Microgreens are the young seedlings of edible plants, typically from herbs and vegetables. Grown from seed to edible product in less than 2 weeks, microgreens are a quick way to produce an edible product fast. On top of being a fast growing food, microgreens can grown densely and are typically produced as a mat which looks like a tiny forest. While they are still immature plants microgreens are harvested and used to top salads, garnish dishes, or even become a key ingredient in some more involved main courses.
Looking to grow your own microgreens? Check out our guide on how to grow microgreens at home.
Microgreens are Not Sprouts
Sprouts, a long time favorite in many Asian dishes are distinctly different from microgreens. Microgreens are grown densely on soil or a growing mat and the seeds are germinated under light and given water. This produces young leaves that are green and stems that are thin and wispy. Sprouts on the other hand are grown in water or a damp substrate and are always grown without soil. On top of being grown without soil the primary way sprouts are grown is without light. This produces the signature ghostly appearance of sprouts and stands in contrast to the greenness of microgreens.
What Type of Plants are Used for Microgreens?
To date more than 50 varieties of plants have been known to be used as microgreens, but this isn’t the limit. To know if something can be a microgreen or not you need to know two things. First, can the sprout be eaten safely, and second, can the sprouts grow densely packed together.
For the first item on safety, there are a lot of plants where you could eat the whole thing, but there are lots of plants we grow today that only certain parts can be eaten. Potatoes are a house staple sure, but the fruit they produce (that looks like a tomato) is poisonous. While this might have you worried, the good news is that other people have done this work for you and there are lists of acceptable plants that can be grown for microgreens. We’ll provide some samples in a section below. The main reason we’re not providing an exhaustive list is because that hasn’t been put together yet. There are likely tons of plants out there they would be used as microgreens, but no one has ever tried yet, or at least they haven’t written it down.
On the second item of being able to be grown densely, you’re not going to get that in every seed. Typically microgreens have small seeds. Larger plants with larger seeds make poor microgreens because you can’t grow them in packed together conditions. Additionally, as seeds get larger the also have more variation in how fast they grow as each seed might have been more or less lucky when getting nutrients stored for germination. With that said, even some plants with small seeds don’t grow particularly well into microgreens, these would be things like plants that like dry conditions or plants with small seeds with very low germination rates.
Best Seeds for Microgreens
There are a lot of good choices for microgreens, but by far the most common today are seeds from the broccoli family or Brassicaceae. The Brassicaceae family seeds are some of the best seeds for microgreens and they come in so many varieties! These can be the seeds for broccoli, radish, cauliflower, arugula, cabbage, kale, kohlrabi, mustard, mizuna, cress, or broccoli raab just to name a few.
Outside of the broccoli family there are plenty of other options such as red beets, onions, sunflower, cucumber, lettuce, carrots, celery, and leeks just to name a few! You can also grow some cereals as microgreens getting them from corn, oat, wheat, and barley and from pseudo-cereals like quinoa. Legumes such as peas, alfalfa, lentils, clover, chickpeas, and fenugreek are also common choices.
On the more flavorful side of the microgreen sphere you’ll end up growing aromatic herbs. These herbs include basil, dill, chives, and cumin. Finally and a bit more odd, the common dandelion has also been know to be grown for microgreens, though eating dandelion greens in a salad is nothing new.
What Plants Cannot be Grown as Microgreens?
You cannot eat the greens of tomatoes, potatoes, peppers or eggplants and they are not suitable to be grown as microgreens. Despite their common usage and edible parts, these plants are all toxic if you eat the leaves or stems of the plant. In addition to this, you should never use wild seeds for microgreens. Even if the species is known to you, wild varieties of plants may not be as safe to eat as compared to their domesticated cultivars. When in doubt always consult with an expert.
How are Microgreens Grown?
There are two main ways that microgreens are grown. One uses soil and the other uses a fibrous mat. In soil seeds are grown by sowing densely across the soil, watering, and providing a warm well lit environment for the seeds to grow. When growing on a mat the technique is the same except that the fibrous mat is used in place of the soil and sits in a tray that can hold water. The mat acts kind of like a sponge keeping the seeds moist without drowning them.
Different seeds have different optimal densities and growing times, so be sure to check for information on your chosen seed type before planting.
How Long do Microgreens Take to Grow?
Microgreens are fast to grow, but each species has it’s own germination time. The fastest species are typically grown in 7 days. The slowest growing species for microgreens grow in about 21 days. So in total, microgreens grow in 7-21 days or a week to a month.
Why Grow Microgreens?
Microgreens are grown for a few reasons. Initially, they were seen as a fancy way to replace garnishes in the 80s and 90s and were grown as a more nutritious and palatable topping for restaurants. Over the years though people have gotten better at growing microgreens and they have become cheap, easy, and accessible to many people. On top of their ease to grow we know they are just packed with nutrients.
There are a lot of people claiming that eating microgreens can cure or combat all sorts of things, but this is stretching the truth. While having a more nutrient rich diet can be good for you, microgreens are simply a healthy food, not a miracle cure like so many people claim them to be.
For the homesteaders out there, urban or otherwise, you can grow microgreens as a staple part of a balanced diet. They can be grown quickly year round and indoors and they are extremely cheap to start and setup. If you’re selling your excess produce, microgreens are a great source of extra income too as they good bad fairly quickly after harvest and local restaurants will love a source of fresh microgreens nearby.
How Long Do Microgreens Keep For?
Purchased microgreens will last around 10 days in fridge while homegrown microgreens can store for up to two weeks in a fridge after harvesting. The nice thing about microgreens is that you don’t typically have to store them in a fridge at all if you know when you’re going to use them. Simply harvest and eat for the freshest experience possible.
Should I Grow Microgreens?
While microgreens are not complicated to setup and grow they are not for everyone. Before you jump into growing microgreens at home make sure you like them. Many people overdo it when they grow microgreens and grow far more than they intend to use. This is easy to do and because of that a lot of microgreens can go to waste.
Next, you should ask yourself if you’re willing to spend the time on them. Sure they are easy, but there is setup, deciding on your grow medium, recycling your dirt or mats, adjusting lights, watering, sowing and harvesting to take care of. It’s really not a lot of time, but if you don’t garden already, microgreens probably aren’t the easiest place to start.
Many Many Microgreens
So there you have it. Microgreens aren’t quite as mysterious as you thought. They’re just young edible plants that are grown densely and harvested as seedlings. If you’re interested in getting into microgreens and know you’ll use them, we recommend giving them a try. They’re a little more involved than basic outdoor gardening but if you’ve ever started seeds indoors then you’ve probably got what it takes to grow a bountiful microgreen harvest.