For those who love eating fresh green vegetables but are afraid of the taste, how to grow microgreens in water can be an interesting alternative. Microgreens, also known as baby greens, are tiny versions of several of the more popular green vegetables grown in the home garden. But you probably eat them as tiny, barely-live plants, grown just for a few days. How to grow microgreens in water is a simple step-by-step process that anyone can do, even if they’re not particularly interested in plants or gardening. Even if you’ve never grown vegetables before, learning how to grow microgreens in water is an easy way to get started with indoor gardening.

Microgreens don’t have a hard stem, like spinach or chard, so it’s easier for them to sprout from seed. Like other baby seeds, microgreens are very fragile and need to be housed in a special solution to ensure they survive the rigors of indoor growing. The seed used for growing microgreens is small enough to be stored in a small airtight jar. When microgreens sprout, they will almost look alive when you take them out of their jar. Microgreens will usually only produce a few leaves at a time, which makes harvesting them very important to ensure you get plenty of fresh, delicious greens.

To start how to grow microgreens in water, you’ll need to put about twenty-five percent sphagnum moss into a plastic airtight container and lightly cover it with half inch of gravel. This allows the roots of the microgreen seeds to properly drain and spread out. After placing the moss and gravel into the container, add one-fourth cup of medium density fiber potting soil or compost. This mixture will allow the seeds to sit comfortably in the moist moss and allow them to break up and spread out, allowing for an even growing medium. It’s important to have the soil and medium density fiber mix completely mixed by the time the seeds arrive at your garden.

You may find that your first plant doesn’t sprout as many leaves as you would like. Don’t be discouraged – this is completely normal. With how to grow microgreens in water, the roots are not allowed to stretch out too far out of the dirt. If they did, the sprouts could easily be damaged. The plants will continue to sprout until the moss absorbs all of the water, leaving just the light gray root cells of the micro green plants.

You can plant your seedlings either in a separate pot or directly into the outdoors on your kitchen garden border. Keep in mind that microgreens do not like direct sunlight. They are also rather sensitive to the cold, so placing them on a counter with indirect sunlight may be the best way to encourage their growth indoors. Another concern you should have when growing microgreens indoors is making sure you do not give them too much fertilizer. They are still very sensitive plants and will require a certain amount of nutrients for healthy growth.

You will have to wait for the tiny sprouts to appear before planting. You can begin growing your microgreens as soon as you have taken the plant out of the container. For the first week, keep the new plant in a dark place out of direct sun. You can place the new plant in small batches so that the soil will not become too dense and make it hard for the sprouts to sprout. After the first week of growing microgreens in water, place them into a plastic pot and water well.

Microgreen salads will usually bloom for about two weeks. When the sprouts have bloomed, transfer them to a small bowl or plastic bag. Set your pots upside down, making sure the mature plant does not touch the bottom. Allow the spots to dry up completely before planting in more soil. Make sure you are harvesting at the correct time – late winter through early spring, before the sprouts have a chance to dry out.

When harvesting, do not pull the plant off of the stems. If you are harvesting true leaves, do not remove them until the leaves are completely dry. Harvesting should take about a week, even if you are only harvesting true leaves. When harvesting, do not clip off any part of the leaf, but do not remove the entire leaf either. When planting, keep the true leaves behind and only cut off the immature, or short, leafed branches.