by Heather Parrish
So when I say I garden on a small scale, I mean it. I have one spot along the fence line on the right side of my property that’s about 8 inches wide by 10 feet long. In this space, my youngest and I have planted parsley, basil, thyme, mint, rosemary, carrots, eggplant, sunflowers, and pineapple crowns from 5-6 pineapples. We also have tomato plants and serrano peppers growing in old flower pots. We share a love of planting seeds and watching and waiting for them to sprout. There’s something magical about the day a seed sprouts. It’s new and just beginning.
I picked up a couple of packets of microgreens seeds a few weeks back. I’ve never grown microgreens before, but our family is trying to eat more healthy foods and I thought this would not only give us some extra fiber and nutrients but would also be fun to try. After perusing the internet for the correct way to grow microgreens, I decided to try it the “Heather Way.” I’m all about reduce, reuse, recycle so I had some reuseable plastic containers from my mail order food service that I washed out and took the label off. This container was the perfect size for one package of seeds, about 3 inches by 4 inches.
The wise ole internet said there needed to be something for the seeds to sit on that would absorb water but not too much or too little and suggested a coconut mat, but I was straight out of coconut mats, so I opted for a paper towel. Of course, the unbleached recycled ones are optimal for this project, but any paper towel or paper napkin will do.
So here’s what you need: a small container that will fit in your windowsill (preferably one that gets some sun), a paper towel or paper napkin, a package of microgreens seeds ( I used red and green mustard microgreens seeds.), a sprayer filled with filtered water, and an additional container for soaking.
And here’s what you do:
Fold the paper towel or paper napkin to fit nicely into the bottom of your container. Spray the paper towel with water so that it is wet but not soaked.
Soak the seeds in filtered water for at least 30 minutes, but not longer than 1 hour.
Spread the seeds out evenly on the paper towel or paper napkin and place container in the windowsill.
Water the seeds each day several times. Try not to let the seeds dry out. Once the plants sprout, spray the sprouts each day.
Wait.
The microgreens had a very mild taste, were extremely tender, and provided extra crunch and color to the plate. Growing microgreens this way is easy and fun!