How to grow micro greens.

Fancy growing salads on your window-sill that are choc full of flavour and ready to eat in only about seven days? Me too, so I’ve been growing micro greens, those tiny leaves that you see in fancy restaurants.

They’re not a full salad, but little, tasty leaves to scatter over whatever food you fancy for a strong flavour punch. I like them on basic lettuce leaves, tomato salad or cooked fish, they look pretty too, especially if you grow some coloured leaves.

I sowed a tray of chicory and rocket and one of rocket on its’ own, within a couple of days they were up. The basil was very slow and is still hardly growing, it probably needed more heat, but since I want easy stuff, I won’t use it again for micro-greens.

How to sow micro greens:

I used those little plastic trays that you get vegetables in from the supermarket, they can be washed & re-used many times, good for sustainability, and they’re shallow so they don’t need much compost.

1. I filled the trays with multi-purpose compose and gently firmed it to make it flat, this makes it easier to sow the seeds evenly
2. the soil was watered first and then I scattered the seeds over the compost
3. then covered lightly with compost (as a general rule the smaller the seed the less covering with compost is needed)
4. they were parked on one of the bedroom window-sills that has plenty of light but little direct sunlight
5. they’ve needed a little trickle of water every couple of days.

I snipped a few off with scissors when they were big enough and they should re-grow a couple of times before they give up.

Sow two or three different types of seed rather than just one, to avoid disappointment if one lot doesn’t germinate.

It’s a satisfying process, especially early in the year when there aren’t many vegetables ready to eat, the only drawback is the cost of seeds. Leave plants like rocket and fennel to flower and produce seeds, these are always quick to flower towards the end if the summer, and collect the seeds for planting.

Then the circle begins again.

Happy gardening, Jill

all photos: Jill Anderson