Microgreens

Microgreens are the younger smaller version of full grown vegetables. They often get confused with sprouts, the difference being, microgreens are grown in soil, which increases their nutritional value, they have leaves and have a higher concentration of antioxidants. Depending on variety, they contain vitamin A and B, C as well as E and Iron.  They are usually harvested 7-21 days after germination.

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Many contributing factors play a role in the amount of nutrients in microgreens. Vegetables use energy from the seed in order to begin the growing process — especially before the root establishes. Microgreens are the result of the first boost of energy created by the seed, containing most of the nutrients the seed has to offer in order for the plant to grow. By the time microgreens are harvested, they have produced a strong system of roots that begin to uptake additional nutrients from the soil and water. The nutrients present in the soil and water provide an additional boost to the nutrient content of a microgreen. Additionally, the amount of light a microgreen is exposed to aids in the growing process and the ability for the microgreen to uptake more nutrients from both the planting medium and light. Not all nutrients in a microgreen are necessarily higher than an adult counterpart as well — there are some nutrients that have more time to mature and developed as a plant grows — it is just more common that most nutrients are more densely-present in microgreens.

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