The Best Microgreens Kit Options to Grow Indoors
Updated: Feb. 10, 2022
Find out what are microgreens, and why you should grow and eat them. Plus, check out a variety of the best microgreens kit options to grow at home.
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What Are Microgreens?
Microgreens are immature, near-perfect seedlings of your favorite full-grown vegetables and herbs. (Think something between sprouts and baby greens.) Packed with nutrients and flavor, they adorn plates at gourmet restaurants. Even if you’ve never tried growing vegetables before, you can succeed with a microgreens kit. Growing microgreens is also a fun winter garden idea to keep your green thumb active.
For another fun indoor garden idea, check out the best mushroom growing kits and logs.
Are Microgreens Easy to Grow?
The only way they’d be any easier is if they’d sow themselves. They need a few inches of clean soil, four to six hours of sunlight and a hit of mist from a spray bottle every day to keep them happy. Grow them almost anywhere—on a windowsill, countertop or table.
- Select a sunny location—one that gets four to six hours of sunlight a day. A south-facing window is best.
- Select a proper planting vessel: a shallow plastic tray, a disposable pie plate or a to-go container. Provide adequate drainage by poking small holes in the bottom.
- Fill with 2 inches of clean potting medium and smooth until level. Scatter seeds and lightly press into soil. Use a packaged mix so the greens will be ready to harvest at the same time or grow a single crop. Spread a fine ¹/8-in. layer of soil on top.
- Keep soil consistently moist by watering daily with mist from a spray bottle.
- Snip with scissors when 1 to 2 inches tall. Stagger planting to harvest weekly.
For more tips, check out our step-by-step guide on how to grow microgreens.
Benefits of Growing Microgreens
Two words: Instant gratification. You’re harvesting these little guys in your DIY vegetable garden when they’re only 1½ to 2 inches tall, so you’re getting them on your plate a couple of weeks after sowing.
Psst—we found indoor garden kits that are perfect for gifting and seed-starter kits to help you jump-start your spring garden.
How to Eat Microgreens
Microgreens are delicate, so eat them raw and within a few days of harvesting. After snipping, gently rinse and pat dry with a paper towel. Top soups and salads, fill sandwiches or use microgreens to garnish appetizers or main dishes. Delicate to intense, sweet to spicy, their flavors resemble what you would expect from the full-grown plant. Foodies and chefs love the array of colors and textures they come in, too.
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Microgreens Nutrition
Researchers with the University of Maryland College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the U.S. Department of Agriculture say many microgreens contain four to 40 times more nutrients—vitamins C, E, K and beta carotene—than their mature counterparts.
Types of Microgreens to Grow
If you’re just getting started, give one of these seed varieties a try:
- Arugula
- Basil
- Beet
- Broccoli
- Cabbage
- Carrot
- Chard
- Cilantro
- Clover
- Cress
- Kale
- Lettuce
- Peas
- Spinach
- Sunflower
- Radish
Microgreens Growing Kits
Any seed can be grown as a microgreen, but some packaged mixes are best suited for sprouting and provide a blend of popular varieties or the plants have similar germination rates. Here are our favorite microgreens kit options.
Microgreens Salad Mix Kit
Start off the new year with nutritious microgreens. This salad mix kit includes organic peas, fava beans, buckwheat, and sunflower seeds, along with a plastic growing tray, lid, soil pellets and a spray bottle. Psst—check out 9 gardening subscription boxes you’ll love to unbox.
Back to the Roots Organic Microgreen Kits
We already love Back to the Roots’ mushroom growing kits, so we’re eager to try out their organic microgreens, too. Just like with the mushrooms, everything you need is already in the box. The Mighty Mix value pack comes with two seed packets, soil discs and growing trays. Just mist seeds with water, cover the tray and get ready to harvest microgreens in 7 to 14 days.
Urban Leaf Microgreens Growing Kit
Low light? Limited growing space? No problem. Urban Leaf’s microgreens kit is designed to fit on small apartment windowsills and is foolproof, even for beginners. Each package includes radish, lentil, kale and mustard seeds, along with bamboo trays.
Mini Microgreens Growing Kit
Trying microgreens for the first time and unsure which type you will enjoy the most? These single-serving growing kits are perfect for you! Choose one or a few to see which flavor you like the best! These kits are an affordable way to try something new and are ideal for single gardeners or couples.
Hamama Microgreens Kit
If you don’t want to deal with messy soil or seed packets, try this microgreen growing kit from Hamama. You’ll get “seed quilts” and a reusable container—just add water. You can also choose to subscribe to get three new seed quilts delivered every month!
Next, check out 12 places to buy plants and seeds online.
Originally Published: January 06, 2022
