Microgreens: A Superfood Packed with Nutrients and Easy to Grow at Home

Deepika Sivakumar

Undergraduate agronomist

5 min read
10/12/2024
Microgreens: A Superfood Packed with Nutrients and Easy to Grow at Home

Co-author: Govindaraj Kamalam Dinesh

Nutrients and minerals play a significant role in our daily lives. Rapid urbanization and growing health concerns have created a vast global demand for functional, healthy, sustainable, and nutritious food. Microgreens have emerged as a game-changing superfood to solve the above purposes. They are more densely packed with nutrients and minerals than mature greens and vegetables. Even just taking them in small quantities can add an excellent nutritional profile to your food.

Introduction

Microgreens are tiny edible nutrient-rich superfood seedlings produced from various vegetables, herbs, grains, and leafy green seeds. They are consumed raw and harvested between 7-21 days after the first two true leaves emerge at a height of 1-3 inches (2.5 - 7.6 cm). These greens add taste, color, and texture to the food. These young microgreens are the 'rich storehouse' of vitamins, minerals, bioactive compounds, and phytochemicals. They contain a higher amount of micronutrients than mature greens. They can be grown quickly without organic pesticides and harvested throughout the year. Sprouts and microgreens differ in their harvesting period and nutrient content. Sprouts are just germinated seeds consumed with embryonic roots, whereas microgreens are consumed with the emergence of two true leaves without roots and are more highly nutritious than sprouts.  

What are microgreens?

Microgreens are usually between sprouts and mature greens. They can be cultivated in a minimal space without soil. They are also known as "functional food" or "vegetable confetti". The harvesting period of microgreens depends upon the type of seeds used. The commonly cultivated microgreens are sunflower, radish, broccoli, cress, mustard, oregano, cumin, fenugreek, red amaranthus, wheat grass, pea, turnip, red cabbage, cauliflower, and beetroot.

Nutritional Benefits of Microgreens

The type of nutrients present and the amount of nutritional benefits depends upon the kind of microgreens consumed. Consuming cabbage microgreens has 31 mg calcium, 235 mg potassium, and 6g carbohydrate in 100g, whereas peas microgreen has 244mg potassium, 5mg sodium, and 14g carbohydrate in 100g. Microgreens have higher phytochemicals of about 46% and 4-40 times more nutrients than mature greens and vegetables. Bioavailability also depends upon the type of microgreen consumed, as fenugreek and peas have higher iron availability than radish microgreens.

Nutrient deficiency and prevailing various chronic disorders like cancer, cardiovascular problems, anemia, arthritis, etc.. is a significant concerns all over the world. Incorporating microgreens into a daily diet can sort out those problems as they have anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties. They play an essential role in digestion and gut health, increasing gut microbiome with rich sources of antioxidants. Wheatgrass is said to increase hemoglobin levels, and mustard and peas microgreen has anti-cancer properties. Turnip microgreen reduces the risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, and hypertension. Cauliflower microgreens improve bone health.

Table 1: Nutrient overview of some microgreens (in 100g)

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Table compiled from various sources (Wadmare et al., 2016; Murali et al., 2016; Rana et al., 2011; Ghoora et al., 2020)

 

Incorporating Microgreens into our Diet

Microgreens can be consumed raw and incorporated into salads, sandwiches, smoothies, toppings, and garnishes to enhance flavor and taste. They can even be added to cooked foods such as omelettes, stir-fries, and soups, which are even more nutritious and healthy. They are consumed raw, saving us time invested in cooking.

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Fig. 1: Popular Culinary Microgreens

Growing Microgreens at Home

Microgreens can be grown under protected cultivation as well as in open fields. Protective cultivation in a greenhouse with an average temp of 18-25°C (64.4-77 °F) is preferred for commercial scale. Provide an appropriate light source (12-16 hrs) and RH-60-75%. Avoid water logging as it may cause soil-borne fungal diseases (Pythium sp.). The soil medium should be well sterilized before sowing. They do not require fertilizer as they contain enough nutrients to grow these seeds. It can even be grown in spare space in the kitchen for consumption. It is highly perishable and consumed within 2-3 days after harvest.

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Fig. 2: Microgreens incorporated into food as toppings (Source: Pexels)

Media Preparation

Growing media is prepared by mixing coco pith, vermiculite, and perlite (5:2:1). Other growing media include tissue paper, coir mats, and bamboo grow mats for small scales. The seeds are sown and harvested appropriately because harvesting before and at late maturity can change their taste and texture. So, the timing for harvest should be maintained and followed correctly.

Debunking Common Myths

  • They are bitter in taste, but this is a false statement. Depending on the microgreen type, they come in various colors, flavors, and textures. Beetroot and kale microgreens are sweet, whereas radish and mustard are spicy. Most microgreens are flavorless and juicy (Chhikara et al., 2019).
  • Microgreens cannot replace mature greens but can replace mature greens as they are densely packed with nutrients and healthier than mature greens.
  • It requires a lot of care and management: they are easy to handle and grow.
  • Inorganic and requires pesticide application: they are usually pesticide-free, organic, and safe for consumption.

Fenugreek microgreen.PNG

Fig. 3: Fenugreek microgreen (Source: Pixabay)

Conclusion

Microgreens have a great future as land is becoming a limiting factor and can be best regarded as "future food". To increase nutritional security, Incorporating them into food can overcome nutrient deficiency in the world as they are highly sustainable and nutritious. Due to growing health concerns, these greens are slowly becoming more widespread and famous today, even in remote areas.

References


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