Micro Gardening
You might have heard the term micro gardening and wondered what it is? Well here’s your chance to find out. Micro gardening involves planting seeds that will be harvested when they are still young. The seeds are germinated and harvested when the first leaves have grown. They are packed with flavour and can be used in salads, soups and sandwiches all year round.
Mustard and cress are well known for their quick growth when planted indoors at any time of the year but there are other plants that are particularly good grown as micro greens that are becoming more popular. These include herbs such as coriander, fenugreek and purple basil and vegetables, eg radish, beetroot and peas.
Micro greens are easy to grow indoors on a warm and light windowsill. All that is needed is some paper towel ( kitchen roll) , seeds, water and a shallow tray – the plastic ones that produce comes in from the supermarkets are fine and reusing these cuts down on the amount of one use plastic. Line the tray with paper towel and gently add water to soak. Sprinkle the seeds onto the paper. Place on the windowsill and wait! Make sure that the paper is moist at all times by carefully adding a little water when it dries out. Most seeds will start to germinate between 5 -14 days. Once the shoots are 2-6 inches tall and the first pair of leaves have opened fully, they can be cut near to the seed and used in salads and other dishes.
To have a constant supply of micro greens to use in meals sow several different types of seeds or more of the same a few days apart. That way they will crop in succession. You can also plant into potting compost and use other containers to grow the greens in.
If this type of gardening interests you why not think about trying sprouts – not brussels but mung beans and other sprouting vegetables. There is more information on the following websites;
