How to Grow Microgreens for Nutrition

Microgreens are vegetables that are harvested when very young. They are sometimes confused with sprouts. Sprouts are the first stage of a seed’s development and they are grown without soil. Sprouts have fallen out of favor recently after being tied to outbreaks of Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria food poisoning.

Microgreens are becoming popular in fancy restaurants and health food stores, and many growers are looking to cash in on this promising market. They are now mainly used in very small amounts to add some intense flavors and bright colors to salads.

But could microgreens play a more important role in our diet?

Nearly half of the people in the world have a serious health problem related to poor diet. Lack of iron and vitamin A in the diet is a massive global health burden. On the other hand, being overweight is the fastest growing diet related health problem in the world.

Because vegetables have lots of vitamins and minerals and very few calories, nutritionists recommend that we eat much more of them. Leafy vegetables are the most nutritious among the vegetables, and microgreens are especially nutritious, miniature leafy vegetables.

Compared to an equal weight of the mature version of the same plant, microgreens will typically have about 1-¾ times higher levels of essential minerals. The content of vitamins A, C, E, and K is generally 4 to 10 times higher in microgreens than mature plants, sometimes even higher.

Microgreens are also much richer in several antioxidants and other health supporting compounds. There is a great variation in the nutritional value of microgreens depending on which seeds are planted and how they are grown.

Microgreens from members of the cabbage family (broccoli, radish, arugula, etc.) in addition to cilantro, barley, amaranth, and peas seem to be both popular and especially nutritious.

Homegrown microgreens have two other major advantages over most commercial leafy vegetables.

While leafy vegetables are among the foods most heavily contaminated with pesticide residues, microgreens are normally grown without any pesticides. And while leafy greens you buy in a store or market are usually several days old, microgreens are usually eaten almost immediately after being harvested.

So who might benefit from growing microgreens?

First, low-income families that can’t afford to buy microgreens selling at $20 – 50 per pound, but they may be able to grow their own economically. Millions of families don’t buy greens because they don’t have a refrigerator to keep them from quickly wilting and spoiling. Growing microgreens could potentially create a year-round supply of fresh greens for these low income people.

Secondly, as societies around the world rapidly urbanize, more people are living in small apartments with little access to outdoor space. Because microgreens need so little space and because they can be grown indoors, microgreens can allow millions of city-dwellers who don’t have access to land, the opportunity to produce some of their own fresh vegetables.

Thirdly, even where there is adequate outdoor space, the area around peoples’ homes is often too shady for productive vegetable gardens.

Fourthly, microgreens are not climate dependent. Many people live where part of the year is too cold or too hot for vegetables to grow well outside. The optimal temperature for growing most microgreens is between 65–75°F (18– 24C°), or normal indoor room temperature.

And finally, some people who would like to garden have physical limitations that make it very difficult. Microgreens are great for all of these situations because they can be grown indoors without a lot of physical labor.

They are also an excellent way to introduce kids to growing food.

Because a crop can be harvested less than two weeks after planting and because of their high nutritional value, microgreens can produce enough to make a significant contribution to a healthy diet.

However, where space and climate allows, garden grown leafy vegetables, like this Pacific hibiscus, edible jute, and moringa, will produce far more food than microgreens with a lot less care and expense.

Growing microgreens is basically vegetable gardening in miniature. The plants and the garden are much smaller and the time from planting to harvest is much shorter, usually two weeks or less. There are lot of variations on how to grow microgreens, and no one right way.

Here are some very basic guidelines to get you started:

Soak the seeds for about 12 hours in cold water. This speeds up germination.

Here is about how much seed to soak for different microgreens.

 

Drain the seeds then …

Spread them thickly and evenly over the tray. Most seeds don’t benefit from being covered with soil.

Keep seeds in the dark for 3 days. You can cover the seeds with damp newspaper, a damp cloth, or an inverted tray. You may need to spray the newspaper or cloth occasionally. Some seeds might take a bit longer. You will be able to see when they are ready to be moved into the sunlight.

Move the tray to a sunny spot. You may have to rotate the tray periodically if the sprouts bend strongly towards the sunlight.

Keep the soil moist, but not wet. Because they are so densely planted and growing so fast, microgreens need to be watered often. Watering from below is less likely to encourage mold on the young seedlings. Putting your tray in a larger tray with an inch or so of water for 4 or 5 minutes allows the potting soil to absorb moisture without getting the plants wet. You can also water along the edge of the tray or lift up the mat of microgreens to water underneath it.

If you do see some mold around the seeds, try a light misting of water with a little white vinegar and food grade hydrogen peroxide added. About 3 tablespoons each mixed with one liter of water.

Microgreens are often considered ready for harvest when their first true leaves appear, but as soon as they look healthy and vigorous you can begin eating them.

Sharp scissors will help you harvest them without uprooting any of the little plants or getting soil mixed in with your greens.

The yield of microgreens is highly variable. Commercial producers figure an average yield of about 6-10 ounces, or two to three full servings of vegetables, from a standard 10 X 20-inch seedling tray.

Together, two of these pre-packaged salad greens weigh 10 ounces. But they cost over $9 in local grocery stores or about $11 for the organic ones. Three dollars a serving is more than most families can pay for vegetables.

Expenses

• Seeds
• Potting Soil
• Containers

Let’s look at the three main expenses when growing microgreens and also at a few ways to reduce these expenses in order to make your microgreens more economical.

First expense is seeds: Buying packets of vegetable seeds for microgreens is really expensive, unless you just want to try a new variety. A lot of seed companies are now selling seeds specifically for microgreens. They are usually less expensive but still not cheap. You can buy seed mixes or single variety seeds.

If money is short or you want to grow a lot of microgreens, you can often get wheat, barley, pea, and bean seed in bulk from either health food stores or agriculture supply stores. Make sure the seed isn’t treated with fungicide. Treated seed is usually coated pink or purple to alert the grower.

If you have space in your garden you can grow some of your own microgreen seed for free. For example, we usually save plenty of Hopi amaranth and quail grass seed that make good microgreens.

Another expense is potting soil. In the US, commercial potting soil is the most common growing medium for microgreens. Potting soil is lighter, holds more water, and drains better than average garden soil. It is available at hardware, farm supply, and building supply stores. It generally costs between 16 cents and 40 cents a quart depending on the quality and the size of the bag you buy. A standard seedling tray holds 6 quarts, so potting soil can become a real expense.

We try to reuse most of our potting soil by allowing the finished microgreens tray to dry thoroughly then sifting it through a ¼ inch mesh.

Another way to reuse the potting soil is to let the mat of finished microgreens dry out then flip it upside down into a second tray. We then top it off with a bit more potting soil and replant it.

If you are trying to minimize expenses, you can make your own potting soil for free. Three parts sifted finished compost or leaf mold with one part coarse sand works reasonably well. Having some compost in your potting soil increases the mineral content of the microgreens.

The final expense is for containers. The standard for growing microgreens is the 10 inch by 20 inch seedling tray. You can put one tray inside another to give it more strength or get heavy duty seedling trays online for about $5. These hold up much better and are much easier to work with than the cheaper, more common flimsy version. Special microgreen trays are also 10 by 20 inches, but only half as deep. This is deep enough for most microgreens and saves a lot of potting soil. Cafeteria trays also work well. They are only a third as deep as the standard seedling tray, saving even more potting soil.

All three have 200 square inches of planting surface but require different amounts of potting soil.

If you are trying to cut expenses, almost any shallow container can work for growing microgreens as long as you provide some holes for drainage. A lot of empty food containers work fine and they are free.

There are a bunch of different ways to grow microgreens. I suggest you start small and simple and experiment to see which methods and which microgreens you prefer. Because it only takes two weeks to grow a crop, you can afford to try several methods.

Using Microgreens

Microgreens are excellent in salads, as garnishes, or on sandwiches. However, one of the easiest and most nutritious way to use microgreens is to make smoothies. Wheat, barley and pea greens works well for this.

The blender eliminates any stringy texture from the young grasses and makes the nutrients, especially iron and vitamin A, much more available to your body. Always blend your microgreens with a liquid, such as juice or water, before adding your other smoothie ingredients.

Here are 3 ways to get the maximum nutrition from your microgreens.

• Grow high nutrition plants such as the ones listed here
• Add compost to potting soil to increase mineral content.
• Make green smoothies. Liquefying doubles the value of the Vitamin A and the Vitamin C in the raw greens helps our bodies to absorb the iron.

We hope you have fun with your miniature gardens.

Thanks for watching.

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