I am so excited to share with you how I have grown Nasturtium Microgreens! Growing microgreens is a great way to add variety to your diet and get more vitamins into your body. It’s also fun to see the results of your creativity grow before your eyes!
Nasturtiums are edible, which makes them perfect for growing as a microgreen. They can be harvested from seed-to-table in just three weeks, so they are easy to maintain and harvest on a regular basis. Nasturtium seeds can be found online.
Nasturtium Microgreens are small, young, and tender plants that can be grown in your own home. Nasturtium microgreens (pictured) have a peppery taste with a hint of mustard flavor. The process for growing these microgreens is surprisingly simple: water the seeds or seedling trays daily to keep them moist, let them grow under indirect sunlight, and harvest when they reach the desired size. These microgreens are perfect for those who want to eat fresh vegetables year-round!
For those of you that are unfamiliar with Nasturtium, it can also be grown into a beautiful vining flower. The flowers are eatable and can be eaten raw or cooked.
- Nasturtiums are not only edible, but they also provide a beautiful color and ornamental value for your garden!
-Also adding flowers to a salad can make a beautiful and spicy dish.
- These plants provide both beauty and pleasure for those who live with them. In addition to being an attractive bright flower, these flowers produce edible leaves that have a peppery flavor which is good when sprinkled on salads, sandwiches, and pizza. (See Recipes For Making Nasturtium Microgreens) - Best of all you will never know what color might come up next thanks to their variety of colors from white to deep purple.
What are Microgreens?
Microgreens are the youth plants harvested before they have become mature adult plants. Microgreens are the baby of the well-known common plants you would have in your garden or buy in the grocery store. For example, if you buy kale at the grocery store, you will be buying a bunch of kale leaves from a mature kale plant. Kale microgreens are the same plant only grown to the size of one to three inches tall and then harvested at that time. They can be harvested in eight to fourteen days, depending on the variety. There is a wide range of flavors with microgreens. They can be very intense flavored compared to adults.
Microgreens are grown away from a light source to get lengthy quickly before introducing them into the light. After you see the first true leaves, they are ready to be harvested. The first leaves that you will see are called cotyledons. The first true leaves are the second set of leaves that appear. When you notice these leaves, your microgreens are ready to be harvested and eaten.
Microgreens have a more concentrated nutrient content than mature plants. In most cases, the microgreen antioxidant levels, vitamins, and minerals are higher than the adult plants. There are some vegetables where that is not the case. Overall, eating microgreens will help you incorporate nutrition into your daily menu.
Nasturtium Microgreens Benefits
Nasturtium Microgreen Nutrition
Nasturtiums have been used for centuries as an herbal medicine in many cultures around the world. They provide high levels of antioxidants, nutrients like beta-carotene and alpha-carotene, vitamins A and C; iron; potassium; calcium; magnesium; manganese; zinc; copper; folate ’ vitamin K which is important for blood clotting (especially following childbirth) among other benefits.
Other health benefits include making the skin tone more even and making a complexion with acne breakouts less visible to others.
Nasturtium microgreens are rich in calcium which is beneficial for strong bones and teeth as well as other vitamins that aid digestion such as Vitamin B-12.
Most people are surprised to know that nasturtium microgreens have a peppery taste. This is because they contain two types of spicy oils, which make them ideal for dishes such as stir-fries and salads.
How to Grow Nasturtium Microgreens
First, I'll add the growing medium into the microgreen tray, which is coco coir for me. I add very little to the tray, about a quarter-inch of coco coir. It's best to moisten the medium before adding it to the tray. Once you have added your moistened medium to the tray, press the medium down nice and firm and evenly, then add your Nasturtium Microgreen seeds to the tray. Spread the seeds as evenly as possible reasonably densely.
Once you have added your seeds, spray the top of the tray with food-grade hydrogen peroxide and water your seeds. After that, you should cover with something to keep your seeds in the dark, or placing them into a dark room will work well also.
Continue to water daily on the tray's top until you can see the roots through the soil on the bottom of the tray. Once the roots started shooting out of the soil, I started to bottom water. Nasturtium is a slower-growing microgreen, but won't take long to start bottom watering. Watering on top too long into the process can destroy your whole tray because of the planting density. Mold may take over your tray. There is not enough airflow to allow the microgreens to dry out on the top, so it stays moist and makes a perfect environment for mold to grow.
Once your Nasturtium has reached the height that you like, then place them into your light source. I use a timer that I set to 12 hours, so 12 hours on and 12 hours off. You don't need that long a period to have your lights on but that is what I choose to do. I would suggest at least 8 hours of light. Continue checking daily and bottom water as necessary.
You'll want to harvest them when you see the first true leaves. When a plant sprouts, the first two leaves are called cotyledons. The following leaves that come are called the true leaves. I harvest when I see the first true leaves start showing. Use a very sharp knife and cut them as close to the soil line as possible. After harvesting then rinse and enjoy the spicy Nasturtium Microgreens that you have grown!
You can grow your own nasturtium microgreens if you start them indoors all winter and transfer them to a sunny window sill or under lights. The best part is that they are so easy, all you need is some dirt and water! Have you grown any other successful plants? Let me know in the commentary below!
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