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Best Growing Trays For Microgreens With Holes for Personal Use
Growing Microgreens at home is an excellent way to save money and give your kitchen garden an extra boost. Microgreens are tiny vegetables that grow quickly in just a few weeks, meaning you can get fresh produce year-round without breaking the budget! Microgreens trays make it easy to start growing these delicious veggies in your own home. Here's our list of the best Microgreens Trays from Amazon, including pros and cons for each one so you know which one will work best for you.
Best Trays for Microgreens – Growing at Home
Top trays for Microgreen growing from home. Growing trays are essential equipment and there are many possibilities available for microgreen growers. Discover the best tray for microgreens. Microgreens are harvested when the first leaves of a plant appear. Microgreens, sometimes called baby greens, are fine little plants that have just begun to develop their adult features.
Best trays for growing microgreens at home. Microgreens don't require soil but some kind of container is necessary in order to hold water and keep them moist while they grow into mature plants. Though there are many options available including regular pots, shallow pans or even plastic storage containers with holes drilled through it can work well enough if you're on a budget without making too much mess!
Small Microgreen Trays
I have listed smaller trays here for personal use. If you are growing commercially these are going to be too small. These trays are good for those of you just growing to add nutrition to your menu for your family. Small compact and stackable for space-saving.
This is a great compact tray to grow your microgreens. It's made of polypropylene and BPA-free. The compartments stack on each other allowing you to grow more in less space. You don't need any fertilizer or soil with this system, just water and grow. I don't like the fact that the plastic is clear allowing light to enter the compartment because I want to grow in the dark so my microgreens grow tall quickly. Other than that this is a nice system.
This is another small tray made of food-grade 304 polished stainless steel. These can be easily stacked for space-saving if you have more than one. This tray has a mesh bottom for water drainage but is small enough so seeds don't fall through. It's dishwasher safe and easy to clean. The roots go through the small drainage holes but usually can be pulled out with the base of the plants. It also looks lovely sitting on the table or countertop. I like the fact that it is not clear so light can not penetrate the bowl.
Here is another stainless steel food-grade tray that will look nice on your table or countertop. It's non-toxic and BPA-free. This is stackable so you can save space. They have a mesh bottom for the water drainage. This can also be an excellent gift.
Shallow Microgreen Trays
I like these trays for how shallow they are, they are easy to harvest. For harvesting microgreens, you want to cut as close to the base as possible. These trays make harvesting easy. They also come with a lid to keep moisture inside the tray for better germination. The plastic is food grade also.
Best Growing Trays For Microgreens With Holes
These trays are an excellent choice for the grower that is growing small amounts for family. The trays are made of polypropylene and BPA-free. You can easily stack the trays for space-saving. The mesh bottom allows good airflow and water drainage but has larger holes so if you grow hydroponically you'll need something to contain the smaller seeds. What I don't like about these trays is that there are no lids. I prefer to have a lid, even if I don't use it all the time at least I would like the option. This tray can be used hydroponically and with a growing medium.
These trays are deeper than I would like but they will work well. The mesh bottom is great for airflow and water drainage but has larger holes so if you grow hydroponically you'll need something to contain the smaller seeds. The added bonus is having a lid with these trays. They are stackable for space-saving and an excellent choice for the family grower.
An excellent tray with plenty of water drainage and airflow. The mesh bottom holes are big so you will need a growing medium to keep your microgreen seeds in the trays. The holes are too big for your seeds. These trays are great for soil blocks as well. The downside is no lid with these trays. These are 10 by 20 which is the size used for commercial growers if that is your goal. These trays are BPA-free plastic.
This tray is great for drainage and airflow and it's bigger so it's better for commercial growing. If you want a good tray for soil blocks this is excellent for that. There is no lid, and the holes on the bottom are to big for most seeds so you'll need a growing medium for microgreens.
Best Growing Trays For Microgreens For Commerical Use
These next two trays would be excellent to put together. With these two you can stack the tray with no holes on the bottom so you can bottom water your microgreens. Bottom watering will help to keep you from having problems with mold. Mold will destroy the whole tray so bottom watering is very important.
Trays that come with a shelving unit
These two kits include four trays and a shelving unit. It's a nice bonus to have a shelving unit that is the perfect size for the trays. If you are growing for your family only these kits may work well but the trays do not have a lid. I prefer to have the lid for my trays. I like to have them available if I need them. It might be better to get a bigger shelving unit instead of this one if you are going to grow for more than just your family.
Planting microgreen seeds
Sprinkle seed evenly over the soil surface, and lightly press in soil. Light is not required for germination so at this time these trays can be placed within a box or under a desk. Cover your growing area with clear plastic or a shower cap or an overturned glass bowl or milk jug. Covering keeps seeds from drying out and increases humidity. You can alternately cover seeds with a dry cloth, paper towel, or soaked newspaper, although I don't like these methods they can work.
Grow Microgreens
Make sure not to let your tray dry out. Microgreen trays are usually very shallow, so it's important that they receive enough water to keep their soil moist for the duration of germination. About every day or two you should remove the cover and spray some fresh water on top until it drips down through all layers.
How long do microgreens take?
The best way to determine if a Microgreen is ready for harvest is by looking at its size rather than using theories such as counting days from when the seed was planted or time since last watering etc., which can vary depending on conditions! This means there is no specific time frame or age since Microgreens are harvested when the first leaves appear. They can be picked anytime they reach a certain height, for instance, if you like to harvest them at about two inches tall that's your best bet!
What is the difference between sprouts and microgreens? Micro
greens are basically just baby greens. They have a tender stem and seed leaves, but they're not fully grown yet - they're harvested before they are. Microgreens usually have a mild taste, similar to baby greens or spinach, but because the green is still very young it has not had time to accumulate much bitter flavor compounds. Microgreens can be used in salads and soups where you don't want an overpowering "green" flavor. They also have a very high nutrient content, higher than mature greens. Microgreens are usually sold in small containers or plastic bags that you can use to sprinkle them on your salad or soup for an extra boost of nutrition!
Sprouts are germinated seeds, grains, or legumes. Microgreens are also germinated but they're not as small as sprouts, and microgreens usually have a more tender stem than sprouts do (though the stems of some microgreens such as sunflower shoots can be quite woody).
Harvesting microgreens
Long blades are the best tools for harvesting greens. If there is soil on the green, give them a quick rinse in cool water and drain on a towel. Seed hulls stuck together to the green top can be easily rinsed away using shallow water immersion so the seed hull floats on top and can be drained. This plant will not grow again so that you could dump the soil into the compost and then start over. Putting fresh greens in sealed plastic or a bag will help them last longer in the refrigerator. Microgreens can last up to one week or two in the fridge.
Eating Microgreens
There are many ways to use Microgreens in cooking but one of my favorite uses is on top of smoothies. To prepare Microgreen Smoothie Bowls simply blend together some fresh fruit with yogurt, milk, juice, or water until it reaches desired consistency then pile high with plenty of Microgreens.