Microgreens: Tiny but Mighty!

Welcome to the wonderful world of microgreens! These tiny but mighty greens are packed with nutrients and flavor, and they’re incredibly easy to grow at home. Whether you’re a seasoned gardener or a complete newbie, microgreens are a fantastic way to add some green to your diet and your life.

Why Grow Microgreens?

Microgreens are like the superheroes of the plant world—small but packed with superpowers! These mini greens are loaded with nutrients, easy to grow, and perfect for adding some freshness to your salads, sandwiches, and smoothies no matter what time of year. Plus, they look super fancy (impress your friends!).

Nutrient Powerhouse: Microgreens can have up to 40 times more nutrients than their mature counterparts. So, if your little person will only eat 1 mouthful of fresh greens, make it microgreens. That way you know they're getting all the goodness in that 1 mouthful.

Flavor Variety: They come in all sorts of flavors—from spicy radish to sweet basil. A lot of what you can grow in your garden or buy fresh from the supermarket can be grown in micro form for your plate. Focus on the plants you know you can eat the leaves of safely.

Space Savers: Perfect for windowsill gardening, even if you’re short on space. Our microgreen grow trays are the size of an A4 piece of paper. If you have space for a laptop or iPad, you have space for microgreens.

Fast Results: Some microgreens can be ready for harvest in 7days from sprout, not much grown from the garden can be ready that fast. Which makes them great for beginner gardeners and kids.

How to Grow Your Own Microgreens

Step 1: Gather Your Supplies

To get started, you’ll need:

• 2 shallow trays or containers- 1 with drainage holes, 1 without. Our Microgreens Grow Trays are ideal.

• Growing medium- I use hessian matting or coconut coir (let's call this soil).

• Seeds- radish, broccoli, pea, kale, sunflower, herbs, whatever tickles your fancy.
  

• Water- a spray bottle is useful for small seeds.

• Light- 6-8hrs per day, sunshine is best but grow lights can be an option if you're light limited.

Step 2: Planting Your Microgreens

1. If using large seeds (think pea, sunflower) soak ocvernight in water at least 8hrs (skip this step if using small seeds like radish, broccoli, etc).

2. Fill your drainage hole container with soil- don’t be stingy, but leave a little space at the top. If using matting, depending on the depth of your container, a single layer may be enough. You want the top of your soil 1cm max from the lip of your tray.

3. Soak your soil in the tray and let drain, once most of the drips have stopped put your drainage hole tray into your tray without holes. Nobody likes a drippy tray.

4. Sprinkle the seeds evenly over the soil surface. You want them close together but not overcrowded (think of it as a cozy gathering!).

5. Mist small seeds with water.

6. Cover with something to exclude light, put a weight on top and leave in a warm place (I use another plastic tray with dark fabric over the top to exclude light, and a plant pot or heavy book on top).

Step 3: Growing Your Microgreens

1. Check on your seeds daily- you will see a root emerge first, keep under the cover of darkness and with weight. Second will be the leaf stem, keep under cover a little longer, I know it's tempting but trust me. Mist if necessary but with everything tucked up cozy undercover, there should be enough moisture in there at this stage.

2. Once you notice the upper tray being lifted by your mighty greens, this is when you can bring them into the light!

3. Keep the soil moist- water from below by soaking your holey tray in water again then let drain. Too much overhead watering will encourage mould.

4. Watch your microgreens grow! In about 7-14 days, you’ll see them look more and more delicious (could take a little longer in winter).

5. For extra brownie points, feed your microgreens with a diluted liquid fertiliser (something natural, remember you will be eating these).

Step 4: Harvesting Your Microgreens

1. Once your microgreens are about 2-7cm tall (depends on variety) and have their first set of true leaves, they’re ready to eat!

2. Use sharp scissors to snip them at the base.

3. Boom! They're good to eat! You can't get fresher that that! Enjoy in your favourite dishes.
   

Final Tips for Growing Microgreens

• Don’t forget to experiment with different seed varieties- mix and match for a microgreen medley! (just be conscious of the germination times of each and try to add similar timing together)

• Share your microgreen successes and failures with us. Join our private Facebook group Harvest Envy Green Thumbs. We’re all in this green journey together!

If you’re looking for a fun, easy, and rewarding way to dive into edible gardening, microgreens are the perfect place to start. Grow your envy-worthy edible garden!