Growing Microgreens

Growing Microgreens

Winters in Washington, D.C. can get pretty cold and dreary - at least to this California gal. Everything’s bare, if there’s snow it’s slushy, and any of your plants outside are pretty much dead.

Thankfully, my south-facing apartment gets a good amount of sunlight in the winter, so I’ve decided to try growing microgreens inside!

Microgreens are plants that are harvested very soon after sprouting - when they have their first baby leaves, called cotyledons, and sometimes their first true leaves. There’s nothing special about the seeds or the plants - it’s only the stage of development that makes the difference.

Microgreens are super nutritious, too. According to the USDA, microgreens contain up to 5 times more nutrients than their mature counterparts.

I chose my plant seeds based on recommendations from an awesome book: Indoor Kitchen Gardening .

Here’s what I ended up getting:

  • Italian Basil

    Basil Italian (for $2.95) 25000 seeds (!)

  • White Russian Kale

    Kale White Russian (1 for $2.95) 100 seeds

  • Cress

    Sprouting Seed Curled Cress (4 for $1.00 each) 100 seeds

  • Ruby Red Chard

    Swiss Chard Bright Lights (4 for $1.50 each) 125 seeds

  • Red Giant Mustard

    Mustard Red Giant (4 for $1.25 each) 100 seeds

  • Arugula

    Organic Arugula (3 for $1.00 each) 100 seeds

  • Beets

    Beet Detroit Dark Red (1 for $3.95 each) one ounce

I also got Cat Grass and Lavender just for fun. By far the best value was the beets and italian basil. I have no idea how the economics of selling 25,000 seeds for $3 works, but I’ll take it! Total I paid $43.70 including shipping.

I also needed a long table to put them on (Walmart), and some seed trays and seed starter soil (Miracle-Gro Seed Starting Potting Mix, 8-Quart), which I got from Amazon. (The book recommended using seed trays that had holes in the bottom so that the microgreens could be bottom watered if needed, but I didn’t want to have to buy trays for my trays.) All together, my setup cost me about $100, and that’s including a reusable table.

Reduced Cost Version

If you can transport heavy objects and have a bit of spare time, you may be able to reduce costs further by replacing the seed trays with pyrex pans from thrift stores and craigslist. Similarly, you can likely find a discarded bookshelf or desk on craigslist to place your plants on. Lastly, narrow your seed choices - go for the Detroit Dark Red Beets and Italian Basil to get a huge amount of seeds for a very low price! You may also be able to swap seeds for free at HeirloomSeedSwap.com.

Continue to see how the planting process went!

Note on Affiliate Links and Ads: The above links are all products that I researched and ended up purchasing for this project, and those choices were not at all affected by any compensation. I add affiliate links and ads to pay for the site.

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