The term “sprouts” tends to make us think of healthy-eating hippies in the 1970s, but the trend is actually still going strong today. We just call them “microgreens” instead. The idea is that new little seedlings are extremely nutritious as the plant is undergoing all its germination processes. So you let your seeds get started, then harvest soon after for tasty and healthy green on a small scale.
Older sprouting would only let the seeds undergo a very short period of growth, barely getting their roots out. Today’s microgreens are left to grow a little longer to produce a few leaves along with the roots.
This is a great gardening option for anyone who is really tight on space or is impatient to have some fresh food on the table right away.
Microgreen Techniques: Use shallow pots or seedling trays, filled with loose potting soil. Plant your seeds (see below for some ideas), and keep the soil moist. Lighting isn’t too important for most seeds since they are under the soil anyway.
Once they start to sprout, keep them near a window or under a light. You’ll be harvesting before the plants fully develop so it’s not all that crucial to provide perfect conditions. As much light as you can is best though. Let your little plants keep growing at least until they have their first set of true leaves. You can leave them until there are 2 or 3 leaf pairs out there. Then just use a pair of scissors to snip them all off at soil level. It only takes 7 to 10 days, and you can have many handfuls of fresh greens ready to eat.
Leave the roots to break down in the pots, and plant another round. If you prefer, you can pull up the plants and enjoy the tender roots along with your microgreens. It just means a little extra washing before you eat.
What Can You Grow? You want to focus on quick sprouting and fast growing plants that have edible leaves from the start. Here are some of the more popular choices:
• Beets
• Arugula
• Radish
• Kale
• Cabbage
• Chard
Radish sprouts are quite peppery in flavor but the others are a lot like mild greens that may slightly taste like their more mature counterparts. Use them like you would any other fresh greens.