Homegrown Microgreens Made Easy

A Nutrient-Packed Addition to Your Diet

Microgreens are the young seedling shoots of edible vegetables and herbs, usually harvested just 7-14 days after germination when they reach about 3-5 inches tall. These tiny plantlets pack a powerful nutritional punch, containing many times more vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients than their mature vegetable counterparts. They’re really easy and inexpensive to grow in your own kitchen with the right kit, which we’ll discuss later on. They’re not just a trendy garnish, they offer concentrated health benefits, including protection against heart disease, reduced inflammation, blood sugar regulation, and even potential cancer-fighting properties, thanks to their high levels of phytonutrients. Growing them at home ensures just-picked freshness and flavour, eliminates pesticides, and it’s a cost effective way to boost your nutrient intake.

Why Grow Microgreens at Home?

Homegrown microgreens provide unparalleled freshness. You harvest them right before eating, preserving their peak flavour and nutrition. They’re easy to cultivate indoors all year round, requiring little more than a windowsill. Nutritionally, they can help with weight management, enhance immune function, and support skin health through their antioxidant-rich profiles. Whether its sprucing up your salads and stir fries or simply sprinkling on your sumptuous sourdough sandwiches, the fresh, crisp flavours of these home-harvested wonders is always a delight.

Popular Microgreen Varieties And Their Benefits

We offer a great range of organic microgreens seeds to keep things interesting with your indoor kitchen garden harvests. Here’s the lowdown on a few of our favourite varieties that are simple to grow and bursting with flavour and health benefits. Each offers unique tastes and nutrient profiles to add zest and variety to your meals.

Sunflower Microgreens

Sunflower microgreens have a delicious nutty, mildly sweet flavour with a succulent and crunchy texture, making them ideal for salads or as a snack. We love them with smashed avocado and poached egg on artisanal sourdough toast. They’re protein rich and loaded with vitamins A, B, C, and E, plus antioxidants that support heart health and reduce inflammation. Sunflower microgreens are particularly rich in vitamin E (an antioxidant) and magnesium, providing a significant chunk of daily magnesium needs. Vitamin E helps combat oxidative stress, reducing inflammation and supporting immune function. They also contain plant sterols, which lower LDL cholesterol promoting cardiovascular health. High calcium levels (up to 145 mg/100g fresh weight) benefit bone health and energy production. Research indicates antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties, potentially aiding in infection prevention.

Russian Red Kale Microgreens

Red Kale microgreens deliver a mild kale taste with a hint of earthiness. Perfect in salads and slaws and mixed with peppery varieties like Mizuna. As a nutritional powerhouse, they contain higher concentrations of vitamins A, C, K, and antioxidants than mature kale, aiding in vision protection, bone health, with anti-inflammatory effects. Vitamin K supports strong bones and blood clotting, while vitamin C enhances immune function and collagen production. Glucosinolates convert to isothiocyanates, aiding liver detoxification and reducing inflammation. Sulforaphane, abundant here, exhibits anti-cancer effects by protecting cells from damage (in vitro studies). Research shows anti-diabetic and anti-cholinergic activity, potentially helping to manage blood sugar and neurological health. Flavonoids and carotenoids further support skin health and vision protection. Kale is a fashionable health vegetable for good reasons, but many people don’t realise that its microgreens are supercharged with even more nutrition.

Beetroot Microgreens

With their sweet, earthy flavour and vibrant red stems, beetroot microgreens add colour and crunch to just about any salad or stir fry. They’re rich in vitamins C and K, folate, and betalains, antioxidants that may lower cholesterol and support detoxification. They are a prime source of betalains (betanin and betaxanthins), potent antioxidants that scavenge free radicals, prevent DNA damage, and reduce LDL oxidation. Betalains exhibit anti-tumour activity by inhibiting cell proliferation and inducing apoptosis in vitro. They also show anti-diabetic effects, lowering blood glucose in animal models. Vitamins C and K, along with folate, support detoxification and heart health. Studies confirm antihypertensive and hypolipidemic properties, aiding blood pressure management. Betalains boost immunity and aid liver function, with human trials showing reduced triglycerides and LDL after consumption.

Green Pea Microgreens

Green pea microgreens offer a fresh, sweet pea flavour with tender shoots. These are a favourite of ours when coupled with crispy bacon and strong cheese, either in a sandwich or creamy dressing salad (sorry vegans). High in protein, amino acids, and vitamins, they exhibit anti-obesity, anti-diabetic, and antioxidant activities, making them great for metabolic health. As well as their low glycemic index, they contain polyphenols, phenolic acids and bioactive compounds that have anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Pea shoots have become ubiquitous as a garnish in so many restaurants these days that its easy to forget they are a high protein superfood in their own right. Homegrown pea microgreens are incomparably delicious.

Mizuna Microgreens

Mizuna brings a mild, peppery mustard note that’s perfect for Asian inspired recipes or to add a bit of bite to salads. Packed with vitamins A, C, and K, plus glucosinolates, they support immune function and may have anti-cancer properties. Mizuna is loaded with glucosinolates, which break down into isothiocyanates, offering anti-cancer benefits by inducing apoptosis and inhibiting proliferation (in vitro studies). These compounds also provide anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial effects. Vitamins A, C, and K support immune function, with phenolic compounds enhancing antioxidant capacity. Research shows anti-hyperglycemic properties, aiding blood sugar regulation. Glucosinolates may help prevent chronic inflammation, with studies linking them to reduced obesity-related risks.

Pak Choi Microgreens

Pak Choi microgreens have a mild, cabbage-like taste with juicy stems. Perfect in salad mixes, coleslaws, sandwiches and stir fries. They’re an excellent source of vitamins A, C, K, and calcium, promoting bone strength and digestive health. Rich in vitamins C (32 mg/cup), K (32 mcg), A (156 mcg), and folate (46 mcg), meeting a significant proportion of your daily needs. Vitamin C acts as an antioxidant, reducing oxidative stress, while vitamin K promotes bone and heart health. Phenolics contribute to digestive health and calcium absorption for bone strength. One of our most popular varieties.

Recommended Growing Kit

To make a satisfying start growing your own microgreens at home, consider these user-friendly kits that offer a hassle-free introduction to this healthy hobby. They’re all simple and intuitive to use and you’ll soon be enjoying the freshest, healthiest, tastiest, organic microgreens.

Micropod Growing Trays, 4-Pack Bundle

This soilless system Micropod bundle is perfect for getting started and offers a premium solution, ideal if you’re already committed to having regular microgreen harvests. It includes four compact trays made from BPA-free, dishwasher-safe materials. Simply add water to the fill level and then add seeds to the unique MicroGrid inner tray – nothing else is needed. The tray itself has a handy divider if you want to have multiple varieties per tray. Harvest in 7-12 days for a continuous supply. The bundle comes with free seeds for beetroot, green pea, lentil, and sunflower, allowing you to grow multiple varieties at once. It’s eco-friendly, reusable, and ideal for small spaces, delivering nutrient-dense greens with minimal effort. Check out our additional bulk packs or small packs of Organic Microgreen Seeds for additional supplies.

Bavicchi GEO Smart Greens Kit

Newly released, this innovative microgreens kit from Bavicchi is designed for kitchen convenience, and it comes with our four pack selection of organic starter seeds. It features a green reservoir tray and two square inner trays for growing two varieties simultaneously, or keeping a steady crop rotation system with one tray growing while the other is in harvesting mode. Each tray bottom is filled with a layer of water-retaining clay substrate (similar to hydroponics) which draws up water from the reservoir, encouraging a stronger, more stable root bed with less need for frequent watering. The trays sit at two different levels in the reservoir depending on orientation, to allow for ‘dip and drain’ periodic soaking of the root systems. Sprinkle seeds on the substrate medium and you’re good to grow. It’s kitchen friendly, and promotes hygienic, intelligent, soilless growing. Perfect for fresh, nutrient rich microgreens all year round, enhancing meals with abundant vitamins and minerals. It’s a great choice for effortless home cultivation of your favourite microgreens.

Freshlife Automatic Sprouter

For those seeking an automated, hands-off approach to cultivating microgreens at home, the Tribest FreshLife 3000 Automatic Sprouter (FL-3000) is a great choice. This soil-free system features an overhead automatic watering mechanism that intermittently hydrates seeds, typically for 5 minutes every 30 minutes, ensuring optimal growth without manual attention to watering, except periodic reservoir refills. A small pump on a timer emits water through a rotating sprinkler above the seeds ensuring uniform saturation across the tray. The growing tray is helpfully divided by ridges into four sections, perfect for the four starter varieties of organic microgreen seeds that we include, allowing you to grow multiple varieties simultaneously, which can be harvested even sooner than with most other growing systems.

Incorporating home-grown microgreens into your routine is a simple step toward better health. Start with these varieties and kits, and quickly enjoy the fresh, flavourful rewards of these nutritional powerhouses. Make any meal more memorable.