Microgreens have been seen as a side dish in high-end restaurants, but in their business they are little more than a gourmet gadget.
Edible 2- to 3-inch plants that add color and flavor make for a nutrient-dense meal and a fun winter garden.
With an average retail price of around $30, buying these little ingredients can be a challenge. But growing your own at home is cheap, quick and easy.
You will need a dome-shaped seed tray or plastic container with a lid and holes in the bottom about 2 inches deep. A form for baking or a tray with sides for collecting liquid; Soil mix for plants: a sprinkler, a sunny window, and of course, seeds. A grow light and a small fan are recommended, but not required.
Do you have seeds?
Many catalogs and garden centers sell mixed packages of microgreens seeds that contain different seeds with the same germination time. You can buy them or make your own collection from fresh or leftover seeds. Or only one species is grown. It depends on you.
When self-sowing, choose those that grow at the same time. Arugula, broccoli, cabbage, collard greens, mustard greens, mizuna, nasturtiums and radishes grow quickly and usually mature in a week or less. Beets, chard and nasturtium should germinate in 10-14 days, parsley and dill - up to three weeks.
Do not grow vegetables in night shade, such as eggplant, ground cherries, peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, or tomato microgreens. Their leaves contain toxic alkaloids and should not be eaten.
Watch them grow
Fill a seed pot with seed soil and moisten it with water, then sprinkle medium-sized seeds with the mixture. Press it into the ground with your fingers, but don't bury it.
Spray the seeds and soil surface with water, then tilt the pot slightly with a dome or plastic cover. If you don't have a lid or lid, cover the jar lightly with plastic wrap. Do not close it tightly.
Place the baking sheet on a baking sheet or baking sheet in a warm room between 65 and 70 degrees. Water the soil daily to keep the soil light but moist. Alternatively, you can add half an inch of water to the drip tray and put soil in the drainage hole of the pot. If there is any water left in the pan at the end of the day, throw it away and use less next time.
When the seedlings sprout, remove the lid and place the tray directly in front of a bright window or under a light that runs 16 hours a day. Spray the soil surface once a day or as needed to keep the soil moist but not wet.
Planting a small fan nearby is optional, but it will help prevent mold that can damage your crop.
A few days after germination, the cotyledons or "seed leaves", usually oval in shape, appear. Very soon, the first real leaves of the plant will appear, which indicates that it is time to harvest microgreens.
Collection of micro products
Use sharp shears to cut the stems above the soil surface and enjoy local microgreens in soups and salads or in sandwiches, crackers and smoothies.
Then add more seeds to the soil to grow the next crop.
___
Jessica Damiano writes a weekly gardening column for the AP and publishes the award-winning Weekly Dirt newsletter. You can sign up to receive weekly gardening tips and tricks here.
___
For more information on AP Gardening, visit https://apnews.com/hub/gardening.
© 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This article may not be published, distributed, copied or distributed.
