Growing Microgreens
Growing microgreens is actually really easy, and a great way to use your leftover seeds from the season of growing plus they are packed with vitamins and nutrients for you and your family. If you are like me, I like to buy fresh seeds each year to yield strong and healthy plants with higher germination rate. Growing microgreens is a great way to use the rest of those seeds without waste.
First let me explain what microgreens are, they are small plants that are harvested and eaten once their first true leaf, these arethe 2nd set of leaves that grow. They are full of nutrients like a dark leafy green vegetable that provide varied levels of potassium, iron, zinc, magnesium, and copper much like their full grown vegetable, herb or fruit but in a more concentrated form.
Before you get started on growing, it’s important to know that some seeds need to be omitted from microgreen growing as the leaves are poisonous for human consumption. Do not use your extra potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant or okra seeds. All other vegetable, fruit and herb seeds are great to include in your seed mix.
HOW TO EAT MICROGREENS:
Really they can be consumed in anyway but here are a few ideas:
In a salad
On meat
Blended to make a pesto
Green smoothy
Raw
WHAT YOU NEED:
Growing tray with lid
Soil (seeding starter or raised bed soil)
1 old spice shaker with portion holes (make sure the holes are big enough that all seeds can fit through)
Left over seed packs
Spray bottle
Spice Shaker
This is the shaker I used. It came in a spice set and used to have Marjoram in it.
INSTRUCTIONS:
Pour all of your seeds into the spice shaker and shake up lightly
Prep your tray by placing about 2 inches of soil in the bottom, wet with a spray bottle
Sprinkle the seeds all over the top of your soil, fairly densely but so seeds are not on top of each other.
Push the seeds into the soil with your finger tips. You do not want to fully cover like you would normally for an actual plant.
Spray with water again, and cover with your clear top lid.
Place the tray in a sunny window or under grow lights.
Once the seedlings start to germinate, you can remove the lid, keep under grow lights or in a sunny window until harvest time.
HARVEST:
Your microgreens will be ready for harvest in as little as 10 days, but could take up to 1 month
To harvest use a clean set of scissors to cut at the base of the seedlings, do not include the root. Wash the microgreens under water and pat dry, store in the fridge until ready to eat, but best to harvest right before your ready to use them.
ADD VIDEO
Now you are ready to start again! Take the soil out of the tray and mix it up, you can use it again. The soil will gain nutrients from the cut seedlings that remained in the tray and they may even sprout again. Wash the tray in between uses with warm soapy water to avoid any bacteria growth. Replace to soil and start again on step 2 with left over seeds.
This is a great process for fresh micro greens all year long. You can even start a system where you plant trays or sections of trays a few days apart so you have microgreens ready at all times.
