Microgreens Overview & Resources

To-Do Date: Oct 2 at 11:59am

This semester you will be completing a multiweek project in which you grow two crops of microgreens, using the scientific method of inquiry to learn how you can maximize your yield.  

This page contains  general introduction to microgreens that you should read before beginning the experiment.  Below this are optional resources that you may find useful in completing this project.  You are not required to read through all of these resources, but you may find them useful in brainstorming ideas or as resources for your write-up.  

Microgreens  mung bean sprouts-1

 You may be familiar with sprouts- seeds of certain species such as alfalfa or mung beans are germinated and eaten when they have just started to grow their embryonic root and embryonic leaves (cotyledons). They tend to be crunchy with no green or photosynthetic tissue.

 

Microgreens are one step beyond sprouts: the seed has germinated, growing a root, but also started to pull the stored nutrients out of the cotyledons (embryonic leaves) in order to fuel the growth of the first true leaves.  microgreens growing-1

 

The microgreen is using the new root to absorb water and maybe some minerals from the soil, but is primarily living off of the cotyledons. Cotyledons are generally stock piled with starch, protein and oils from the parent plant. Initially the seedling doesn’t have any leaves for photosynthesis, so it breaks down the molecules in the cotyledons to fuel their growth of the new roots, stem and new leaves.

seed to seedling-1

Text description of image: The microgreen progresses from a developing seed-coat into a rising stem with cotyledons. The cotyledons become leaves, and other cotyledons emerge as the plant continues to grow.

Once the seedling has grown some true leaves, it can become self-supporting through photosynthesis.  Microgreens are small, easy to grow in a small space, have a fast harvest cycle and are thought to have a high vitamin, mineral and anti-oxidant content (Xiao, 2016). In addition, many people love the taste and texture of microgreens and they have become a profitable urban agriculture product due to their ease of growth and high retail sales value.

General Microgreens Resources

Growing Microgreens