Microgreen (also called microgreens, green cabbage or leafy greens) are young, edible seedlings that you can easily grow and harvest a few days Not only do they taste incredibly delicious, but in their early stages they are also packed with lots of vitamins and minerals . Cultivation is guaranteed to be successful even without a green thumb!
seed develops into a seedling , from which a sprout (or also a sprout ) and then this continues to grow until so-called microgreens develop, which you can also refer to as leafy greens, green cabbage, baby greens or, most internationally , Microgreen .
Microgreen grow in soil , on mats or fleece and need sufficient daylight for their growth. Some varieties even do without any substrate at all. After about 7-14 days they are harvested or cut off at a size of 2.5-7.5 cm , just like you used to do with your first packet of cress at school.
The different Microgreen have a variety of interesting flavors , such as mild, refreshing, hot-spicy or sweet . Their taste is much more intense than that of ripe vegetables. You can give your favorite dishes completely new flavor nuances and a greater variety of colors with the crunchy green cabbage!
The use of Microgreen is varied: in salads , as a decoration on soups, smoothies, on (butter) bread, in sandwiches , dips & toppings , juiced in a juice shot or even as the icing on the cake in a martini glass 😉
How healthy are Microgreen ?
Probably no other vegetable is as lively as freshly harvested microgreens... just growing as greens on the windowsill, when freshly picked it has an extremely high density of nutrients , green chlorophyll and solar energy that you will never find in any other type of vegetable from the supermarket . Chlorophyll in particular is a real immune booster because the seedlings gain energy from sunlight and convert it into green chlorophyll, which gives you a full charge of energy when consumed fresh.
In America, Microgreen one of the new superfoods (and more and more in this country too), as they contain many times more vitamins and good ingredients than their full-grown big vegetable brothers and sisters.
According to a study by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), an organization of the United States Department of Agriculture, Microgreen 5 times more nutrients than the leaves of mature vegetables for the same weight . High numbers of vitamins such as vitamins C, E and K and carotenoids were found in 25 commercially used Microgreen red cabbage , coriander , red amaranth and radish (daikon) . (Source: https://www.drweil.com/diet-nutrition/nutrition/what-are- microgreen s/ )
A red cabbage Microgreen for example, has 260 times as much beta-carotene, 6 times as much vitamin C and 40 times as much vitamin E per gram as full-grown red cabbage ( source: Journal of Agricultural And Food Chemistry ).
What Microgreen are there?
The “young greens” can be grown from the seeds of various types of vegetables, herbs and other plants . A Microgreen has a single stem that is cut just above the ground when harvested. In addition to the fully developed cotyledons, it can usually also have the first real leaves. Most varieties can be harvested approximately 7-12 days after sowing.
The most famous of all Microgreen is probably cress , but there are so many other varieties that you probably haven't heard of (at least when grown as microgreens): sunflower , kale , mizuna , buckwheat , dill , mung beans , red clover , radish , fenugreek , chickpeas , broad beans , crimson clover , red lentils , mustard , chives and so many more ...
For Microgreen beginners and newbies, we recommend peas , radishes , types of cabbage (e.g. broccoli , kale , red cabbage , kohlrabi ) and radishes for growing Microgreen . These varieties are very easy to care for , easy to handle and you can hardly go wrong. The small Microgreen seeds in particular, such as cabbage or radish, are quick and easy to grow. You don't have to soak them - except for the peas - before growing them.
And if you to involve your kids in the miraculous leafy green growth process , then we recommend varieties with a mild taste , such as pea and sunflower . The pea Microgreen taste like fresh pea pods and the young sunflower has a delicious, nutty taste . The structure and stature of their stems and leaves are rather strong compared to other varieties, so that small children can easily hold them in their hands without the sunflower Microgreen becoming mushy.
What advantages do Microgreen offer you?
- Extremely high nutrient content and bioavailability (= absorption capacity or amount of a nutrient that is actually absorbed by the body)
- Lots of active enzymes (up to 100x more than fresh vegetables, source: Ann Wigmore Institute)
- Rich in chlorophyll
- High in fiber & low in calories
- Cost-effective
- Environmentally friendly (year-round cultivation without long transport routes)
- Easy to grow (anywhere, any time, in no time)
- Abundance of varieties, shapes & flavors
- Awaken your creative spirit when decorating dishes
- Urban Gardening/City Garden (You don't even need a garden to garden!)
Difference between Microgreen and sprouts
If you want to easily distinguish sprouts from microgreens, you can think of it like this: sprouts are the baby and teenage version of a young plant and microgreens are the adult version .
Sprouts become Microgreen , depending on the germination time this takes different amounts of time (see soaking and germination times ).
Sprouts are served whole they are eaten with “skin and hair” (including the root, seed coat and any small, green leaves that may have already formed).
Microgreen are usually grown in soil and cut above the ground before harvesting. Stems and leaves are left over for the feast.
The advantage of Microgreen their produce chlorophyll through sunlight . The ingredients of the seed are enhanced and high-quality protein is formed .
Chlorophyll is responsible for the green color of leaves. Its chemical structure is almost identical to hemin, from which hemoglobin (a component of red blood cells) is formed. Chlorophyll therefore has a blood-purifying effect because the “green blood” of plants can be converted into human blood.
Greening strength, energy and sunlight potential . increase the healing power of plants that are said to have medicinal properties . In plants such as radish, mustard, etc., essential oils and bitter substances are formed during growth and thus increase their pharmacological effect.
You can find out what else chlorophyll does in the body in a separate blog article that we have dedicated to the green elixir.
And the best thing about Microgreen ?
You can grow them quickly, easily and simply – 365 days a year! They basically grow from the windowsill into your mouth. If you're interested in growing your own vitamins in the future , take a look at our Microgreen starter packages :
