Enjoy Microgreens At Home
It's dark and cold outside. You're either looking across a dormant garden or out at a concrete jungle. You day dream about what you'd grow if you had a bit of earth; healthy, nutritious things. No offense to the spider plant and his cadre of African violets, but you long to grow your own food. If this sounds like you, don't despair. You can grow a super nutritious green all year round whether you live on the 12th floor or the 12 acre of the family farm. All you need is a sunny window, a shallow container, a bit of potting soil, seeds, and water.
Cooking With Microgreens
Microgreens are all the rage in culinary circles, but good luck finding them in the supermarket. These delicate greens are often only seen in high end restaurants, unless you grow them yourself. Microgreens are in between sprouted seeds and baby greens. Sprouted seeds are grown in water using a tray or jar. Baby greens are grown in soil and harvested when they are three to four inches tall. Microgreens are also grown in soil, but harvested when they are about two inches tall. Tricia goes over the nitty-gritty of how to grow them in our video, in this blog we'll help you figure out what to grow!
One of the attractions of microgreens is the broad range of flavors. There are spicy flavors, mild flavors, and herb flavors. There is a flavor for every dish. A wide variety of plants that make delicious microgreens. Our favorites include French Breakfast Radish for a refreshing, spicy kick in sandwiches and salads, Arugula for a peppery punch, and Amaranth for a pop of color and a delicious nutty flavor. If you're hungry for more microgreen ideas we've listed some of the preferred microgreen species below:
- Amaranth Red Amaranth
- Basil Corsican Basil, Genovese Basil, Ornamental Mix Basil, Culinary Blend Basil, Dark Purple Opal Basil, Thai Basil, Lime Basil, Sweet Basil, Lemon Basil
- Beet Bull's Blood Beet, Detroit Golden Beet, Detroit Dark Red Beet, Chioggia Beet, Green Top Bunching Beet, Early Wonder Tall Top Beet, Cylindra Beet
- Broccoli Di Ciccio Broccoli, Calabrese Broccoli, Rapinni Broccoli, Te You Chinese Broccoli
- Cabbage Golden Acre Cabbage, Red Express Cabbage, Pak Choi Chinese Cabbage, Pak Choi, Baby Shanghi Chinese Cabbage
- Carrot Culinary Blend Carrot, Solar Yellow Carrot, Rainbow Blend Carrot, Atomic Red Carrot, Cosmic Purple Carrot, Dragon Carrot, Parisienne Carrot, Danvers Carrot, Little Finger Carrot, Kuroda Carrot, Chantenay Carrot, Scarlet Nantes Carrot
- Chard Five Color Silverbeet Chard, Yellow Chard, Fordhook Giant Chard, Red Ruby Chard, Pink Flamingo Chard
- Dill Mammoth Dill, Bouquet Dill
- Fennel Bronze Fennel, Florence Fennel
- Kale White Russian Kale, Lacinato Kale, Red Russian Kale
- Kohlrabi White Vienna Kohlrabi, Purple Vienna Kohlrabi
- Greens Red Orach, Collard Greens, Vit Mache, Mizuna Mustard, Tendergreen Mustard, Southern Giant Curled Mustard, Bloomsdale Spinach, Sorrel, Cilantro, Arugula
- Onions Valencia Onion, Walla Walla Onion, Evergreen Bunching Onion, Cippollini Onion, Cortland Onion, Rossa Di Milano Onion,
- Chives Garlic Chives, Common Chives
- Parsley Italian Parsley, Moss Curled Parsley
- Peas Sugar Snap Pea, Sugar Daddy Pea, Mammoth Melting Pea, Progress #9 Pea, Oregon Sugar Pod II Pea, Pea Shoots
- Radish Sparkler Radish, Watermelon Radish, White Beauty Radish, Daikon Radish, Cherry Belle Radish, French Breakfast Radish, White Icicle Radish, German Giant Radish, Pink Beauty Radish, China Rose Radish, Easter Egg Mix
If you hungry for more check out the book "Microgreens -- How to Grow Natures Own Superfood. Happy growing!
For additional information on growing greens, see our Growing Guide for Lettuce and Greens in the Resource Center
4 comments
Kristin, Yes you can sprout Russian Mammoth sunflower seeds. I just would not advise using seed that is not considered food grade.
Wondering if Russian Mammoth sunflower seeds are safe to grow as microgreens? Seeds say edible, I’m guessing yes?
Richard, those seeds are not considered food-grade. They are sold as cover crop seeds for planting as livestock pasture.
is this product safe to use to grow microgreens:
Non-Dormant Alfalfa – Nitrocoated Seed