Micro
greens
Forty to a hundred times the nutrition of the grown plant, ready in a week, grown in a tray by the kitchen sink. The considered way to begin.
Two trays. A pinch of seed.
Everything else is patience.
Two nine-inch trays in virgin, food-grade PP, one perforated to drain, one solid to catch, sized to the exact depth a microgreen root wants. Seeds for your first batch are in the box. Rinse, dry, repeat for hundreds of cycles.
Almost any seed you'd eat as a baby leaf will grow. These are the ones that earn their place in an Indian kitchen, chosen for flavour, yield, and how forgiving they are to a first-timer.
iRadish
mooliThe fastest, most forgiving crop. Sharp and peppery, the one to start with.
iiMethi
fenugreekStraight off the spice shelf. Sweeter and gentler than the mature leaf.
iiiPea Shoots
matarThe sweetest of the lot. Tendril-y, and it regrows after the first cut.
ivSunflower
surajmukhiCrunchy and nutty, the one variety that adds real texture to a plate.
vBroccoli
most denseSulforaphane in every tray. Mild on the tongue, serious on nutrition.
viWheatgrass
to juiceGrow and juice it at home: no farm, no specialty seed, no machinery.
Broccoli microgreens carry up to forty times the sulforaphane of the mature head; sunflower beats baby spinach on protein.
No patience tax, no garden, no season to wait for. The whole cycle fits inside a fortnight.
What a supermarket charges for a small clamshell, grown on your own windowsill for the price of the seed.
No soil, no mess, no balcony. Four moves between Sunday evening and the following weekend.
Soak the seed
Six to eight hours in water. The larger seeds, sunflower and pea, want the longer end of that. This is the only step you do the night before.
Sow on coir
Hydrate a coco peat disc, fluff a one-centimetre layer across the draining tray, and scatter the seed densely. Crowded is correct here, unlike full-grown plants.
Cover & mist
Flip the solid tray on top to block light, and mist twice a day. In the dark the roots reach down and pale stems push up, exactly what you want.
Light, then harvest
Uncover and move to bright, indirect light; the stems green up within hours. Snip just above the peat when the first true leaves appear. Rinse, dry, eat.
Microgreens are a finishing ingredient, added off the heat, never cooked. A handful turns an everyday plate into something considered.