Microgreen Test

Have previously done some pretty simple but useful microgreens and withy how easy they are I thought it was time to go to the next level (and bring my kids with me-let them do all the seeds). So, I took some small planting areas for each (Nasturtium, Sorrel, beet, chards, purslane, giant mustard, amaranth chervil, cressida, arugula, carrot (which just arrived yesterday) and mild blend (which I still have lots of). This time I wrote down when I planted each, with germination to harvest estimations given on what info I could find and then will write down the actual harvest date when done. My plan/hope is to use the time to harvest information for larger batches so I can hopefully predict when to plant each based on when we might want them. The purslane was the first to respond and looks quite pretty. The cressida followed pretty quickly and the beet and chards are starting to show themselves. Kids love helping out and watching these grow. The biggest (good) challenge is keeping them from trying them all (again and again). With upcoming travel, they've been assigned their care, so we will see what happens. Fun technique/class with new flavors, colors and education.

Find more posts tagged with

Recipes Q's

Comments

Robert_Conn_II_123023

Great project. I have issues with timing such things because you never really know from one batch of seeds to the next how quickly they will germinate. I use a heat pad and put a lid on my seeds and they usually germinate between 2-5 days but out of the current batch of 72 (for my garden, not microgreens) I am starting this week, 6 germinated in 2 days and had to be transplanted out of there within 4, a few more are just starting to come up and after 5 days, most still arent doing anything.

If you are only growing microgreens there are a couple of tricks to get more consistent results... if you plant them in trays you can stack them on top of each other for the first few days and rotate the order in which they are stacked. When they come up the weight of the trays above them slightly suppress their upward climb (enabling them to instead grow stronger roots). This also makes them a little heartier, less leggy and some people think they taste better (although I cant notice a difference in taste). But, it is a way to control the growth rate when they germinate.

Good luck on your tests Todd. Microgreens are easy to grow, and hard to master, which makes them a whole lot of fun for me.

tshewman

Thanks Robert! Very helpful per usual! I'll be planting a full leg of the ones that sprout hopefully next weekend when I return from my business trip (if only I didn't have to work for a living :-)..).

fisher23

Now you have me wanting to grow some microgreens, dang, lol.

I did find a good sight with some instructional videos and a source for seeds. Here it is if you are interested, it talks about a lot of things that @Robert_Conn_II_123023 mentioned. I've done sprouts in the past but not microgreens. https://www.growingmicrogreens.com/instructional-videos

tshewman

Thanks John, I've done a general mix of two types of easy to grow so far but that's it. So, it's a nice bit to build on. I woke up this am to the Nasturtium starting to sprout. :-)