How to grow microgreens at home

Microgreens are seedlings harvested when they're 5–10 cm tall, just after the first true leaves appear. They're fast to grow, require almost no space, work year-round indoors, and add genuine flavour to meals. They're also a good entry point to growing your own food before committing to a full vegetable plot.

What microgreens are and why they're great

Microgreens are simply young vegetable or herb seedlings grown in a shallow tray of compost or a growing pad and harvested with scissors once the first true leaves have opened. They're distinct from sprouts, which are germinated seeds grown in water and eaten whole including the root. Microgreens grow in growing medium and are cut above the soil line at harvest.

What makes them particularly useful is the combination of speed, small space and year-round viability. A tray of radish microgreens can go from sowing to harvest in around a week. A tray of pea shoots takes a little longer but produces several cuts if you leave the roots to regrow. All of this happens on a kitchen counter or windowsill, making microgreens genuinely accessible even in a flat with no outdoor space — see our guide to growing food in small spaces for more ideas along these lines.

Microgreens also have a reputation for concentrated flavour — a small handful of radish microgreens has a noticeably sharp, peppery flavour that a full-grown radish can't always match at the same volume. They're useful as a garnish, in sandwiches, stirred into grain bowls, or scattered on soups and eggs.

What you need

The kit list is short. Most of it you probably already have or can improvise with what's around the house.

Essential

• Shallow trays. Standard seed trays from a garden centre work well. You can also reuse clean takeaway containers, baking trays, or any shallow container that can hold a couple of centimetres of growing medium. Drainage holes are helpful but not always essential if you bottom-water carefully.
• Peat-free compost or growing pads. A general-purpose peat-free compost is fine. Dedicated microgreen mats or hemp fibre growing pads are a lower-mess alternative — the seeds root into the pad without any soil, which can be composted or cut up after harvest.
• Seeds. See below for which ones to choose.
• A spray bottle or mister for gentle watering during germination.
• Clean scissors for harvesting.

Helpful but not essential

• A second tray to use as a lid during germination (creates a dark, humid environment)
• A shallow dish or tray for bottom-watering
• A LED grow light for poor-light situations or winter growing

Choosing seeds

Almost any edible plant can be grown as a microgreen, but some are much more practical than others. Use seeds sold specifically for microgreens or sprouting when possible — these are tested to be free of seed treatments that might not be suitable for food. Regular vegetable seeds also work fine in most cases, but check the packet.

Easiest for beginners

• Cress (garden cress) — the classic windowsill crop; germinates within a day or two and is ready to cut in a week. No compost needed — grows well on damp paper or cotton wool.
• Radish — fast, vigorous, reliable, with a sharp peppery flavour. One of the most foolproof microgreens to grow.
• Pea shoots — large seeds that germinate quickly and produce sweet, delicate shoots; can often be cut and allowed to regrow two or three times.
• Sunflower — soak seeds overnight before sowing; produces thick, nutty shoots. Takes a little longer than radish but very satisfying.

Also worth growing

• Brassicas (broccoli, kale, mustard, cabbage, rocket) — mild to spicy depending on variety; broccoli microgreens are a popular choice
• Amaranth — tiny seeds, slow to start, but produces striking colourful shoots
• Coriander (cilantro) — crush the seeds lightly before sowing to speed germination; takes longer than most
• Beetroot — slow but produces deep red shoots with an earthy flavour; sow thickly

How to grow a tray: step-by-step

1. Prepare your tray. Wash the tray with hot soapy water if reusing — this removes old plant material and reduces mould risk. Fill with 2–3 cm of peat-free compost or place a growing pad inside. Level the surface and press it gently to remove large air gaps without compacting it hard.
2. Sow densely and evenly. Scatter seeds across the surface much more thickly than you would for normal plants — microgreens are harvested young, so competition doesn't matter. Large seeds like peas and sunflowers can sit touching each other. Small seeds like cress and radish should be scattered generously but not in a thick pile. Press them lightly into the surface so they make good contact with the growing medium.
3. Mist and cover. Spray the surface gently with a mister to dampen without disturbing the seeds. Place a second tray or a piece of damp newspaper on top to create a dark, slightly humid environment. This encourages even germination and keeps moisture in.
4. Check daily. Lift the cover each morning to check progress. Mist again if the surface looks dry. Most seeds will begin to germinate within 1–3 days. Leave the cover on until the majority have sprouted and shoots are starting to push upward.
5. Move to light. Once the cover is no longer needed, move the tray to the brightest available spot — a south- or east-facing windowsill, or under a grow light. The seedlings will be pale or yellow at first; they green up quickly with light exposure.
6. Water from below. Place the growing tray in a shallow dish with a centimetre or two of water. Let the compost absorb moisture from the bottom for 20–30 minutes, then remove. This bottom-watering method keeps the leaves dry and significantly reduces mould. Water when the compost feels light or dry, not on a fixed schedule.
7. Harvest. Cut microgreens with clean scissors just above the compost line when they're 5–8 cm tall and the first true leaves are just opening. Don't wash until just before eating — moisture shortens shelf life. Use immediately for best flavour; refrigerate for up to a couple of days if needed.

Light and watering

Good light is the most important variable for quality microgreens. Pale, stretched (etiolated) seedlings reaching for a distant window look leggy and are less flavourful than compact, sturdy seedlings growing under good light. In summer, most windowsills provide adequate light. In winter, or in darker rooms, a simple LED grow light on a timer for 14–16 hours a day transforms the results without much cost to run.

Watering is where most microgreen problems start. Overwatering from above keeps leaves wet and encourages fungal problems. Bottom-watering — setting the tray in a dish of water briefly — keeps the growing medium moist while the leaves stay dry. Use only as much water as the compost absorbs in one sitting. Between waterings, the top surface of the compost should dry out a little; a constantly soggy surface is a mould invitation.

Avoiding mould and damping off

Succession sowing for a continuous supply

A single tray of microgreens provides a single harvest. To have a continuous supply, start a new tray every week or every few days depending on how much you use. This is called succession sowing, and it keeps you in fresh microgreens without a boom-and-bust cycle where you have too many at once and then nothing.

A simple approach: keep two or three trays at different stages — one newly sown, one germinated and under lights, one ready to harvest. As you cut one tray, start the next. Rotate varieties to add interest: radish one week, pea shoots the next, sunflower the week after.

If you want to take a break (holidays, for example), simply stop starting new trays and let the cycle run out naturally. There's no commitment to ongoing growing — each tray is self-contained and finished when it's harvested.

After harvest: reusing trays and composting

Once a tray is harvested, the spent compost and roots can go straight to the compost bin — see our composting guide. The growing medium is spent in terms of nutrients, but it's perfectly good organic matter for composting. If you used a growing mat or hemp pad, those can be composted too in most cases — check the product details.

Wash trays well with hot soapy water between batches. Any old root material left in a tray can harbour fungal spores that affect the next batch. A quick scrub and rinse is all it takes, and it makes a real difference to the health of the next crop.

• Start with radish, cress or pea shoots — fast and forgiving for beginners.
• Wash trays between batches to prevent mould carryover.
• Bottom-water to keep leaves dry and reduce mould risk.
• Give trays the brightest spot available once germinated.
• Sow a new tray weekly for a continuous supply.
• Compost spent growing medium and roots after each harvest.
• Harvest when the first true leaves are just opening — don't wait until they're fully grown.