G ROWING MICRO-GREENS FOR

FUN AND PROFIT

By: Duane Marcus

The Funny Farm
www.funnyfarmatl.com

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 MATERIALS

FLATS
I prefer the flats pictured at right because the bottom is almost solid and they are a little
larger than web trays so hold more greens. I have
used solid sided web trays by lining the bottom with
landscape fabric.

SOIL
I make my own soil
mix using our worm
castings mixed with
25% local granite sand
for nutrients and drainage. Use whatever soil mix you prefer. Since the greens will be grow-
ing beyond the “sprout” stage you will want the mix to have a store of nutrients so i recom-
mend adding compost or worm castings and a small amount of your favorite fertilizer.

SEEDS
I am focussing primarily on brassica mixes because the germinate consistently in 3 days,
grow at a uniform rate and are nutritious. I mix mustards, kale, tatsoi, broccoli, pac choi etc.
This is a good way to use the little bits of left over seeds that I always seem to have lying
around. You can customize the mixes to be spicy or mild depending on your preference. You
can also do lettuce mixes or single species of arugula for example. The key is to choose varie-
ties that germinate and grow at the same rate.

METHOD
Fill the flats halfway up with moist soil. Sprinkle about 1 1/2 tablespoons of seed evenly over
the surface of the flat. Cover the seed with about 1/4 inch of soil. If you cover them too
deeply you can have a problem with the emerging seedlings pushing up large clumps of soil
that are hard to remove. Water the flats. If some of the seed is exposed add a little more soil

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to cover them. The flat at right is seeded with
Hong Vit radish green seeds. I seed that more
thickly because the sprouting seeds are strong so I
can wash the clumps of soil off them without hurt-
ing the
emerging
seedlings.

Hong Vit micro-greens ready for harvest

TIMING
The brassicas germinate in 3 days. It takes about 3
weeks for them to reach harvest stage. I let them
grow to the stage where they have 2 strong true leaves
and a couple more leaves visible at the growing tip. As
the weather cools off it will take longer for them to
reach harvest stage.

The radish greens I manage differently. They produce

strong thick stems when they first germinate. I har-
vest them before true leaves develop. I harvest them
when the stems get about 2.5-3 inches long . It takes
only 8 days to grow a harvestable product. My farmers
market customers love them as spicy additions to sal-
ads. I also sell them to a gourmet burger joint where
the put them on burgers and in salads. I get $12/lb. at
the restaurant. At market I sell them in 2 oz. bags for Mixed brassicas ready for harvest
$2/bag. I get 1 lb. of micro-greens per flat!

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I do not have any figures on the brassicas yet but I expect that I will get less yield than with
the radish greens because they are more tender, and they are not planted as thickly.

HARVEST
I cut the whole flat of radish greens. Then I recompost the soil in a bin for about a month
and reuse it. If I am consuming the brassicas myself I cut what I need each day over several
days. For market I will harvest a whole flat at a time and sell in small bags just like the radish
greens. When you cut them, leave the growing tip intact and you can get a second harvest in
a few weeks. After that, re-compost the soil and use it again, adding more nutrients when
you do.

STRATEGY
Can this be done during the winter? It can be with the
right setup. In my basement I have a table with a grow
light under which I can get the seeds germinating.
When they have fully sprouted I move them to an un-
heated greenhouse to grow on until they are ready for
harvest. I will be building an earth-sheltered coldframe
in the next couple of weeks that will be large enough to
contain 6-8 flats. By using frost blankets I think I
should be able to grow these most of the winter in our
climate.

This will be the first time I have tried to do this on a

larger scale so I will be working out timing issues as I
go along. How long from seeding to harvest as the
weather turns colder will be the main question I will be
answering. Also I will determine how much cold can be
tolerated as well.

I also plan to grow pea shoots and tendrils in a similar

fashion. I will be planting them in hanging baskets be-
cause I have lots of them. They need a little deeper soil
because they grow longer to reach a harvestable size. I
purchased a few pounds of dwarf grey sugar snap pea
and gonzo pea seeds because they are recommended
varieties for this type of production. I will report my
progress on this as I go along.