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Seed trays filled with microgreens
I posted a couple of weeks ago about growing microgreens for the first time. Well I just thought I would post an update on how they’ve done.
Despite the decreasing light levels I was surprised to see they germinated quickly and a week after sowing all the seeds had germinated. They grew quickly and less than 2 weeks after sowing I cut my first microgreens. You can cut them when they are about 5cms tall. I have found that the shorter days combined with a lot of dull weather has meant the seedlings have become very leggy. This isn’t really a problem though because I’m not growing them on to become proper plants.
So what do they taste like? Well they have a surprisingly strong taste. I didn’t expect things so small to pack such a punch. The radish in particular had a really good radish flavour and a good amount of heat and a kick that you would expect if eating a fully grown radish. It was quite strange. I used them just sprinkled on a salad.
Would I recommend trying them? Well I think its worth giving them a go, even if it’s just because you are able to grow something at this time of year. If you like salad cress then I think growing these are better because you are getting more variety of flavour and they all look a little different which looks more interesting. It does seem a little strange cutting these plants off before they get to make proper size plants but at this time of year they wouldn’t really grow much more anyway. So as a winter project they are ideal. At any other time of the year I think it would be a bit of a waste of seed though. You don’t need a lot because they have a lot of flavour which is just as well really if you wanted to feed a lot of people you would need quite a bit of space. I have 2 half seed trays on my kitchen window sill which will provide us with about 5-6 servings or should I say sprinkles.
I think they would be nice to do if you had a dinner party or maybe people round for Christmas and used them sprinkled over a starter or canapes.
I plan to try some more, maybe even mixing my own blends. I definitely like the idea of beetroot and herbs such as purple basil and coriander.
If anyone else gives them a go I would love to hear how you get on and what plants you’ve tried.
