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If you want a fun, simple, and healthy gardening project to do with your kids this summer break, grow pea microgreens! You won't believe how easy it is. Just soak some peas in water overnight then rinse them off and put them in a shallow container. They'll start growing roots within 2-3 days and will be ready to harvest after about 7-14 days. Pea microgreens are low calorie, high in protein, loaded with nutrients like vitamin K which helps prevent osteoporosis or tooth decay, as well as being rich in antioxidants that reduce inflammation. Plus they taste great on sandwiches or salads!
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 very intense flavored compared to the 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.
Pea Microgreens Nutrition
Pea Microgreens Health Benefits
pea microgreens
-have been shown to help prevent heart disease
-are a great source of folate, which is important for pregnant mothers and can reduce the risk of birth defects when taken in appropriate quantities throughout pregnancy. Folate also helps with depression during pregnancy. There are high levels of vitamin K found in these green leaves that have proven useful as well: they regulate blood pressure while working alongside vitamins C and E on antioxidant processes.
-provide potassium that assists regulation within the body's cardiovascular system, magnesium often used by people hoping to strengthen their bones or muscles.
How to Grow Pea 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 pea 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. Pea is a fast-growing microgreen, so it 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 pea 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(for peas I harvest later than that). 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 pea microgreens that you have grown!
For day one, I will soak a cup of seeds for twenty-four hours with a teaspoon of food-grade hydrogen peroxide.
For day two, I pour the seeds in a tray without growing medium. I add a lid to keep more moisture in the tray.
For day three, I will water for thirty seconds with a handheld sprayer. I can see the roots starting to emerge from some of the seeds.
On day five, I check on the peas and water twice a day. You can see a lot of roots have emerged. If you see any brown seeds, they are rotting, and you will want to pick them out.
Not much has changed. I continue to water daily, spraying on top of the peas.
Continue watering daily.
The finished peas right before I harvest.
Thank you for joining me today! If you have a question, please leave a comment below. I hope that this information has been helpful and would love to hear what your thoughts are on growing pea microgreens in the comment section below.
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