How To Harvest And Store Microgreens

Big on nutrition and flavor, microgreens can be expensive to purchase. The good news is that they are also easy to grow at home as all they need is a tiny space, a sunny window, a shallow container, some potting mixture, and seeds. To save time and money, you can even buy these vegetable seeds online.

Microgreens are a great crop for urban gardeners who are limited to a window or balcony.

Microgreens include a variety of edible immature greens, harvested with scissors less than a month after germination when the plants are up to 2 inches tall. The stem, the seed leaves, and the first set of true leaves are all edible.

The best microgreen seeds to plant in Malaysia are salad greens leafy vegetables, herbs, and even edible flowers. But if you are a beginner it is best to start by growing just one type of vegetable seed such as broccoli, sunflower, chia or buckwheat.

Harvesting Microgreens

When microgreen seeds are growing, we hand-select the best ones to use on the plate, and the whole plant is usually picked.

This will make room for new plants to grow. To be able to do this, it is key to give each variety its section of the bed when you plant vegetable seeds. You don’t want to disturb plants that are still growing.

Most microgreens grow in about 7 to 14 days until they are ready to harvest. Most of the time, the gardeners harvest them when the first set of “true leaves” is growing.

A good tip is to pick and taste your microgreens every few days to decide when they are most flavorful and tender. It is best if you keep notes so you know when your next crop will be ready for harvest.

Remember it depends on the growers when it comes to the best time for harvesting microgreens. Some people prefer to harvest from 18 to 25 days. Also, germination and harvesting time varied for different microgreens.

How To Harvest Microgreens?

The best thing about growing microgreens and sprouting seeds is that it’s very easy to do it. Harvesting microgreens is simple. You just need a pair of scissors or a sharp knife to cut off the stems above the soil.

We recommend cutting off just the primary leaves. The trick here is to work carefully, taking special attention not to squeeze or crush the plants as you go. 

Vegetable Garden Care And Maintenance Tips

As you can see, growing microgreens are easy. Here are some tricks to harvest microgreens.

1. Trimming and Cleaning

Once you finish trimming the microgreens, you need to start cleaning. You can do this by laying a damp paper towel on a tray and placing it near the rinsing area.

It is important to give each plant a quick dip in cool water, then place them, one by one, on top of the towel. Remember, plants should be spread out and not touching one another.

2. Microgreens Leaning

Don’t worry if you see your microgreens leaning randomly as it is not common to see all of them growing firmly upright under the sun.

You have to remember that most microgreens are leaning to random sides because they are stretching out following the light source. The only way to avoid this is to provide a light source that is uniformly shined on the greens. This could be much more effective and reduce the loss.

3. Storing Microgreens

As with all vegetables, microgreens will last longer if stored correctly. The best way to store them is by keeping microgreens between damp paper towels. You need to ensure they are cold and covered in a container or a resealable bag.

When you store your microgreens this way they will last in the fridge for about 7 days.

Make sure to keep greens covered right up until you eat them. This way they will not wilt or dry out during service.

Keep in mind that it is normal to have moist harvested microgreens. So before you store or pack them you can also use a fan dry. Moisture will reduce the shelf life by promoting the mold growing on microgreens. 

4. Use of Microgreens

As mentioned, the best microgreen seeds to plant in Malaysia have many uses. You can do a salad with these little plants or you can add beautiful colour and delicate flavour to high-end composed dishes.

Besides, microgreens are a great way to improve the nutritional value of simple dishes like eggs or potato salad. Use your imagination because you can enjoy microgreens every time you eat.

Planning on planting microgreens? Feel free to take a look at our high-quality microgreen seeds.

Happy planting!