Micro shoots

[isitmyturn]

I had some micro onion on a salad recently and it was delicious. I've only ever grown cress on cotton wool for the children so wondering whether anyone has tips for growing other shoots?

Buy a packet of seeds, put them in a jar, put a bit of muslin over the jar with an elastic band, wait a couple of days. Give it a shake now and then. Nothing complicated.

You can also buy special micro greens sprouting jars with a sieve in the lid and a tray that you can angle them in. But it'll 100% end up with the other kitchen tools you rarely use (or at least my partner's did, again 🙄).

Any particular seeds @Agapornis ?

If you just put seeds in a jar they will stay as seeds until there is moisture to allow them to germinate.

In garden centres they will sell micro green seeds with instructions. They might even have them on the seed stand at supermarkets if they still have those this time of year.

The main thing if you use moisture to germinate in a jar is to soak, rinse, drain and to do that as often as you can to stop mould growing. If you leave the without rinsing more than a day or two they just go mouldy. Or you can do the same as growing the cress, do it on cotton wool and snip off the leaves and stems as they grow.

Sorry, OP, but I initially read this as "Micro shorts", and just thought: not in this weather surely?

I've grown alfalfa and mung beans like this, and chia on layers of kitchen roll in those plastic takeaway containers with lids.

This has lots of tips and info:

https://culturesforhealth.com/blogs/learn/sprouting/

Mung beans are best done in a cupboard so they stay pale. They're the vegan equivalent of veal when you think about it 😂

Oh god - forgot the important step of 'add water' 😅

Whatever species you fancy!

Don't do kidney beans - they're poisonous if they're not thoroughly cooked.

@PencilsInSpace that blog is great thanks.
@Agapornis I think I would have remembered water!
I'll have a go with a few seeds I already have.
@Shedmistress I wouldn't have thought about the rinsing because you don't really need to do that for cress.

What seeds do you already have? You really need to make sure that they are edible (eg not tomato).

Garden centres normally have a whole selection of micro green seeds. I have grown fenugreek, radish, chard as well as cress but they don't germinate as reliably and take longer IME. Waitrose do a selection box with three different sorts ready sprouted.

I've got radish, chives, kale.
Why aren't tomato seeds edible?

Tomatoes are technically not vegetables - it's a berry. We don't eat the greenery/whole plant (normally) like we do with veg.

Use only seeds specifically sold for sprouting, or (for things like peas and mung beans) ones sold for cooking.

Ones sold for growing into full plants may be coated in things like fungicides that make them unsuitable for sprouting.

Radish, chives, kale are fine veg types for sprouting.
Tomato seeds are ok for eating but not sprouted much like you wouldn't put tomato leaves on a salad due to them being part of the nightshade family.

Also as NoBin says, they might be treated with fungicides if sold as seeds for planting. And you need so many of them to make it worth your while that it would cost a bomb at seed for growing prices.