fussy about its
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conditions, so it's kind of that immediate satisfaction of
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letting it sprout and just less than a week later you've got
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something to eat. Another one that's really easy
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to grow is Napa cabbage. It also sprouts really readily
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with a really high germination rate, and it's ready in about 8
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days. And even though peas need to be
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soaked for about 12 hours or overnight before planting, pea
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shoots generally have a really high germination rate and they
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grow pretty quickly as well. They are one of my absolute
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favorites. And as a bonus, you can get
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multiple harvests from peas. So cut them back once and
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usually they will grow again for at least one more harvest.
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And if you're growing in low light conditions and you don't
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have any supplemental light, bok choy is a good option.
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Now, can you buy seeds that are specifically sold for microgreen
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production? Yes, in many cases these are
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organically grown or they've been tested to be sure that
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they're free of any chemical treatments.
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Or like the ones from True Leaf Market.
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They are specially selected varieties that grow well as
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microgreens, but the seeds in your seed stash are just as good
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if they're organic seeds or if they're conventional seeds, but
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they don't contain any fungicides or pesticides as a
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coating. The label is going to tell you
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if they've been coated with anything, and it's usually
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pretty obvious because those coatings will be a bright color,
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like an unnatural color. So feel free to use the seeds
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that you've already got on hand to start your indoor microgreens
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garden, but if you're unsure, then buy a microgreens blend to
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start with. In either case, growing
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microgreens is a great way to keep fresh, nutritious food on
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your plate year round without any special equipment.
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Until next time, my gardening friends.
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Keep on cultivating that dream garden and we'll talk again
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soon. You just finished another
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episode of the Just Grow Something podcast.
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Until next time, my gardening friends keep learning and keep
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growing.