How to Grow Microgreens

Packed with flavor and nutrients, zesty microgreens make a great addition to salads and sandwiches.  And, they’re so quick and easy to grow year-round that there’s no excuse not to!  We carry single variety seeds intended to be grown as microgreens and mixes with enticing names like: “Italian Amaro Blend” and “Umami Asian Blend.”  You can buy a kit with everything (except seeds) you need to get started or you can assemble your own.  Here’s how:

Choose a shallow container and poke drainage holes in it if it doesn’t already have them. You can use a seed starting tray with a clear lid or even  shallow, plastic fruit or take-out containers with clear lids.

Add potting mix. We used Espoma Organic Potting Mix, but you can also use a seed starting mix.  The 4qt. bag was the exact amount needed to fill our seed starting tray.

Pour a little water in the soil and mix it with your hands to get it evenly moist, then spread it out evenly.

Read the directions on the seed packet to see how many seeds to use and scatter evenly. In our case, one third of the seeds in the packet was enough for our tray.

Top with 1/8 to 1/4 inch of soil.

Mist thoroughly.

Put the clear plastic lid on the tray and place under a grow light or in a sunny window. Keep moist with a spray bottle or light watering.  Remove the lid when the first true leaves form or if it seems like the environment is too humid (e.g. if fungus starts growing or if the seedlings start drooping/dying).

Harvest when the first true leaves form.  (The photo above is after only a week and the cotyledon has unfolded, but the true leaves haven’t formed yet.)  The timing may vary depending on the type of seeds you choose; read the seed packet for instruction.

by Adrienne Neff, Behnke’s Graphics Department