A Beginner’s Guide to Growing and Harvesting Microgreens

Microgreens are among the smallest and most nutritious plants you can grow. They can add texture, flavor and color to salads, sandwiches, smoothies and main meals.  It can be expensive to buy them but they are easy to grow. The best thing about them is that you don’t need a large space in which to grow them.   A shallow container, some potting mix, seeds and a windowsill that gets some sun are all you really need to grow your own microgreens.  You can grow them inside at any time of the year because you can create a protective environment for them. Microgreens grow best in natural light but many people also grow them using artificial light.

What are microgreens?

Microgreens are immature greens that you can harvest less than a month after they germinate. They are unlike sprouts as you don’t eat the entire plant but only the stems and the leaves. They taste much like the mature plant so you can enjoy spicy, sweet, peppery and nutty flavours. What’s great about them is that they are nutrient-dense because you get all the nutrients that would eventually have spread out to the whole plant.

 Which seeds work best?

It’s best to start with one type of seed such as broccoli, cabbage, kale, arugula or mustard if you’re a beginner. You can experiment with one type after another and find out which microgreens you enjoy eating most.

Plants in the Brassica family like kale, mustard, arugula, broccoli and cauliflower are nutrient powerhouses and grow well as microgreens. The first time you taste arugula microgreens you will be amazed that they contain all the flavor of the mature leaves. The stems are purple and the green leaves have a spicy flavor. Kale’s pinkish stems and greenish purple leaves have high nutrient value.

I started with some beet seeds and found they were ready to harvest in two weeks. The small red stems had an earthy flavor and added a good healthy punch to a sandwich.

Spinach seeds are a little slower growing than seeds from the Brassica family but they grow very well once they sprout.

The size of sunflower seeds makes them easy to sow and they grow very quickly.  They have a crunchy texture and nutty flavor in salads.

You can also grow carrots, dill, parsley, and cilantro as microgreens but they are slower to germinate and can take up to 30 days.

If you love the taste of Basil, you can grow it as a microgreen throughout the year. It sprouts quickly from seed and just a few leaves add flavor to any Mediterranean dish.

Plants in the pea family like sugarsnaps and snow peas grow well as microgreens. They produce good plant mass for the space.

Tomatoes, peppers, and potatoes all have high levels of toxic alkaloids in the leaves and stems so they are not suitable for growing as microgreens.   

Choose a container

You can use just about any small, clean container to grow your microgreens, including shallow trays, seedling trays or recycled plastic containers. I started with the seed starter trays with humidity domes. These medium-size trays are easy to fit on a windowsill. The high-rise, transparent domes have two adjustable, clear vents designed for easy airflow control. Sunlight penetrates well through the plastic and you can see when the seedlings start to grow. The dome and the growing tray form a tight seal to maintain warmth and humidity.

Media for growing microgreens

The growing medium for microgreens should be lightweight and drain well. Garden soil can contain pathogens or pests so it’s best not to use it. Commercial potting mixes blended specially for vegetables and herbs are a good option.You can also grow microgreens in coir fiber, vermiculite, bonemeal, peat, and bark. Some growers use heat maps or germination mats as they help to warm the soil and speed up germination, especially in cooler weather. 

The Vivoson 10″x20.75″ Seedling Heat Mat and Digital Thermostat Combo Set is a popular choice. The professional heat mat maintains the perfect temperature for speeding up germination. The double-layer insulation ensures this durable mat won’t scorch plant roots. The thermostat controller helps you to regulate and maintain your preferred temperature. The far-infrared heating film ensures uniform heating. With over 10,000 customer ratings on Amazon, this is a best-selling product.

How to sow the seeds

• Cover the seed tray with potting soil and leave some space around the top.
• Flatten the soil and level it with your hand. Don’t over-compress it.
• Scatter the seeds evenly over the soil. As you will harvest them at a young age, you can sow them quite densely.
• Press them gently into the soil and cover them with another thin layer of soil.
• Place the container in a well-lit area.

The sprouts will begin appearing within three to seven days. If the greens are leggy and pale it’s a sign they aren’t getting enough sunlight. They need about four hours of direct sunlight a day to thrive.

Harvesting microgreens

A cheat sheet from Bootstrapfarmer gives you germination rates and the estimated time to harvest different varieties.  Generally, microgreens are ready to harvest about two to three weeks after you plant them. This is when they get their ‘true leaves’ and are about two inches tall.

Take a pair of scissors and trim the greens right at the level of the soil. Rinse them and dry them in a spinner or with a paper towel. They taste best shortly after harvesting. If you store the remaining microgreens in a plastic bag in the refrigerator they will keep for about a week.

Do microgreens regrow after you cut them?

Microgreens are young plants and many of them can’t withstand the shock of having their leaves cut. Some of them regrow better than others and can be cut several times. Pea shoots will often regrow after harvesting.