I don’t remember how many years ago I had a post on Microgreens. At the time, they sounded like a good idea. I even went out and bought some seeds in preparation for starting some. I had organic seed starting mix. I saved some trays from take out food. I was all set.
Except it never happened. I may still have the seeds. I definitely still have the trays. I am using up the organic seed mix as I start seeds every winter and spring. What went wrong?
I think it’s my innate distaste for sprouts. Now, make no mistake, as this excellent article , Growing Microgreens 101 explains, sprouts and microgreens are entirely different things.
For one thing, sprouts are just that–barely sprouted seeds that are little more than roots and just the beginning cotyledon–but no true leaves. They are also not grown in soil, but are “sprouted” in water or some other moist medium.
Microgreens, on the other hand, are most often grown in soil. The have roots and two sets of “leaves”–the first set of leaves known as the seed leaves or cotyledon and the second set of “true” leaves.
It is once the microgreens reach this stage–the stage when they put on their second set of leaves–that they are harvested and eaten. And it is the true leaves that give them the flavor of the original plant (sometimes much more intensely so!) as well as vitamins, minerals and other nutrients.
So it remains to be seen whether I can get over my “squeamishness” about the microgreens. But I urge you to do so. Because they really are a great way to add some healthy greens into your diet in the dead of winter. And they’re easy to grow yourself in a tiny space.
Who, besides perhaps me, wouldn’t like that?
Gardendaze 