At least four hours of direct sunlight per day and easy container or tray growing make microgreens—the young shoots of radishes, peas or even corn—an easy and delicious late-season harvest crop.
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GROW YOUR OWN corn from seed to harvest in 10 days! It sounds like a line you’d find on the back of a tabloid, perhaps one that features aliens on its cover. But, honestly, in less than a fortnight, you really could be enjoying a feast of homegrown produce.
Now, those 10-day vegetable crops don’t include foot-long corncobs or baseball-sized beets. The produce I’m referring to is the latest trend in vegetable gardening: microgreens, a fancy name for seedling vegetables. Not only have they reconfigured our perception of what “edible” and “vegetable” mean, they have opened up a whole new world of dining pleasure. Here’s what you need to know.
Why Grow Micro?
The beauty of growing microgreens is that you get to eat parts of vegetables that are palatable only when very young. For example, the leaves of mature corn and pea plants are appealing only to a cow. But harvest those leaves and stems young and your taste buds will thank you.
It’s never too late to plant microgreens. They can even be sown into the fall when traditional vegetable gardens are being put to bed. And they’re easy to grow.
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The Essentials
Location Microgreen gardens can be grown even on the smallest of balconies or decks, as long as they receive four hours of direct sunlight per day.
Container Any ice cream pail will do, but if you adhere to the Japanese principle of feeding the eyes before you feed the stomach, you’ll grow your microgreens in decorative pots.
Soil Soilless mixtures are ideal for growing microgreens. Not only do they make for a lightweight container but also a disease- and weed-free garden.
Planting Cool-season vegetables, such as peas and radishes, can be grown from early spring until late October. Warm-season vegetables, such as corn and Swiss chard, can be sown from late spring until first frost.
Schedule Stagger the growth of two container gardens, sown a week apart, for a continuous supply of greens throughout the seasons. Once microgreens are harvested, immediately sow new seed.
Two to Try: Jim Hole’s Picks
Common vegetables such as lettuce, Swiss chard, arugula and beets are excellent choices, but don’t be afraid to try corn, radishes, broccoli and peas. Here are two of my favourites.
“Easter Egg II” Rainbow Radishes This is a premium blend of radish seeds in a spectrum of cherry red, white, plum purple and rose pink. All are white-fleshed with a crunchy texture and a mild flavour. Enjoy greens in 10 days, radishes in 30.
Sugar Sprint Snap Peas These early maturing peas have a bush-type foliage and grow well in pots or small spaces. The sweet pods are nearly three inches long and abundant. Shoots can be harvested in 14 days; peas in 60. wl
For more information and ideas from Jim Hole, visit enjoygardening.com.
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