Microgreens seem to be all the rage these days and for good reason: they are packed with nutrients and easy to grow! The USDA and University of Maryland found that leaves from microgreens had more nutrients than the mature leaves of the same plants. And great flavor. Plus, you don’t need a lot of space to grow them. Win-win!
Now, you might be saying to yourself that while they might be easy to grow, you need special grow trays to succeed. Fear not! All you need is an inch of potting soil and something to cover your greens while germinating. Cabbage, broccoli, lettuce etc. are great varieties to start, because they sprout quickly. Other good choices include herbs, kale, peas, spinach.
First up, moisten your soil. Don’t saturate it, but keep it evenly moist. Next, scatter your favorite seeds across the soil, then lightly cover them with more soil—and I mean lightly—as in 1/8” of soil. I only used two packets of seeds for this tray (1 cabbage, 1 radish). You could easily use 3 to 4 for a more densely packed tray of microgreens. If you want to grow radish microgreens, you can cover with a bit more soil if you like. Next, give them a light spray of water. Cover tray, and place inside your garage or some other dark, cool environment and leave undisturbed. Ideal temperature to grow is 60-70 degrees.
In a few days, your seeds will germinate and soon after, your yellowed leaf microgreens will be bursting at the seams. I started my seeds on a Sunday and by Friday, I had all of these yellowed sprouts. This is very exciting! At this point, move them to a bright spot on your patio, or near a sunny window where your microgreens will turn green. Time to eat! Once the sprouts reach about one to 3 inches in height, simply clip and eat—microgreens only. Do not eat the soiled roots.
A few notes… Soil should remain moist during this process. If you find your soil is drying out, lightly spray with water. Once on the patio, it took one to two days to become fully greened, making the whole process about a week for me here in Florida.
And technically, you do not have to use a cover over your tray, though I think it speeds the growing process. Also, use any container you’d like to start your microgreens. They’re just seeds and will sprout like any other. Have fun and get healthy!
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