So, it’s been 5 days since I started to cultivate microgreens, and I know you’re all waiting with baited breath for an update.
My reasons for wanting to grow microgreens was to have garnishes for salads that were both flavoursome and attractive. I planted 4 different varieties, Basil, Rocket, Beetroot and Broccoli.
The first to make an appearance on my kitchen windowsill was the Broccoli, the Beetroot and Rocket following behind. the Basil however is a shy herb, only making an appearance after 4 days.
The image above is of the beetroot, you can see that growth has been quick, and in a few more days I will be able to harvest both the beetroot and the broccoli. Then the rocket and finally the basil, which is great because I had planned to have a continuous supply. You can see from the photo that the seed leaves have developed, I now need to wait for the first true leaves to appear and then they are ready for harvest.
I am keeping notes of the planting to harvest times, so I can plan my future crops.
I will do another update in a few days, hopefully with a salad using my crop of microgreens as a garnish.
How did your basil get on? Did you manage to get enough to grow and did it have any taste of basil? I have had no luck so far but I think my seeds are too old. The rocket certainly grows like a rocket though!
The Basil was slower than the others I tried, but it did have an intense basil taste, the family enjoyed the basil, sprinkling it onto sandwiches. Old seeds are notoriously difficult to germinate.
Type your comment here. I am new at this how do you know what seed you can use and were are you getting them. I seen a show on this, but did not tell you much. So far I not finding a lot on the web. Whats the diff between micro greens and spouts?
You use the ordinary vegetable seeds that you would find in a garden centre or supermarket, the difference is how you use them and the time you crop them. Hope that helps
Responding to Comment 3 from Julie:
Sprouts are germinated seeds grown in water. Seeds for sprouts are never actually planted; they are placed in enclosed containers and grown by alternate soaking and rinsing in water. They are grown in humid,dark or very low light conditions and take just a few days to grow. They are typically a tangled mass of roots, stems, and pale, undeveloped leaves.
Microgreens are planted and grown in soil or a soil substitute in bright light with plenty of air circulation. The seed is planted in much less density than sprouts so that the individual seedlings have space to grow and develop their leaves. They take several days longer to grow and are generally ready to harvest (clipped with scissors) at about two inches in height. Microgreens have a much more intense flavor than sprouts.