What are microgreens?

Simply put, microgreens are the sprouts of plants, harvested before reaching full maturity. Microgreens are usually harvested within a matter of days after being planted. Instead of being planted out in a garden or within a container, with room to grow, microgreens are usually grown indoors on trays, under grow lights. These trays are overseeded, as the sprouts don’t need room to mature into fully grown plants.

As reported by Nutrition Facts, “USDA researchers recently published a study assessing the nutrition content of 25 commercially available microgreens, seedlings of vegetables and herbs that have gained popularity in upscale markets and restaurants. Just a few inches tall, they boast intense flavors and vivid colors, but what about their nutritional content? No one knew until this new study came out.

We’ve known that baby spinach, for example, have higher levels of phytonutrients than mature spinach leaves, but what about really baby spinach, just a week or two old?

Microgreens won hands down (leaves down?), possessing significantly higher nutrient densities than mature leaves. For example, red cabbage microgreens have a 6-fold higher vitamin C concentration than mature red cabbage, and 69 times the vitamin K.”

Microgreens can be used in almost anything. As a topping, as a garnish, or blended into meals and drinks. However microgreens are used, since they are filled with nutrients, they can elevate whatever meal they are used in. If lettuce microgreens are used in a sandwich instead of lettuce, you’ll be getting more nutrients from your food than you would have if you used leaves of mature lettuce.

Another great thing about microgreens is that they can be grown at a small scale. You can put a small tray of soil on your windowsill, sprinkle a healthy portion of seeds over the flattened growing medium, and within two weeks you’ll have microgreen sprouts ready to add to any meal.

Figure out what kind of microgreens you like the taste of the most, or if you’re interested in the micros just for their nutrients, figure out which of those will grow in your indoor conditions the best. As microgreens only take a matter of days to grow, experimenting with the food is simple to do and easily repeatable.