Year-round kitchen gardening - microgreens
Year-round kitchen gardening – microgreens
Updated Nov. 2019
There are many parts of autumn I love. The colours, a warm sweater, great boots and a comforting bowl of soup. What I don’t like are the shorter days, the frost that forces us to pull out our gardens and the disappearing supply of fresh greens.
It also means winter is not far away and living in a northern climate such a Edmonton (my former home), means several months of short, cold winter days ahead. I now have a solution to continue to get the nutrition.
Growing microgreens is a lot easier than I ever imagined. With a few low-cost items I turned a 2-foot by 6-foot spot in our basement into a growing center. Right now we have a steady supply of wheat grass and pea shoots, I also brought in a couple herbs I was growing outside this summer. They are all under a simple light fixture fitted with tubes specifically for growing.
I also sprout a variety of radish, broccoli, alfalfa, mung beans and lentils in jars. Steps on how to do jar sprouting are on SAGE plant cuisine under the category “How to”.
Microgreens and sprouts are nutritional gold. They are concentrated forms of the full-grown version of the plants, so by weight they are really rich sources of an array of vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants. For the beans, legumes and some of the seeds, sprouting actually makes them easier to digest because the process releases the enzyme inhibitors.
You can buy fully grown trays of sprouts and microgreens at your farmers markets or organic grocer, but I have found it is much cheaper and really quite easy to grow and sprout your own.
Supplies
· Cafeteria trays - Whole Sale Club - https://www.wholesaleclub.ca/# $7 each (I bought six so I could have a couple trays growing different plants at different stages)
· High quality potting soil
· Full spectrum light - Home depot - https://goo.gl/zrAdSq $10 x 2
· Rain water or purified water preferred – empty your rain barrel in the fall before it freezes. If you have room, store the water in buckets in your garage or basement.
· Fan – may need one if you don’t have good ventilation.
· 20 to 21 degrees C or 68 to 70 degrees F - a warming pad if your space is too cold. (before you buy new, always check resale sites)
Tray planting
Wheat grass
1 ½ cups of red hard wheat berries – when I lived in Edmonton, I purchased mine from an organic grower at Strathcona Farmer Market for $7. Enough for three trays. I now order large quantities from Organic Matters.
Soak overnight in purified water, rinse and drain.
Sprout the wheat berries for a couple of days, rinsing them in the morning and evening. You know they are ready for planting when the wheat berries have tails about ¼ inch long.
Spread six cups of soil evenly on the tray – leaving a ½ inch trench around the edge of the tray.
Distribute the sprouted seeds evenly over the soil. Water the seeds until the soil is moist. Do not over water. There should not be any pooling.
Place another tray inverted on top of the first tray. Put it aside for two to three days. When the grass has pushed up the covering tray, remove it.
Place the wheat grass under the growing light. Water it twice a day. Once the roots are well established you can lift the entire plant by grabbing the grass to water directly on the tray.
Begin harvesting in seven to ten days.
To harvest, cut close to the root using a scissor or sharp knife.
Cut the wheat grass just before using.
Wheat grass can be harvested twice.
Compost the root bed after the second harvest.
Pea shoots – When I lived in Edmonton, I purchased them at Earth’s General Store , but they are available at most local health food markets.
Same process as wheat grass.
Harvest in about six days.
Pea shoots can be stored in the refrigerator in a sealed glass container lined with a paper towel or a sprouting jar with a mesh top. They should keep for about a week.
Once they are harvested, compost the root bed.
Sunflower seeds - When I lived in Edmonton, I purchased them at Earth’s General Store , but they are available at most local health food markets.
1 ½ cups of sunflower seeds – soak overnight in purified water, rinse and drain
Sprout the sunflower seeds for a couple of days, rinsing them in the morning and evening. You know they are ready for planting when they have tails about ¼ inch long.
Spread 6 cups of soil evenly on the tray – leaving a ½ inch trench around the edge.
Distribute the sprouted seeds evenly over the soil. Sprinkle a small amount of soil over the seeds.
Moisten until the seeds and soil are moist. Do not over water. There should not be any pooling.
Place another tray inverted on top of the first tray. Put it aside for two to three days. When the sprouts start pushing up the covering tray, remove it.
Place the sunflower sprouts under the growing light. Water it twice a day. Once the roots are well established you can lift the root bed and water directly on the tray.
Once the sprouts are close to leafing you can help the plant by removing the shell. Misting the plant makes this task easier.
Begin harvesting in about six days.
To harvest, cut close to the root using a scissor or a sharp knife.
Rinse the sprouts in a bowl of water to remove the remaining hulls and clean off any dirt.
Store them in the refrigerator in a sealed glass container lined with a paper towel or a sprouting jar with a mesh top. They should keep for about a week.
Sunflower seeds can be harvested twice.
Compost the root bed.
Herbs
Any herbs you grow outside during the summer, bring them in for the winter. The herbs will like the same conditions as your shoots and micro greens.
Jar sprouting
See steps under “How to” on Sage Plant Cuisine .
Troubleshooting
Overwatering – Don’t let the water pool in the one-inch trench you left around the outer edge of the tray. The soil should be able to hold the water.
Temperature and airflow – Monitor how well they are growing. Wheat grass seven to ten days for harvest. Sunflower seeds should take about 6 days. If they are not developing at that rate it may be too cool or you may need to turn on a fan for part of the day to increase airflow.
