Microgreens

How to Use the PotsAlive Microgreens Kit

Step-by-step guide for the PotsAlive Microgreens Kit. Two trays, one coco peat disc, seven days, one batch of microgreens. The version we explain over WhatsApp.

This is the exact set of instructions we send people over WhatsApp when they ask how to use the PotsAlive Microgreens Kit. Save it, print it, hand it to whoever uses the kit.

What's in the Kit

Two trays, 9 by 9 inches, virgin food-grade PP plastic. One has drainage holes, one is solid.
Seeds for your first batch (radish, mustard, methi, sunflower mix).
An A6 instruction card.

What you will need separately for the first batch: one of our Coco Peat Discs (or your own coco peat), a spray bottle, and a kitchen window with morning light.

First-Time Setup

Step 1: Wash Both Trays

Rinse with plain water. Wipe dry. The trays come food-safe but plastic carries dust during shipping.

Step 2: Hydrate the Coco Peat

Drop one disc in a wide bowl. Pour 500 ml warm water over it. Wait 5 minutes. Fluff with a spoon to break up tight pockets. You should end up with about a litre of damp, dark-brown peat.

Step 3: Layer the Peat

Spread the hydrated peat evenly across the drainage tray (the one with holes). Aim for a 1 cm layer. Press lightly to flatten. Place the drainage tray inside the solid tray, so any water that runs through is caught underneath.

Step 4: Soak Larger Seeds Overnight

If your kit's seed pack includes sunflower or peas, soak them in a small bowl of water for 6 to 8 hours before sowing. Radish, mustard and methi can be sown dry, no soak needed.

Sowing Day

Step 5: Sow Densely

Spread the seeds across the peat surface, much closer than you would for a normal plant. Microgreens like company. The seeds should cover the surface in a single layer with almost no gaps.

Step 6: Mist Lightly

Mist the seeds once with a spray bottle. The peat should be moist but never sitting in a puddle.

Step 7: Blackout

Take a third tray, plate, or even a stack of newspapers, and cover the sown tray so no light reaches the seeds. The blackout phase is 2 to 3 days. Roots reach down, white shoots push up.

If you don't have a third tray, flip an empty cardboard box upside down on the tray. Anything that blocks light works.

Days 1 to 3: Blackout

Once a day, lift the cover and check. The peat surface should look damp, never wet. If it looks dry, mist lightly. Replace the cover.

By day 2 you will see seeds swollen and breaking. By day 3 you will see pale white shoots about 1 to 2 cm tall.

Day 4: Uncover

Remove the cover. Move the tray to a bright kitchen window with indirect morning light. The pale shoots will turn green within hours.

If the shoots look short or leggy, the blackout phase might have been too short. Next batch, extend it by a day.

Days 4 to 7: Growth

Mist once a day or every other day. The microgreens will roughly double in height each day. By day 6 or 7 you should see the first true leaves (the second pair, with serrated edges).

Day 7 to 14: Harvest

Harvest when the first true leaves are clearly visible. Take kitchen scissors and snip the stems just above the peat. Rinse the harvest in a colander, pat dry, eat.

One full tray of dense radish microgreens harvests about 80 grams, which is roughly two large sandwiches' worth.

Resetting the Kit for the Next Batch

The peat from a harvested tray is single-use for microgreens (roots are tangled into it). Two options:

Toss it. The peat is compostable. It can also be mixed into a regular flower pot to improve moisture retention, the trapped roots become slow-release compost.
Save the tray. Rinse both trays with plain water. Wipe dry. Store flat. They will last hundreds of cycles.

Beyond the First Batch

The first kit includes a starter seed mix for three batches. After that, buy seeds by variety, either from us when we launch separate seed packs, or any seed brand of your choice. For seed selection, our guide on the 8 microgreens worth growing in Indian kitchens covers what to pick first.

Can I sow seeds in the solid tray instead of the drainage one?

Don't. The drainage tray (top) is where seeds grow. The solid tray (bottom) catches the water. Inverting them means the peat sits in standing water and the seeds rot.

How much water should I add when I mist?

Roughly 10 to 20 sprays a day from a small mist bottle, depending on humidity. The peat should feel damp like a wrung-out sponge, never wet to the touch.

Can I grow two varieties in one tray?

Yes, but only if they have similar harvest days (e.g., radish + mustard = both 7 to 9 days). Mixing fast and slow growers means one half over-grows while the other is still developing.

Where do I buy refill seeds?

We will sell variety-specific seed packs alongside the kit. You can also use any good-quality kirana seeds (radish, mustard, methi, peas, sunflower). For broccoli, basil and alfalfa, buy from Amazon or a dedicated microgreens seed brand.