HOW AND WHY I GREW MICROGREENS, AND WHY YOU SHOULD TOO !
Growing Superfoods at your home were never easier.
My story for this
started a while ago when a local Microgreens company reached out to me and sent
me some microgreens to try and share on my Instagram. At that time, I was not a
frequent user of Microgreens. I knew that it was nutritious and aesthetically
pleasing on a dish, and it could bring quite a bit of flavor to the dish. So I
made some of our meals and incorporated these tiny little plants into my
dishes, and my family loved the taste of it, as I could bring pronounced
flavors to dishes. I loved Microgreens, as the versatility was astounding; If I
wanted a hit of peppery flavor in the dish, I could just put some arugula
microgreens, and If I wanted a hint of nuttiness in each bite I could just
finish it with sprigs of Alfalfa. So I thanked the local Microgreen company
that sent me some, Instagrammed it, and went on about my business. Time passed
by and I got tempted to start using Microgreens in my dishes again, as they are
simply wonderful, but the gardener in my mind started to get curious about
growing these wonderful super-greens.
You may
know me as a passionate gardener, and you are right. I love nature and growing
anything, but the place I live, we happen to have 4 seasons resulting in the
need to replant everything in the spring. So, in the summer and the spring, I
can grow anything at home outdoors , but once winter comes around I cannot do
it anymore. I especially love growing fresh greens to incorporate into my
family’s diet for the wonderful health and flavor. So that left me with one
option, and that was to grow inside my home, and this got me thinking about
growing microgreens at home. The benefit was that If I grew inside, I can grow
year-around, and winter would not be a roadblock. I did some research and found
out that there are hundreds of varieties of Microgreens that I could grow, and
many were not even available at the store.
Why I grew Microgreens inside, and why I chose to do it this way
Now technically, you can grow anything inside your home, be it regular Greens or Microgreens or even full plants, but some facts led me to find out that Microgreens are extremely easy to grow hydroponically. You can grow many plants hydroponically, but some plants grow easier than others in this method, and in the case of Microgreens, you do not need fancy equipment or grow lights to get started. The benefit of growing hydroponically is that you do not need soil or fertilizer, and that makes growing it a no-mess job. Another benefit of growing hydroponically is that replanting is even easier, just throw the paper towel away (or compost it), and you can start all over. As I said before, growing microgreens inside makes weather a non-issue and I love how it brightens the space and looks so natural. Growing anything inside your house automatically makes it a piece of functional-decor:)
I will
be showing you how to grow regular non-microgreens in your home hydroponically
as well, without fancy equipment in a following post. Also, this process is
extremely fun, and It’s a wonderful activity to do with your kids as well.
Why you should incorporate Microgreens into your diet
With all that fun stuff out of the way, let’s get into how I grew microgreens and how you can too!
The Materials Necessary
If you were not aware
before, let me debase the facts. Microgreens are very healthy, and depending on
the variety have a plethora of health benefits. Some of the top microgreens
that are extremely healthy include Arugula, Kale, Amaranth, Broccoli, Chia,
Radish, Mustard, etc. More importantly, when some of these greens have a Macro
(Larger Full size) type, you might wonder how are the smaller Microgreens any
better in terms of health to its larger cousin?
According to sources,
Microgreens are healthier than their Macro-cousin. Studies show microgreens
typically are more nutrient-dense compared to their larger cousins. I will link
a study here. I will also be doing another article
soon, with more data on these comparisons as the information on the nutrient
content of microgreens is quite fascinating. However, a consideration to be
made is that putting Microgreens on top of unhealthy food doesn’t make it
necessarily healthy, but it will enhance the taste.
There are a couple of things to get started.
With that out of the way, let’s get started!
Step 1- Pick your containers
Containers
are very important in the process of growing microgreens in your house. The
container facilitates growth, passively maintains the moistness that is
integral to the growth of your Microgreens. You can choose many types of
containers, but I recommend clear plastic containers for small seed
microgreens. An example would be the clear disposable plastic box that Costco
packs their strawberries inside. I would choose disposable clear plastic
containers, as you want to be able to poke holes into this, big enough for
water to flow through. To poke holes, I would simply heat a thin knife or fork
on the stove, and then poke the plastic with that. These containers never have
to be new, and all the containers you see in my pictures have been recycled
numerous times, in the past. For example- the blue container is just an average
mushroom container that you see at Costco.
Plastic Containers are fine to use, however you may use foil containers as well if you desire.
Step 2- Kitchen Towel Procedure
This sounds insane, but
the medium for growing microgreens is going to be your garden variety kitchen
paper-towel. Take 1 sheet that’s big enough for your container, and cut a
second one the same size and lay both of them together. Take these two-layers
of tissue and dampen them with water, and then lay the wet towel in the
container of your choice.
Step 3- Sprinkle The Seeds
The method that I am discussing thus far, pertains to the usage of a smaller variety of seeds. These varieties include flax, chia, mustard, radish, buckwheat, the list continues. Sprinkle your seeds on top of the damp tissue that is laid in the plastic container. It is Imperative to sprinkle evenly, but not sparsely, as this is what can ensure the microgreens will grow evenly like grass.
At this point, you
should lay a damp kitchen towel over the seeds to cover them, and then find a
dark place for the whole thing and let it reside there for 3–4 days for it to
sprout.
· Keep the seeds moist.
This is where the water sprayer comes in handy, and each day you should check
to see if the seeds and tissue are moist. Remember that, seeds need adequate
moistness to germinate.
· If your seeds do not
sprout on the 4th day, your seeds may be damaged and be ungrowable. You can
give it another day or two, but it is unlikely that it will sprout. Usually,
seeds that do not sprout are due to the seeds being old. Buy some brand new
seeds and then, try the process all over again.
Around the time that the
seeds sprouted, you should start to see tiny yellow leaves forming. This
indicates that your seeds are growing correctly. At this point, you should
remove the damp tissue that is above the seeds, and move the entire container
to an area with indirect sunlight. When the sprouted microgreens get exposed to
sunlight, within 60–90 minutes the yellow leaves will become green. This yellow
to green conversion is due to Light-Dependent reactions in plant leaves. When
the plant is exposed to sunlight, chloroplast’s chlorophyll, start having
reactions and green pigmentation occurs. (I know this is a simple explanation,
but this isn’t biology class!)