Micro greens pop their leaves up after just a few days and are ready to eat. Picking is as easy as having a sharp pair of kitchen scissors to snip the tops, ready to add to any meal. Some favourites are radish, red cabbage, rocket, basil and mustard, coriander, and peas.
Easily started in a seed tray, or egg trays(lasts long enough for one batch) with some organic seed raising mix, spread a 100 or more of the seeds over the soil, gently mixing them in. There is no need to push them down. Then water them, cover them with wet newspaper and wait. The first 48 hours they will start to sprout. Keep the paper wet and the soil damp during this time. Put them on your deck, doorstep or window sill where the sun shines in. They will love the warm and the light. Once sprouted take the paper away and let the sun do its work. Make sure they do not dry out.
In 5 to 7 days they are ready to cut. Keep eating them even when they become baby greens; they are just as tasty.
These simple greens can be a cooks delight and a gardeners thrill. The growing is quick. These greens jazz up other salads or great served on their own as a micro salad.
The greens make delightful fresh explosions of flavour. If served tossed in lettuce as a salad, you'd chase around your plate to find the next burst of flavour.
The greens have a hint of the familiar mature vegetable. Radish and Cabbage are tangy. The peas are sweet. The herbs, like coriander and basil, give a tamer taste than the mature plants.
Microgreens contain considerably higher levels of vitamins and carotenoids—about five times greater—than their mature plant counterparts. Red cabbage, cilantro (coriander), garnet amaranth, and green daikon radish had the highest concentrations of vitamin C, carotenoids, vitamin K, and vitamin E, respectively.
Most seed retailers will have packets with larger quantities of seeds prepackaged for the purpose of growing micro greens.
Self-seeding is also a good reliable source if you are spray free conscious. It's easy enough if you have room to sit the tray of greens outside somewhere, continue to water and allow the plants to mature. At some point, they will flower and go to seed. Then you can harvest the seeds, dry them and start again.
2 comments:
I was told a few weeks ago not to put them in the sun as it will dry them out too quickly... A bit confussed now.
its just the first 3 days or so until the stems get strong -they need the sun to grow. Just keep an eye on the moisture content, you don't want them wilting. maybe sit them in a part sunny place.
Post a Comment