Remember that I told you I would talk to you about growing microgreens in my other microgreen post? Well, here we go – but let’s get the preliminaries out of the way first!
First and foremost, not all seeds are meant to be grown for microgreens. I tend to look for organic seeds that have not been treated with chemicals. It does not take long to grow them either. About 2 weeks and you have fresh, organic microgreens.
Let’s go through the steps for growing microgreens.
Table of Contents
Step 1
Get your materials together. This is the most important step of all. If you don’t have the right materials, your microgreen garden will flop. I am going to provide links to make it easier for you to find some of the materials that I use.
Materials
- Tray/container
- Certified organic/fungicide free seeds
- Spray bottle
- Seaweed solution
- Seed raising mix growing medium
- Paper towels to line tray
- Plant labels to mark date and variety
Now that you have your materials together, it’s time to start getting your garden together.
Step 2
Soaking your seeds. This will help them to germinate quicker, but you do not want to soak them too long. I usually soak them for a few hours and most definitely no longer than over night. Growing microgreens is like a science project. This video gives some great information on soaking your seeds.
Step 3
Now that you have your seeds soaking, it is time to prepare the site for your seeds. There are a couple of places you can grow your microgreens. If you have a south-facing window with plenty of sunlight, that will work perfectly. If you don’t, then you can install an inexpensive growlight. You can build a shelving unit, and mount your growlight on the bottom of the shelf. This works perfectly for growing microgreens indoors if you have the space for the shelving. In warmer months, you can grow your microgreens outside – just be sure that all danger of frost has passed.
Step 4
Prepping the soil. First, moisten your soil and spread it about 1 inch thick in the tray. The best way to tell if your soil is moist enough is that it holds its shape when you squeeze it in your hands. You don’t want it so wet that water drips out. One big plus when growing microgreens is that you don’t need much soil. The old adage, “a little bit goes a long way” sure rings true here!
When you plant your seeds, you don’t have to poke holes and plant the seeds. You simply scatter seeds across the soil, and gently press them into the soil. The seeds can be sown thickly, but be careful to not completely cover the soil. If the seeds are sown with high density, you could block the airflow to them once they germinate.
Now you can mist the seeds with a spray bottle, and cover with moist paper towels or a germination dome. Now you can place the tray on the windowsill or on the shelf with the grow light if that is what you are using. I use paper towels to keep my seeds moist. If you choose to use paper towels, then you should mist the towels 1-3 times per day to keep them moist during the germination period. You should start to see your seeds germinating within 3 – 4 days.
Once the seeds have germinated, remove the paper towels or germination dome. You will want to continue to mist your seeds with the spray bottle but only when they need water. If you overwater them, it can lead to waterlogged soil and potentially disease.
Sometimes the growth can be too dense for the water from the spray bottle to reach the soil. If this happens you should switch to watering from the bottom of the planter. To do this, all you have to do is pour water into the bottom tray. I am sure you have done this with some of your houseplants. The water will get pulled up into the soil from the drain holes.
You will also want to turn the tray once a day (that is if you have them in the window). This will allow them to grow evenly. Otherwise, they will reaching toward the light and lean too much in one direction.
Step 5
This is the BEST part! Harvesting them and eating them!
You will know it is time to harvest your microgreens when they have the first set of leaves that you see when the seed starts to show through the soil and you see their second set of leave (which are really their first true leaves).
Depending on what you have planted, the days to harvest will be different. You can typically harvest microgreens over several days so you do have a window of opportunity. This allows you to experiment with the best harvest time for the taste that you enjoy most.
When you go to harvest your microgreens, you will want to have a scissors or a sharp knife. Even though they are tender, some varities will grow back and using the scissors or sharp knife will be beneficial. It is best to eat the microgreesn on the day you harvest them, but you can be store them in the fridge for 2 – 3 days.
I try to start a fresh tray of microgreens each week so that I have fresh ones in rotation.
Final Thoughts
So there you have it. There really isn’t much to growing microgreens. The thing you have to be most cautious of is using the organic seeds. As I continue to improve my diet, I feel healthier and happier. No matter what your age, you can always do something to improve yourself.
Go grab your seeds and get your microgreen garden started today. Share some ideas that you have. Together we can inspire each other! Now time to go get some greens and enjoy a great meal!
