How-To: Harvesting Microgreens (Blue Curled Kale and Leaf Lettuce)
Everywhere I’ve read about growing microgreens in soil (as opposed to germination pads) have said that the harvest process of microgreens can be tedious. This is true. I will say that I think I want a pair of little kid scissors to get in really closely to the roots so I can cut as close to the soil as possible.
Some folks use the whole plant in their harvest, but I chose to clip the greens as close to the soil level as possible, and then I will be composting the remaining soil which also includes the roots from the greens in it as well. I’ve mentioned this before, but if you happen to have seeds germinate in your compost, just be sure to mix up your compost and break up these shoots as they may arise.
Rather than cutting from in the tray (bit of an awkward angle), I chose to remove the flats from the containers so I could get even closer to the dirt-level to make my cuts. I was surprised how easily these came out of the containers. Especially the kale, which had quite a complex network of roots holding everything together. I had suspected that these particular kale weren’t going to get much larger because I had planted them so densely....looking at these roots, I think I was right.
To remove them from the containers, I used a spatula and a butter knife. The kale practically came out on its own.
For maximum freshness, leaving the greens in the planters until you are ready to use them is probably going to be the best practice...however, you can also harvest them as a whole, package them, and they’ll keep nicely in the refrigerator for about a week (according to the numerous sources I’ve been checking out over the course of the past few months as I’ve been researching this).
Here’s what you need to harvest your greens:
1 ) scissors
2 ) air-tight container
3 ) moistened paper towels to fit the container
4 ) surface covered with moist paper towel to lay out your initial cuts
5 ) water mister/sprayer (optional, but totally handy)
First of all, once you start clipping, you’ll want to work quickly. These greens will wilt if kept at room temperature for too long, so if you think it takes you a little too long at first (like I did when I was clipping them), I went ahead and put one container in the fridge before it was “full” so I could go ahead and keep them cold while I was working on the others.
As you clip the microgreens, make sure to give them a quick dip in cool water and leave them on the paper towel surface.
Place them on moistened paper towels inside the airtight container and try to leave as much room between the greens as possible as you pack them into the container. Layer moistened towels between the greens so you can fit multiple servings into one container.
They should last in the fridge like this for about a week!! I’m sure we will snack on these before then.
I’d love to hear how you store your greens, and if you have any other awesome and more space-efficient ways to pack up delicious greens! Let me know!
Next article will be about my latest greens experiments: PEA SHOOTS, CILANTRO AND MUSTARD GREENS! Follow and Share so everyone can benefit from this awesome green goodness!!
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great results..i like this one
Thank you! 🌱💚
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I must just not have the right lighting to be able to grow the micro-greens. I can grow clover and mung bean sprouts with no problem, but everything else just fizzles. Even the clover will only grow in a cooler with closed lid. If I try to green it up, it just never looks right. But I only get early morning light, so that is probably my problem.
I’m growing these under fluorescent lights pretty much 24/7. That’s why they have such a quick turnaround time. My house doesn’t have the right light at the right places and times, either, so I just work with regular light bars for these.
You can check out my Steemit post here about my setup if you’d like to see the photos of how I have it set and what I’m specifically using.
Oh this looks fun. Do you have a post here showing how to get started doing this? My kids would love this.
I will be posting on my planting and germinating methods very soon! It’s so easy and fun!
Looks amazing. This is right up my kid's alley. And they will eat them which is a bonus haha
Microgreens are a great way to grow some of your own food. Great post!
I also love that they can be grown in the smallest and most urban of spaces. Plus the quick turnaround makes it even better!!
I'm definitely going to have to experiment with microgreens soon.
Absolutely! So good for you, so delicious, and so easy to do!! I live in a super small space and am working on a literal bounty of micros here!!