Growing Sprouts and Microgreens
If you have been living in a cave and haven’t tried Microgreens or sprouts yet, I recommend you seek them out, either in your local grocer, or at a local restaurant to try. You will find them used in soups, salads, sandwiches, smoothies, Budha bowls, tacos, sauces, and so much more, both as a main ingredient, and as a garnish.
Because they are very young, the shoots are incredibly tender, and have more mild flavors than what some of the spicier options like radishes and arugula grow to possess. Yet, they are full of yum and each seed type brings a whole new depth to your dish.
And although they are tiny, Microgreens and sprouts are incredibly healthy! They contain all the same nutrients and health benefits that their older brother plants have, but in a much more compact version.
This is all great news for beginner gardeners and health-conscious busy folk. You will have full-fledged baby plants ready to eat in as little as a week, so you don’t need to worry about what will happen to your plant when you go on vacation in 2 months. So, let’s get on to what you need to have and do for each of these options.
Sprouts
Sprouts are essentially the first baby stage of the seed starting to grow into a plant, and you use the entire seed and plant when consuming, so there is no waste, and also no re-growth option. But this also means that they are ready to eat that much quicker!
Lots of people focus on creating sprouts from the legume family, which are just chock full of protein and flavor, and hold up better than Microgreens for cooking with. But you can certainly go wild and sprout any kind of seed!
Items you will need:
Very clean large mouth jar with drainage lid or cheesecloth cover, clean natural fabric bag, or bowl w/ colander
2-3 Tbsp of Sprouting seeds—We recommend buying seeds for this from sellers that specifically produce them for sprouting and eating raw as they put careful attention to cleansing and making sure the seeds are free of e.coli, salmonella, and other harmful bacteria that would otherwise be cooked away in meal prep.
Popular sprout varieties—Broccoli, clover, kale, mustard, onion, radish, sesame, lentils, mung beans, peas, chickpeas, alfalfa, wheat, buckwheat, wild rice, millet,
Purified or distilled water is always recommended
Storage container
Paper towel or cloth towels
Part A—Starting Instructions:
To get started, after you select your seeds, you’ll want to soak them for a while to help them wake up from dormancy quicker. The smaller the seed (or bean or pea), the less time they will need to soak and less water too.
As an average, you can generally just plan to soak all seeds in 2-3 times the amount of water that the seeds take up in the jar, and plan to soak them overnight.There are a handful of methods and containers people use for growing sprouts, but the most important things to remember are that:
Your seeds MUST stay moist throughout the WHOLE process to continue growing, so don’t allow them to go more than 12 hours between rinses.
Your seeds are living plants so they also need oxygen in order to grow so they cannot sit in water or they will DROWN.
You should expect to rinse your sprouts at least every 12 hours but doing it even more often will help speed things up.
They just need minimal light to grow, so about anywhere in your house should be sufficient, as long as they remain in a moderate temperature, preferably in the 70s.
Part B—Specific Container Instructions:
Large mouth jar with drainage lid or cheesecloth cover—
Choose a jar that does not taper at the top much so that it’s easy to get the sprouts when they explode in size.
You can use a natural, loose knit, cloth cover like cheesecloth and just rubber band it on, or purchase an inexpensive screw on drainage lid from somewhere like Amazon.
From here, this method is as simple as filling the jar with cold fresh water, swishing and swirling it to rinse the seeds well, and then leaving it sitting tilted where it can drain out the excess water over the next few hours. We recommend leaning it at an angle against something, over a dish rack or somewhere near your sink, or even sitting it upside down in a colander over a bowl. The idea is that the water will drain away from the seeds but there will still be plenty of access for fresh oxygen to flow in.
Clean, natural fabric bag that closes—
With his method, you will put your newly soaked seeds into this loose knit, natural cloth bag, and at least twice a day rinse or soak the entire bag for a minute in cold fresh water, while giving it a gentle shake up to make sure things aren’t clumping together.
Hang the bag over the sink or place it in a dish drainer or colander to drain out.
Air will circulate well throughout the bag.
Remember to rinse or briefly soak and shake the entire bag at least every 12 hours. Your seeds will thank you if you do it more.
Bowl with colander—
Similarly to the other methods, your end goal here is to rinse well and stir up the seeds at least a couple times a day, and then let them drain well. By putting the seeds in a colander over a bowl, you don’t have to worry about where the water will drain out to.
Note that if your colander has large holes, you may need to place a layer of cheesecloth as a liner in the colander before putting your seeds in. This way they will not fall out into the bowl.
At least every 12 hours, empty the drain bowl out, and run your colander of seeds under fresh cold water. Be sure to stir them up well with either clean hands, or a clean spoon/spatula. Place colander back over the bowl until next time.
Watch Out For:
Seeds/sprouts getting dried out—Think of them like amphibians; these little seeds need time to dry out a little so they can absorb oxygen, but they require regular rinses also. If they dry out too much, they will die—you cannot restart their growth.
Seeds like chia and flax form a gel coating when they come in contact with water and you will find they are harder to sprout.
If you sprout kidney beans, they contain a toxin in their raw form so the sprouts must be cooked for at least 10 minutes before eating to kill the toxin.
Similarly, quinoa contains a very large concentration of saponins that may make many people feel ill, so probably skip these too.
You can harvest really at any stage, and as soon as 1-3 days for most seed types, but most people like to wait until seeds seem to have almost all sprouted and grown 1/2”-2” long.
Rinse and drain your sprouts one last time and spread them out on a towel to air dry for close to an hour.
Store your sprouts in a well-sealed container w/ paper or cloth towel inside the container to absorb any additional moisture to prolong their life and keep them healthy. They should last about a week.
Microgreens
Where as sprouts we consider the babies of the vegetable world, Microgreens we consider to be the toddlers. In your additional patience for the longer process, you are allowing for the embryonic seedling to develop it’s true leaves and grow its’ collection of nutrients so it becomes even healthier for your consumption.
Items you will need:
2 Very clean trays or wide, flat-ish bowls like a baking dish that fit inside one another
Optional: 2nd tray with holes that fits inside outer tray, to allow for bottom watering
Lid, humidity dome, Saran Wrap, or aluminum foil
About 10 tbsps of Sprouting seeds for a 10x20 tray—We recommend buying seeds for this from sellers that specifically produce them for sprouting and eating raw as they put careful attention to cleansing and making sure the seeds are free of e.coli, salmonella, and other harmful bacteria that would otherwise be cooked away in meal prep.
Popular sprout varieties—Broccoli, clover, kale, mustard, onion, radish, beet, chard, cabbage, cilantro, fenugreek, basil, sunflower
Grow mat or growth medium—rockwool, coconut, jute, hemp, even paper towel can work
Purified or distilled water is always recommended
Towels
Scissors for harvesting
Find a kit w/ the trays and mats here: https://www.growthymehydroponics.com/shop-all/p/diy-microgreen-kit
Instructions:
To get started, after you select your seeds, you’ll want to soak them for a while to help them wake up from dormancy quicker. The smaller the seed (or bean or pea), the less time they will need to soak and less water too.
As an average, you can generally just plan to soak all seeds in 2-3 times the amount of water that the seeds take up in the jar, and plan to soak them overnight.Prepare your mat by cutting it to the size of your container, and soaking it well. Do not leave the tray or bowl with water standing in it.
Drain your seeds and then spread a few table spoons of seeds out evenly in your container. We recommend about 2 tablespoons for a 6x6” area.
Cover the container with a lid, Saran Wrap, or aluminum foil to help keep in humidity.
It’s important to give your moist seeds a few days in the dark next, before sending them into the light. Because we aren’t covering them in soil, the next best thing is to put them in the dark and weigh them down.
Set a smaller bowl or such that just fits inside your outer tray/bowl inside so that it pushes the seeds into the moist mat, and then cover the whole thing with a towel, or put it in a dark pantry for 3-5 days.
Some varieties of seeds may not require this as much, but unless you want to do the research on your seed choices, it’s safe to assume they prefer it, and it certainly won’t hurt your seeds!Place by a window (south-facing if possible for best light) if it’s warm out, but if it’s cold, we recommend placing your seeds near a light or grow light instead.
After 3-5 days you should be seeing the container full of lots of tiny sprouts. This is a good time to remove the lid and leave it off.
Spray your Microgreens thoroughly every day, and once they have clearly taken root in your grow mat, you can then just pour in water, let it sit for a minute, and pour out the excess.
Watch Out For:
Seeds/microcreens getting dried out—These baby plants need even more water as they are trying to grow into real plants.
Seeds like chia and flax form a gel coating when they come in contact with water and you will find they are harder to sprout.
If you sprout kidney beans, they contain a toxin in their raw form so the sprouts must be cooked for at least 10 minutes before eating to kill the toxin.
Similarly, quinoa contains a very large concentration of saponins that may make many people feel ill, so probably skip these too.
You can harvest when your greens start forming their true leaves, which takes approximately a week, and some people may wait for the greens to get up to 3” long around 2-3 weeks old.
Snip the greens just above the soil line with a pair of clean sterile shears.
Rinse and drain your newly trimmed Microgreens well and spread them out on a towel to air dry for up to an hour.
They are best eaten fresh when they are most flavorful, but you can store your microgreens in a well-sealed container or plastic bag w/ paper or cloth towel inside the container to absorb any additional moisture to prolong their life and keep them healthy. They should last about a week.
If mold starts to form on the growing mat or around the base of the Microgreens, go ahead and harvest from clean areas far away from that and wash them well, and dispose of the remaining greens and grow mat. Time to start fresh.
Still want to learn more, or have quick access to lots of recipes? Check out the book we carry, Sprouts, Shoots & Microgreens: Tiny Plants to Grow and Eat in Your Home Kitchen.
