Important steps to remember while growing your microgreens

3 weeks ago 209

Microgreens are the immature vegetable and herb plants that have their cotyledons (false leaves) and sometimes their first true leaves. Typically, these plants are eight to 24 days old, depending on the variety.

I have been growing microgreens for about a year, and I thought I would share my experience to help those who are struggling to grow them.

Microgreens have become a popular addition to our diets, especially for those who seek to improve their health through nutrition. They are easy to add to a smoothie or put in a salad and scientists have discovered that these small plants provide at least 10 times the nutrition by weight, as an adult plant. Videos abound on You Tube with folks encouraging everyone to jump into growing their own, however, they are skipping a few important steps.

First, the most important element to growing microgreens is temperature. When a seed package advises the plant will germinate best between 65 and 75°F, this is what it needs. If you have a spare room where you can grow microgreens, you will need to install an air conditioner or mini-split that can be turned down to 68 to 70°F for good germination. Additionally, you will need a dehumidifier to prevent killing your plants with fungal disease.

Some of the online advice suggests growing seeds on hemp mats, rather than a soil-like medium. Best results, especially for root vegetables like radish and beet or for plants that take more than 10 days before harvest, like cilantro, you will need a sterile soil or soil like medium. I use two different mediums.

For very fast crops (two weeks or less), I use coconut coir with vermiculite mixed in to ensure good drainage. I add trace minerals that are approved for organic production. I would suggest the trace minerals are not necessary if you are going to grow in small amounts and will consume what you are growing within a week of their perfect harvest point.

The second medium I use is a sterile potting mix. The brand I use is Pro-Mix BX, however any good quality, sterile mix for starting vegetable seeds will work.

Lighting is another important element. I use professional LED grow lights. I am told that shop lights, like my dad used when he worked on the car, work just as well. Honestly, I never thought to try those. They may get a bit too hot to be placed close to the plants.

I use shallow microgreen trays, one for potting mix and seeds, the other one for water. These microgreen growing trays are available from Bootstrap Farmer and they are made in the United States. The largest variety of seeds can be found on-line at True Leaf Market. Be sure to search for the microgreen offerings and read all of the growing details to see if you can meet the needs of the plant before you purchase seed.

I plant my seed in my kitchen, then move the trays to my growing room. The kitchen is also where I clean and wash trays. Once I harvest the microgreens in a tray, I give the medium to friends who have chickens for the chickens to enjoy. I keep my growing space as clean as possible so that I am not introducing problems into this room.

Most importantly, have fun. Remember, everything has a learning curve. I have certainly had some failures along the way. That is all part of learning. If you keep things clean and provide the ideal that the plant wants, you should be on your way.

You may contact me to ask questions if you run into a problem. I am at the Farmers Market at Firemen’s Park in McAllen every Saturday morning selling microgreens.

The market’s summer hours are 8:30 to 11 a.m. Beginning Oct. 4, the market will run from 9 a.m. to noon at 210 N. 1st Street, McAllen, under the large, covered area next to Town Lake.

Barbara Storz is a local horticulturist writing about plants that thrive in south Texas. She is retired from Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.

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