Vegetable confetti: Microgreens

When we grow our veg­eta­bles dur­ing their sea­son we tend to fol­low “rules.” Sow the seeds, let them grow a few inches, thin them out, let them grow a lit­tle more, pick and eat. With micro­greens you need to for­get all the “rules” and dis­cover a whole new way to grow your greens all year around.

Micro­greens are defined as plants har­vested at the cotyle­don growth stage, when the seed splits and sprouts with the first two leaves. The dif­fer­ence between micro­greens and sprouts is that sprouts are grown in water and micro­greens in soil. Har­vest­ing is usu­ally done when the plants reach 2–3 inches tall, but that can depend on your plant choice. These lit­tle gems are a sought after treat for chefs around the coun­try. Some micro­greens can fetch up to $50 a pound in some areas. They are used by chefs and cooks as a “fin­ish” to add fla­vor and appear­ance. They add another layer of fla­vor to your dish. These lit­tle treats pack quite a punch.

They have been around in the U.S. since the 1990’s, but only in the last cou­ple of years have they hit the mar­ket with a bang.

The first micro­green in pop­u­lar­ity was wheat­grass, grown for its health ben­e­fits, mainly used in smooth­ies and other health drinks. While the cat­e­gory of micro­greens has gone through sev­eral phases, in the begin­ning chefs used them in sal­ads and to gar­nish a plate. Now they are used more for their orig­i­nal intended pur­pose, an herb fla­vor­ing to enhance the fla­vor of food.

For the price of a con­tainer, a bag of soil and a pack­age of seeds you can grow these greens on a kitchen table, win­dowsill or coun­ter­top. These basic items make it an easy and inex­pen­sive hobby. Keep it sim­ple to start and as you hit your stride you can exper­i­ment with other choices and techniques.

Micro­greens have an intense fla­vor no mat­ter what plant you select. My expe­ri­ence so far has been grow­ing radish, arugula, beets, spinach, kale, broc­coli, basil, sage and cab­bage. Make your selec­tions based on what you like in the adult ver­sion and you will love the mini version.

Con­tainer: A pint size recy­cled deli tray with a lid is ideal for your con­tainer. There are actual micro­green kits avail­able now. Oak­land Nurs­ery at U.S. 36/Ohio 37 and Kil­bourne Road has them in stock. They come with the con­tain­ers, soil and instruc­tions. It’s a great beginning.

Soil: Use a seedling mix or light pot­ting soil. Don’t use gar­den soil, it’s too heavy and could con­tain pests and dis­eases. Fill the con­tainer to about a half an inch from the rim with your grow­ing media, lightly press it down. Moisten the soil slightly and you are ready to plant.

Light­ing: Micro­greens require some light to be suc­cess­ful. If you have a sunny win­dowsill, or a table that sits in front of a well lit win­dow, then you are good to go. A grow light can be an asset and allows them to grow at a much greater rate. Small table­top mod­els are avail­able online, add that to your hol­i­day wish list.

Seeds: Organic seeds are prefer­able but not nec­es­sary. Seed pack­ets do not need to be marked spe­cially for micro­greens, any will work. Lay the seeds on the soil sur­face close together but not touch­ing. Press them firmly into the soil, but do not cover the seeds with soil.

Water: You need to keep the soil moist, but not wet. Spray the seeds with a light mis­ter so as not to move the seeds around. Place a lid on the con­tainer, with breath­ing holes or a paper towel laid on top. The holes are there for ven­ti­la­tion, which assures against mold. Be very gen­tle about pour­ing in water. If you go too quickly you can wash the seeds away and dis­turb the roots. Fer­til­iz­ing your crop is optional. If you choose to add that to your greens, use a diluted organic prod­uct, such as fish emul­sion. Once the seeds start to sprout, remove the lid or paper towel.

Har­vest­ing: All that is needed is a pair of sharp clean scis­sors. Sim­ply cut below the leaves and above the soil line. What I like most about these lit­tle gems, is I walk across the kitchen, cut my greens and eat for din­ner. It’s just doesn’t get any more local than that. Some can be grown in as lit­tle as one week, but oth­ers take longer, up to 21 days. Plant a new crop every four to seven days to have a con­tin­u­ous selec­tion of fresh greens.

Dis­eases are very few if any. Since they are planted in fresh soil­less mix, new seeds and fresh water are used, you shouldn’t have any prob­lems. They grow rapidly and are har­vested young.

Now that you’ve grown them, what can you do with them? Add to a sand­wich, gar­nish soups, top hors d’oeuvres, mix with pasta or rice. A fun way to present them is to place them on your table and let all your guests cut their own and add to their din­ner, an edi­ble cen­ter­piece. Two books on the mar­ket now explain these in great detail and have plenty of recipes to keep you busy; Micro­greens by Franks/Richardson and Micro­greens by Fiona Hill. Add these books to your hol­i­day wish list.

Enjoy your win­ter greens close to home, and best of all expe­ri­ence the health ben­e­fits of microgreens.

Susan Liechty is an OSU Exten­sion Mas­ter Gard­ner volunteer.

Posted by Master Gardener on Nov 27 2011. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS Feed. Comments can be made below.