How To Grow Microgreens At Home

What are microgreens? 

Microgreens are the babies of the plant world, also affectionately known as micro herbs or vegetable confetti. They’re small leafy green sprouts grown from our favourite regular sized vegetables – think beetroots, radishes, carrots and much more! They grow to around a couple of inches tall but don’t discount them just because they’re small, these flavoursome bites can pack up to five times more nutrients than in their mature forms.

Microgreens take up very little room, so you don’t need an allotment or huge gardens to grow them. They can also be grown all year round, even through the winter. Plus you can eat everything from their leaves right down to their stalks – just a few more reasons why we love them so much

Here’s a great selection to get you started from Buy Wholefoods Online.

What microgreens can I grow at home?

If you can name a vegetable that thrives growing in the UK, then you can probably grow microgreens from its seeds. Here are some of Healthline’s favourites:

• Cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, watercress 
• Lettuce and chicory 
• Dill, carrot, fennel and celery
• Garlic, onion, leek
• Beetroot and spinach
• Melon, cucumber and squash

How to grow microgreens at home

Luckily for those of us without a green thumb, you don’t need any special equipment to grow microgreens at home – just a bright windowsill and a shallow container of soil. Here’s a quick guide:

1. Start by planting them the way you do all other seeds – fill your chosen container with damp soil then sprinkle your seeds evenly and liberally across the top
2. Cover them generously with more damp soil and, using a spray bottle, water thoroughly then loosely seal your container with a sheet of clingfilm
3. Using your spray bottle again, mist them two to three times a day
4. Your microgreens will be ready to harvest between 7-14 days

If you’d like to keep microgreens in constant stock on your windowsill, then Garden Answer recommends growing a couple of small trays worth on rotation each week in order to keep a healthy roster going.