How To Grow Micro Herbs At Home

Micro herbs are the quick fix for anyone with a desire to grow and eat your own food. We have been using micro greens and especially micro herbs on our dishes for a few years now.

Growing micro herbs at home could not be easier and requires little space, with most herbs taking around 10-14 days to be ready to harvest. Microgreens are young seedlings which are packed with flavor. They are often referred to as a super food due to their high levels of nutritional content.

Fair warning I am not a great chef and these are just the ones we grow and eat at home, so nothing too out of the ordinary, but hopefully you will feel confident to give it a go!

How To Grow Micro Herbs

1. Prepare a shallow dish by putting some holes in it. We reuse the plastic containers from mushrooms as these are sturdy and you can put holes in easily. They are also wide enough for the windowsill!
2. Micro herb growing is different to usual planting as you only need about an inch of soil in the bottom of the container. Some people experiment with using coconut matting and various differences, this is more for large scale production. Use a normal peat free soil.
3. Wet the soil thoroughly as once you put your micro green herb seeds on top you only want to mist them and not water them. This is to reduce the amount that they scatter and move, you want to avoid clumping of seeds.
4. Sow the seeds more thickly then you would for herbs you hope to grow on to full plants. You can buy seeds specially for micro greens and they are more suitable for human consumption.
5. Mist over the top of the seeds. We cover for the first few days and keep an eye on them.
6. When seedlings break the surface, take the cover off and move to a sunny spot.
7. Keep misting the seedlings every few days and make sure they don’t dry out. Turn the container to face the sunlight throughout the growing period.
8. 14-21 days later your micro herbs should be tall enough to cut and eat. Harvest them above the soil with a clean pair of scissors. Make sure to rinse before eating.

Why Grow Micro Herbs, What Are The Benefits

1. A year round harvest of fresh herbs cannot be beaten. No matter the weather outside!
2. The kids can grow micro herbs quickly and therefore don’t lose interest and forget to water them and leave them to die. We all have busy lives so I would say that we enjoy herbs that are easy and quick to grow too.
3. Cheap way to get fresh vegetables into your diet. We do not buy microgreens at the supermarket as they work out as an expensive treat, but growing them at home is a much more affordable alternative.
4. Packed with nutrients, micro herbs have all of that stored up potential from the seed germ, so they are intense.
5. Microgreens do not tend to be cooked as they are tender already, so there is no degradation of nutrients. Meaning we get the full benefits of the herb.
6. We have been growing cress since we were young and this is a fun way to get people into growing their own food. Even those who lack a bit of confidence.
7. Space saving! Micro herbs take up as much space as you have. We reuse a plastic tray that comes from the supermarket and you need very small amounts of soil. So micro herbs are the ideal way to grow in a small space, be it a flat with no balcony or a house already packed with house plants.
8. Micro herbs may be small but the flavor is amazing. So a little goes a long way. Parsley, basil or cress as a garnish when a micro green is such a powerful punch to any dish.
9. Vibrant burst of color. Think outside of the box here and grow a red basil, the shoots are lovely to perk up a salad in the summer time. Couple those micro herbs with some chive flowers or borage flowers and you have a rainbow salad immediately waiting for you!

Which Herbs To Grow As Microgreens

I love a variety in my green house and my windowsill so we try to grow a few at a time. Just remember a little goes a long way with these flavor packed micro herbs.

1. Dark Opal Basil are great for adding color and flavor to any dish.
2. Micro Garlic Chives have all the flavor of their fully grown counterparts.
3. Micro parsley is a great herb to garnish dishes with. Rich tomato based sauces to lighter salads.
4. Micro Coriander / Cilantro goes well on top of any Indian cuisine and will give a real lift to a hot dish.
5. Cress – obviously one of our favorites as we love to get the kids involved and there are some fun sets you can buy as well!
6. Pea shoots are not technically micro herbs but they are still one of our tastiest as they are just so fresh and vibrant.
7. Fennel makes for an interesting micro herb with it’s intense aniseed flavor. It also has those wonderful feathery fronds that make it so popular. A really interesting element to any fish dish, soup or salad.
8. Broccoli makes a great microgreen that will be a welcome addition to your taste buds.
9. Radish as a microgreen is super tasty and vibrant in so many dishes.

Micro herbs are super popular and will be a permanent fixture as they are easy to grow locally. They could prove ideal for all homes with little to no outside space as they require so little in the way of space and sunshine. So why not try and grow your own microgreens and get some fresh herbs into your diet.