What are microgreens and why do chefs love them?

Have you recently looked at a fancy restaurant menu and noticed a selection served with microgreens? Wondered what they are? Perhaps a new, exotic vegetable imported for your dining pleasure? Greens which have been grown under a microscope?

Hmmm … If you visited a neighbor's vegetable garden last spring, you may have actually passed by a patch or two of microgreens in the making.

Microgreens are tender shoots of vegetables such as lettuce, mustard greens, arugula, spinach and the like which are cut off very young when they are only an inch or so tall and just a few days old. They are used for salads, soups, garnishes, or sprinkled on sandwiches. They offer a nutrition boost to any recipe, as they are rich in phytonutrients and other health promoting compounds.

A microgreen has one central stem with fully developed cotyledon (seed leaves), and one set of small, partially developed leaves (true leaves). Depending on the seed, harvesting occurs when their height reaches 1 to 3 inches, including the stem and first pair of true leaves. These greens are cut just above the soil line. Plants allowed to grow 3 inches or more before being harvested get classified as "baby greens," which are also popping up in supermarkets and on restaurant menus.

So what seeds are best suited for microgreens? Actually, most any salad green, leafy vegetable, herb or edible flower can be grown as microgreens. Some folks like to grow different seeds separately and mix them after harvesting. They can be grown indoors and outside.

To get started indoors, you need a container through which light can easily transfuse. An empty, clean, plastic clamshell container is ideal. Just make sure it has drainage holes. If the container doesn't have holes, you can create them yourself.

Fill the container to a depth of about 2 inches with potting mix and smooth out or level. Scatter seeds over the surface so they are about one-eighth to one-quarter inch apart. Next, cover with a thin layer of potting mix (about one-eighth inch). Gently water the container so the potting mix is thoroughly moist.

You will need to be careful about not letting the container dry out. An easy way to avoid this is by misting the surface on a regular basis when it feels somewhat dry to the touch. Set the container in a sunny windowsill where there is at least 4 hours of sunlight or under full spectrum florescent lights.

Once the weather has warmed up, you may want to continue your microgreen adventure outside. Make sure the area to be planted doesn't contain hard-packed clay soil. Prepare soil by loosening it and mixing it with some organic matter. Loose soils will promote airflow, which is important.

Water the soil in the bed before carefully scattering seed. Then, cover seed with a thin layer of soil (one-eighth to one-quarter inch thick). Using a gentle spray of water, moisten the planted area. Make sure the soil is kept moist until you see sprouting and true leaves on stems (about seven to 10 days).

Microgreens are ready to harvest when you see their first set of true leaves. In most cases, this will be 10 to 14 days after planting. Place your scissors just above soil level and snip away. Don't expect additional harvests from this one planting. Unlike baby greens, the plants haven't had time to develop, so there is no way they can generate new growth. However, to keep the process going, just scatter new seed, cover and repeat the process.

With little effort, you can jazz up your menus to gourmet status year round by growing your own microgreens at home since they are so easy to grow. Regardless of their growing place, inside or outside, microgreens deserve a special place tableside. Enjoy some soon!

- Mary Moisand

• Provided by Master Gardeners through the Master Gardener Answer Desk, Friendship Park Conservatory, Des Plaines. Call (847) 298-3502 or email northcookmg@gmail.com.