Gardening

Growing Microgreens at Home: A Guide from Seed to Harvest

Do you want to learn how to replace the intake of artificial vitamin pills with microgreens – a superfood? This article teaches you how to cultivate microgreens at your home.

Microgreens or micro herbs are the first tiny leaves approximately 1-3 inches in height produced from the seeds of herbs and vegetables. They have a strong, intense flavor and can fulfill the nutritional requirements of your daily meals. Research has revealed that they have 20 times higher nutritional content than their mature leaves.Microgreens of vegetables, such as broccoli, radish, turnip, carrot, spinach, cauliflower, amaranth, lettuce, basil, parsley, etc., can be grown at home. It may take upto 12-14 days for tiny leaves to appear and be ready for harvesting.

Regular intake of microgreens can help you get rid of vitamin pills and prevent the occurrence of several chronic diseases. So, make them an essential part of your daily food.

This article will show you an easy step-by-step method to grow flavorful and nutrient-packed microgreens at home even if you do not have enough space for gardening.

1. Get Growing Container Ready

        A flat grow container or 4-5 inches deep tray is required to lay the seeds of the preferred microgreen vegetable. Fill the container or tray with 3-4 inches of potting soil mix. The soil mix should be free from chemicals or pesticides. The soil base should not exceed the specified height else the roots of the microgreens may grow deep.

2. Check Spacing of the Seeds

         Spread the microgreen seeds you want to grow evenly on the potting soil surface. Also, there is no requirement to maintain any specific distance between the seeds.

3. Tap the Soil

        Gently tap some more soil of about a half-inch layer of it on top of the seeds as an extra layer to help them settle inside the potting mix. Moist soil is good for the seeds to grow. Few people also grow on a water tray method which may not require daily watering.

4. Water the Surface of the Tray

         Sprinkle few drops of water evenly on the surface of the soil.  Do not over-water your seeds. If you can get a water spray instrument, it would help in just spraying the required amount of water on the surface to avoid overdoing it. Ensure the water’s ph level should be below the value of 7. Otherwise, there is a chance that your greens may not thrive on water with a ph value greater than 7 and may not grow.

5. No Direct Sunlight

         Keep the tray of your seeds at room temperature until they start to germinate. Once germination starts, find a good spot of sunlight at your home. Be it your balcony or the kitchen windowsill, the micro-greens need to get good indirect sunlight for at least 6-8 hours a day.

          Monitor your micro-greens daily. Direct sunlight may burn the microgreens. They require indirect sunlight. If you are among them who don’t seem to find sunlight coming inside your home, try and get a LED light set-up which will provide the sufficient light for the tiny greens to start growing.  

6. Water Your Seeds Twice

         Do not forget to water the seeds two times a day. Sprinkling water twice will give them sufficient water to grow and allow them to grow till 2 to 3 inches in length. It might take anywhere between 10 to 14 days to grow till 2 to 3 inches of length.

7. Harvesting Time

         These 2 to 3 inches grown microgreens are now ready to harvest. You can start harvesting them by using scissors or with your kitchen knife. Cut them over their roots by gently holding them upright.Each of the microgreen varieties has its definite maturity timeline.

          The whole process of growing microgreens just takes about 12 to 14 days. Wash these energy-packed tiny greens gently with water before use and there you go!

          Let the greens air dry on a paper towel. You are ready to serve them fresh. Dash it on your salads or add it to your lentils or garnish your soups as a final touch. You mix few of different variety of greens and pour lemon juice with a dash of pepper powder on them and your micro-green salad mix is ready to serve.

Conclusion:

Cooking the tiny greens is not recommended as they may lose their nutrients. But to eat them raw or cooked is still a debate though. You can refrigerate them by keeping in an air-tight container or by wrapping them in tissue paper. It is good and recommended to consume your homegrown greens fresh and the best time to consume is within three days of harvest.

If you want to share your gardening or microgreen story, please share in the comment section and let us know your thoughts.  

Edited by: Rajinder Soni, CEO of DWH

Written by: Tripureswari, Digital Writopreneur

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