GARDENING: Itching to plant? Try microgreens
We’ve baked bread and assembled jigsaw puzzles. Will growing tiny plants be the next pandemic pastime?
March’s cold weather clashes mightily with our culinary dreams of adding bright, flavorful herbs and vegetables to our meals, but there is some tiny magic to be had in the form of microgreens.
We’re talking barely germinated plants that, with the snip of the scissors, can provide those flavors we’ve been missing ever since our summer garden went fallow.
Growing microgreens is not only a tasty thing to do, but it’s also a lot of fun, says Louise Christy, a Santa Clara, Calif., master gardener experienced in growing microgreens.
All you need is some potting soil, a shallow tray, a lot of seeds, a little water and a warm spot in your home. Best of all, you won’t have to wait months for the crop to develop — in about 10 days you can have the taste of basil, radishes, mustard greens, broccoli and more.
Your harvest won’t be enough to make a big salad, Christy says. That’s because you’ll be eating the first sprouts emerging from the seeds, not waiting for the plant to grow and produce fruit. But your micro garden will offer plenty of flavor you can add to your dishes or use to garnish your sandwiches.
“It’s not complicated, and it’s not difficult,” Christy says. “You’re not going to get much food — just tiny amounts at a time. But it is a lot of fun.”
Christy started growing microgreens as part of her role managing a culinary garden for a French restaurant in Mountain View. The chef was looking for particular microgreens for garnishes, and although she hadn’t grown them before, Christy offered to try. She was so successful and enjoyed it so much, that she built it into a business she operated from 2011 to 2016.
Cody Lake and his wife, Melanie, agree on the fun aspect of growing microgreens. The couple owns Carmel Valley’s Lake
Family Forest Farms in California, which specializes in microgreens, mushrooms and seasonal produce.
There is a bit of a learning curve to growing microgreens, Lake says: “Each type of microgreen can be different and require different care. Give it several tries.”
The rewards are well worth the effort, Lake says. He recommends using them “in large quantities in smoothies, salads and sandwiches. Use as a garnish on every dish for added nutrition and protein.”
“Have fun,” Lake says, “be happy, be healthy.”
Here are the things you need to know to grow your own microgreens.
Tools of the trade
You won’t need a shovel, hoe or trowel. Depending on how serious you want to get with this and how addicted you are to gadgets, you can go as simple or as advanced as you want. If you’re a firsttime micro gardener, you can purchase a microgreens kit that includes everything you need, right down to pre-seeded mats that you just roll out and water. But if you’re going all DIY, here’s what you’ll need.
A tray with drainage holes: You can purchase seed flats, but Christy recommends using the container that your roasted chicken came in. Lake suggests making use of all those take-home food containers you’ve been collecting. Just make sure to punch holes in the bottom and place something under the tray to catch the overflow of water.
Soil: You can find specially formulated soil for growing microgreens, but Christy says regular potting soil works just as well.
Seeds: This could be your biggest ticket item for microgreens as you plant the seeds densely, and you need to reseed after each harvest. You can certainly buy the seed packets sold in garden stores, but that will get pricey very quickly. Instead, purchase high-qualnotice
ity organic or untreated seeds in bulk from a nursery or seed company.
Warmth: After planting, it’s important to keep the seeds warm. You can do this by finding a warm spot in your house. Or you can buy a seed starting mat, which is sort of like a heating pad, that will go beneath your tray and provide warmth from below.
Humidity: Cover the container with plastic wrap or a plastic bag to help hold in the humidity. Some microgreen trays include a plastic cover to place on top of the tray. Once the seeds have germinated, you can remove the cover.
The fine print
Once you have your trays, line them with paper towels to let the excess water seep out, but keep the soil in. Fill them with an inch or two of soil, sow the seeds on top and press in lightly. You don’t need to worry about spacing, planting seeds too close together or thinning the seedlings, because you’ll harvest them before they have the chance to become overcrowded.
After sowing, water well with a spray bottle and then cover. When the greens pop up, Lake recommends watering the soil carefully to avoid getting the leaves wet.
You don’t want to grow mold.
Keep the seeds warm and damp. For the seeds to germinate, the soil needs to be 75 to 85 degrees. Depending on what you’ve planted, germination should take three to five days. At this time, they’ll need sunlight, so place them in front of a window, in a sunny spot in your home or outside during the day to soak up the light.
When the seedlings are 1 to 3 inches high, harvest them by snipping them off at soil level, then replace the soil and replant. If you aren’t sure if they’re ready to harvest, taste them to check. Delicious? They’re ready.
Handle your harvested microgreens gently and use them as soon as you can — they don’t store well.
The inner workings
During seed germination, the cotyledons or seed leaves emerge from the soil first. The seed leaves of one type of plant will look identical to those of other types. It’s not until the second set of leaves, known as the true leaves, emerge that you’ll
differences.
For the most flavorful microgreens, harvest them before the true leaves emerge. If you miss the deadline, don’t worry. Your microgreens are still edible, but the flavor might not be as strong.
So why grow microgreens?
There are a lot of benefits to having a tiny field of microgreens growing in your kitchen.
• They grow fast and provide a constant source of freshness and nutrition to add to your cooking.
• While your outdoor garden space might be limited — or non-existent — you can grow a huge variety of very small plants in those trays indoors.
• You’ll save money growing your own microgreens instead of buying them at the market.
• For those who want to garden but don’t have the time or space, microgreens are just as satisfying to grow.
• Growing microgreens doesn’t really take any special equipment or gardening knowledge.
• Who cares what season it is? You can grow microgreens all year long.
Microgreens kits
You’ll find a variety of growing kits for microgreens at garden stores and online. Hamama starter kit ($35-$49), for example (hamama.com), includes a reusable grow tray and three seed “quilts,” with options such as a super salad mix, kale and broccoli.