Amazing flavour and bursting with nutrients, microgreens are the future of mini harvesting. From seed to ready-to-eat in as little as a week, microgreens are a quick and easy way to grow your five-a-day from your own home.
Taking up very little space, a windowsill is an ideal place for your leafy greens to grow and flourish. This makes them perfect if you have none or little outdoor space to utilise - your kitchen is a more than perfect home!
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You’ll also be very happy to know they’re super easy to maintain and nourish, so all you serial plant killers can rejoice, microgreens are much simpler to harvest than actual veg. Still wary of your gardening skills? Not to worry some Smart Microgreen Planters feature self-watering and light-intensity adjustments, so all you have to do is watch your little ones grow.
What are microgreens?
You’ll find microgreens being mentioned on the menus of gourmet restaurants and ready to buy in farmers markets everywhere – but you can grow them inexpensively at home, too.
They are the young seedlings of herbs, vegetables, beans, seeds, and grains; they contain four to six times the vitamins and phytochemicals found in mature leaves of the same plants. They’re packed full of enzymes so are best eaten raw.
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How to grow your own microgreens
Like mentioned, microgreens are super easy to grow and harvest, all you need is:
• Good quality seeds.
• A growing medium, container or even special microgreens planter.
• Good lighting.
Sprinkling your seeds on moist soil in your designated container with a lid, all that you need to do is keep the soil moist. Checking on your little ones daily, once your seeds have germinated you can remove the lid and expose your greens to the light. Water once a day and your microgreens should be ready to harvest in seven to 10 days.
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Yes, it's just that easy! You can make this process even easier and treat yourself to your own indoor garden planter, slightly more expensive but they do all the work for you.
Whichever route you want to take to grow your microgreens, we've listed all the best bits and pieces you need to get started on your microgreens journey.
Everything you need to start growing your own microgreens
All of these microgreen accessories and kits have been hand-selected by What's The Best shopping experts. Our team has spent hours investigating and researching, so you can choose the best one. Plus, we'd never recommend a product we don't believe in. Find out why you should trust us here.
Best microgreens starter kit
Verdant Republic’s seeds starter box contains everything you need to successfully grow 5 types of classic microgreens– broccoli, pea, radish, rocket & sunflower. As well as seeds, this kit comes with 100% biodegradable coir peat pots, coir pellets, plant markers and an instruction guide.
Review: “Really happy with the purchase. It has been less than 10 days since I planted the seeds. They are really easy to grow and plenty of seeds compared to other kits I bought in the past. Just bought their other Kitchen Garden microgreens box to try and can't wait to plant them too. I will be buying them again for my daughter in law who is into healthy eating.”
Best smart microgreens planter
A smart garden planter that does it all! This indoor herb garden germination kit is designed with a water circulation system, to support your plants to grow stronger. Featuring high performance LED lights, they stimulate the sunlight spectrum and promote thriving plants in any weather.
Review: “After wanting one of these for years, I can say that I’m really impressed with the operating volume, ease of use, lack of mess from soil - and very hands-off maintenance. If they continue to grow easily and maintain well - then I think I know what I’ll be getting a couple of people next Christmas!”
Best microgreens seeds
Specially selected for colour & flavour and pre-mixed for convenience, this mixed variety of mixed sprouting seeds is perfect for growing super-nutrient greens at home. Results in as quick as nine days.
Review: “These microgreens are amazing, with swift and tasty rewards. They are great value for money, and I highly recommend them.”
Editor's pick
www.selfridges.com
Take a step back from microgreen gardening and let this clever smart garden do it all for you.
Selfridges says: “Keeping plants and herbs alive is easier said than done – we’re not all born with green fingers after all. Veritable helps even the most novice gardener and serial plant-killers keep their basil blossoming, curly parsley cultivated, chives climbing and thyme ticking over by creating the Smart Copper Indoor Garden fitted with automatic watering and light-intensity adjustments. Plus, there’s an app, too, so you know when to top up the water reservoir.”
Best microgreens beginner book
Don't know where to start with microgreens? Get this handy paperback book that gives you an essential guide to gourmet greens. Free with Kindle Unlimited.
Review: “Overall a great buy!! Really good advice for a range of people, from beginners looking for a new hobby to people aspiring to make a successful business from Microgreens too. The advice and tips in the book really do work and I particularly liked the bonus 20 recipes which are fun to try out. The business advice in the book is a great bonus too, and an all-around book on Microgreens.”
Best microgreens growing tray
High-quality reusable trays to get you started growing microgreens with no need for soil! Just add seeds and water for healthy, colourful, and full of flavour greens. Seeds included are Basil, Coriander and Rocket.
Review: “This simple, little tray sits neatly on my kitchen windowsill. The kit came complete with seeds and clear instructions. It was all much simpler than I thought, and the seeds started germinating within 2 days. I should probably have waited longer but couldn't wait to nibble the first shoots which were big enough to taste after the 4th day. I have left half the tray for a full week and am 'harvesting' tasty shoots each morning.”
Best budget microgreens smart planter
www.suttons.co.uk
This indoor garden is perfect for nurturing your new microgreen seeds. With three beds to house three different variations and an automatic watering system, this smart garden is a great budget-friendly option for low-maintenance microgreen harvesting. Available in yellow, green, white and blue.
Why should you grow microgreens?
• They’re really quick to grow – normally just 7-10 days.
• You can grow a lot in a small space.
• They don’t need much time or effort and are pretty inexpensive.
• They’re great if you don’t have a garden.
• They’re suitable for all weathers and climates.
What to read next
Angelica Daujotas is a Commercial Content Writer at Bauer Media, where she reviews products for sites like What's The Best, Yours, Mother&Baby and Closer.
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