This spring, I lined a beautiful white basket with plastic and filled it with organic potting soil. A light scattering of mesclun salad seeds, a sprinkling of water and hope running high, I tended the planting with eager anticipation, checking daily for signs of life. Within a couple of weeks, the reward came as tiny green sprouts poked their tender heads through the surface, a promise delivered...I do a happy dance! If you're looking to recapture childlike joy, plant a garden!
Several weeks later, my wonderful husband delivers on his promise to build a raised garden bed, and once again, hope runs high. Though flowers have always graced our summer landscape, and bountiful pots of herbs have been our deck decor, it's been years since I've stepped outside to grab a tomato. I am pretty excited about this! And now the soil has been prepped, the seeds are in, again I wait. And it's only a week before again, the blessing comes, a burial ground breaks to swollen sprouts reaching for light. Oh happy, happy day...it really works! This gardening thing, this is why I love spring! The mystery of life born out of that which is buried in darkness, to spring back to life, to give forth it's fruit, to deliver seed to the ground, to die, and have the cycle begin again. How cool is this perpetual cycle we get to witness every spring!
Anyway, I digress. Back to the mystery of micro greens...and the biggest mystery is...why have I not grown my own sooner!? If you've ever planted beets, radishes or carrots or other very small seed crops, you know the rows need a couple of thinnings as they grow allowing them space to develop. Often times, the "farmer" disposes of those baby plants by turning them back into the soil or discarding them altogether! And there I was, precious sprout in hand, dirty roots, ruby red hypocotyl (the stem) and infant leaves, wondering what to do with so much potential! Too beautiful to recycle into the ground, a water bath and a bit of research proved right, that these tiny seedlings pack a nutritious punch! Read this article by Michael Greger at NutritionFacts.org, to find out just how powerful microgreens and sprouts are when it comes to delivering vital nutrients, compared to their mature counterparts. Another article from Web MD affirms the same, that microgreens are a sure source of super concentrated nutrients. And all in a fraction of the time it takes to grow a full season's crop of whatever the produce is! This would be a great project for your children...speed gardening, even in the house!
So maybe it's time to get a little dirty to get a lot of healthy back into your diet! Like a little Jackson Pollock on your plate, microgreens splash color and excitement everywhere they go. And your body, splashed with a mega-dose of vim and vigor will thank you immensely!
Anyway, I digress. Back to the mystery of micro greens...and the biggest mystery is...why have I not grown my own sooner!? If you've ever planted beets, radishes or carrots or other very small seed crops, you know the rows need a couple of thinnings as they grow allowing them space to develop. Often times, the "farmer" disposes of those baby plants by turning them back into the soil or discarding them altogether! And there I was, precious sprout in hand, dirty roots, ruby red hypocotyl (the stem) and infant leaves, wondering what to do with so much potential! Too beautiful to recycle into the ground, a water bath and a bit of research proved right, that these tiny seedlings pack a nutritious punch! Read this article by Michael Greger at NutritionFacts.org, to find out just how powerful microgreens and sprouts are when it comes to delivering vital nutrients, compared to their mature counterparts. Another article from Web MD affirms the same, that microgreens are a sure source of super concentrated nutrients. And all in a fraction of the time it takes to grow a full season's crop of whatever the produce is! This would be a great project for your children...speed gardening, even in the house!
So maybe it's time to get a little dirty to get a lot of healthy back into your diet! Like a little Jackson Pollock on your plate, microgreens splash color and excitement everywhere they go. And your body, splashed with a mega-dose of vim and vigor will thank you immensely!
RSS Feed