Grow Microgreens at Home: A Beginners Guide to Success 2025

Keep How to Grow Microgreens the growing medium moist but not soaked. Spray the seeds with water every morning and evening. Some seeds, like peas and sunflowers, benefit from soaking for 8–12 hours before planting. You don’t need a garden or grow lights (though they help).

Are microgreens easy to grow for beginners?

Growing microgreens is a simple and rewarding way to enjoy fresh, nutrient-rich greens at home. Known for their vibrant flavors, crisp textures, and numerous health benefits, microgreens are a fantastic addition to any diet. Microgreens are tiny, nutrient-packed plants that can be grown quickly and easily at home. Though there is potential for a high profit margin, growers who wish to sell microgreens should use resources to understand and adapt to local/regional demand. If considering crops for indoor gardening, microgreens are a great option.

Serene Spaces: How to Create a Restful, Reflective Garden Space

After production begins, ongoing market feedback and customer trends can help growers adjust crop choices and timing. Determining the market is an important first step before starting microgreen production. Once harvested and packaged, it is best to move the product to the market as soon as possible. There are manufacturers on the market that sell clamshells specifically for microgreen producers. If supplemental or sole-source lighting is being used, these can now be turned on and set to the desired photoperiod. Typically, this is 2–5 days, but it varies by species.

Brassica Microgreens

• Adapting to the specific needs of the varieties you are growing will improve your gardening skills exponentially.
• It also helps to monitor humidity levels around your plantings; high humidity can slow down evaporation from the soil surface and reduce the frequency of needed irrigation cycles.
• To start growing microgreens, basic supplies include planting trays, quality soil or growing medium, and microgreen seeds.
• If you harvest microgreens and do not plan to eat them immediately, you will need to refrigerate them to keep them fresh.
• True to their name, they’re harvested when “micro,” or about 2 inches tall—as soon as the first leaves (called cotyledons) appear.
• Yield, shelf life, and nutritional quality are affected by harvest timing (Ortiz et al. 2024), so testing different harvest times can help maximize these characteristics.

Wash all of the trays and equipment with hot soapy water and allow to air-dry. Prepare your microgreen growing space with a thorough cleaning. Many of the larger seed suppliers carry lines of microgreen seeds sold in larger quantities, either by the ounce or the pound. When you are shopping for microgreen seeds, buying from a reputable supplier is important. There are many great places to get microgreen seeds.

Managing Light & Temperature

The list is extensive, but here's a comprehensive breakdown by plant family, which often share similar growing characteristics and flavors. Though microgreens are tiny, the concentration of flavors makes them a favorite of chefs and food lovers around the world. Growing microgreens takes minimal equipment, and they're a great starter crop if you're new to gardening. Whether you're preparing garnish at a restaurant or meal prepping at home, microgreens add texture, flavor, and nutrition. You don’t need FDA approval to sell microgreens, especially if you’re a small-scale grower selling directly to consumers.