If you don’t already know what this superfood is, where have you been hiding? 

Microgreens are basically mini vegetables. Um, kind of like a mix between a sprout and a baby green. Except, it’s not a sprout, nor a baby green. It’s much, much better!   Microgreens are the seedling counterparts of all your tastiest and favourite vegetables, typically between one to three inches tall, and best consumed raw. Besides their high nutritional content, they are visually appealing and make great additions to all sorts of meals. Add them to your bunless burgers, sprinkle them onto salads or camouflage them in fruit smoothies if there are family members who are not overly fond of vegetables.  I even add them to my morning omelette to help get my veggie intake in for the day.

They’re super easy to grow even in a teeny tiny apartment as they don’t require a lot of space, and you don’t need any special equipment to get started either. It’s super fun, and so rewarding growing something that you can actually eat! Because they can be grown indoors, you don’t have to worry about nasty creepy crawlies eating your produce, and the bonus is that they can be grown all year round in any climate. They take a few weeks to grow,  depending on the type, so feel free to rotate crops to have a steady flow of delicious and fresh microgreens every single week. Let’s get started!

Here’s how to grow Microgreens in 6 simple, easy steps.

1.  Choose. Decide what you would like to start with. Radishes and Broccoli are good choices for beginners. Next, get all your stuff ready. You will need some seeds, a medium-sized container for planting, a water bottle to mist your seeds, and a window sill that gets some sunlight. Also - a tea towel that can be used as a lid and some paper towels. Why mess with soil when you can grow them on paper towels, right?  Easy like a Sunday morning,  no mess and no fuss.

2.  Layer.  So after you have collected all your goodies, it’s time to do some gardening! Place two or three layers of paper towels in the bottom of your medium-sized container, and mist liberally with water. It should not be saturated or drip when you hold it up.  Just well moistened.

3.  Scatter. Sprinkle a generous amount of your seeds onto the moist paper towels.  There does not need to be any special spacing or anything like that. They will all grow together and it’s nice to have quite a dense crop.  Some experts say it’s better to soak the seeds beforehand, usually overnight in water, to accelerate the sprouting time. This is optional.

4.   Add. You should now add another thin moist paper towel on top of your seeds. This would be the equivalent of adding some soil onto seeds that one may have planted elsewhere. You wouldn’t leave the seeds open when planting in the soil would you?  So you don’t with the paper towel technique either!

5.  The important microgreen hack! And now here’s the special trick to growing microgreens: place a tea towel or loose lid over your seed setup to block out the light. The ‘lid’ will help them grow tall,  as they will be growing upwards looking for the light. This is exactly what you want. Keep the lid (or tea towel) on for about 4 days then remove,  and allow your seeds to grow with natural light from a nearby window.

6.  Daily maintenance. Water daily with a light mist.  Do not allow paper towels to get dry, it should remain moist at all times.

How long until I can eat them?  Microgreens are traditionally harvested after the second set of leaves appear. This could be as little as 9 - 12 days, or longer depending on the variety. When it’s time to harvest, don’t pull them out of the soil but rather cut them neatly with a sharp pair of scissors. Don’t cut just the leaves off either, you want to get the stalks too so cut them off at soil level. Ideally - only snip off what you will consume for the day, and leave the rest intact so that your microgreens will be as fresh as possible for the next time you want some.

Storage?  Once harvested, carefully wash and dry your microgreens to get them ready for storage.  Microgreens need to be kept cool just like their parent counterparts, aka Sir Broccoli or Madame Radish. Line a resealable bag, or container that has a lid, with slightly moist paper towels and then place your microgreens inside. They should stay fresh between 5 - 7 days when stored this way, sealed and cool in the refrigerator.

Benefits?  Their uses and benefits are seemingly endless, but here are just a few!  They add a burst of flavour and crunch to just about any meal. They are incredibly nutritious and deliver concentrated amounts of nutrients and plant compounds, like polyphenols, which are high in antioxidants. These, in turn, may help in the fight against heart disease, high cholesterol levels and even Alzheimer's disease. They are brilliant for adding a pop of colour to any seemingly boring meal.

If you have always had an interest in growing your own food, microgreens are the perfect place to start! With over 80 different microgreen crop varieties, choosing which ones to grow first may well be the most difficult part. Look for seeds you may already have in your cupboard to start with like chia, sunflower, flaxseed or lentils. This will save you from spending additional money, while you find your green fingers and experiment with your technique in growing this delicious and healthy, nutrient-packed superfood!

So why not grow your own?  By incorporating these aromatic, young vegetable greens into your diet, you can improve your physical and mental wellbeing. They pack a flavorful punch, and add some prettiness and pizzaz to make nearly any plate of food look gourmet. Bon appetit!