Curly Cress Micro-Greens

AKA Pepper Grass, this spicy mucilaginous Brassica (the same family as Broccoli, Cabbage, Mustard, Radish...) is, in flavor, something like Watercress and is a very fast grower which, because it is mucilaginous, should Not be Soaked when grown straight. Just sprinkle some seeds on moist soil or a thoroughly moistened Hemp Bag or on a bit of Hemp Felt, nestled in our Compostable Tray, or any other planting medium, and watch your crop grow - in just 5-7 days - into one of the most intensely flavorful greens you've ever experienced!

A major ingredient in our leafy blends; French Garden, Italian Blend and Nick's Hot Sprout Salad, Cress was not available as an organic crop back in 1994. Working for years with our dear farmer friends Mark + Ila we have established it as a standard certified organic crop.

Cress along with Arugula (which has exactly the same organic history), Onion and Garlic Chive are likely the most essential flavor additions to any sprout kitchen!

FYI - when mucilaginous seeds are mixed with non-mucilaginous seeds in the proper proportions (our secret) they can be sprouted using traditional sprouting methods (like in French Garden, Italian Blend and Nick's Hot Sprout Salad)

Note: US and Canadian researchers have found that many brassicas contain antioxidants - including Cress.

Sproutpeople and Micro-Greens

We first grew Micro-Greens back in 1994. We were way ahead of the curve. Nobody was interested in them - not our farmers market customers, not our food stores (co-ops, natural food stores and grocery stores we delivered to every week), not our restaurants, nobody! That did change some as the years passed, but we were always Sprout People first. Frankly, we prefer Sprouts to Micros because we find them plumper and more texturally pleasing -  but we keep working with them.  Some seeds (especially mucilaginous seeds)  won't grow as sprouts and Micro-Greens are SO gorgeous and offer a lot of unique and really cool possibilities.

Soaking and Pre-Sprouting

Though our instructions (in the Growing Instructions Tab - to the left) used to suggest these steps (for non-mucilaginous seeds), we have found them less and less necessary as we've worked with Micro-Greens.
We skip both now, concentrating first on thoroughly moistening our medium.  We then plant the seeds (which are just spread atop that thoroughly moistened medium),  and mist them with a Spray Bottle, when appropriate.  We then cover our planted seeds.  We mist them with a Spray Bottle at least once a day until they sprout, and then bury their roots  in the medium.  During those first 2-3 days we are misting heavily for some - - not at all for others.
We uncover the crops at different stages, depending on what we are doing with a particular crop.  Keep reading to learn more.

Fertilizing Micro-Greens

When growing on a soilless medium like Hemp Felt - it is advisable to use Liquid Kelp Feritlizer to give your plants  additional nutrients to draw upon.  When we use Kelp we dilute 1 tsp. in 1 quart of water (this is a higher concentration than the product label calls for).  We use it in a Spray Bottle or by watering the medium directly.  We use it every time we water.  The perfect container for these soilless mediums is our inexpensive Compostable Tray.

If you plant on soil - or better yet with Coconut Coir (our FAVorite), mix in 25% Earthworm Castings  for the ultimate nutrient rich, moisture retaining planting medium.  Mix them together thoroughly before moistening.

Micro-Green Variations

There are varying opinions of what constitutes a Micro-Green.  Traditionally it is just a plant grown to the Cotyledon (first leaf) stage, and cut above the medium upon which it is planted.
When we grow to this stage; we either grow on Hemp Felt, soil (any kind will do) , or our favorite -  Coconut Coir.  Hemp Felt is less messy and works fine and dandy.  We cut a piece to fit a  plate, then  we follow our own instructions for keeping the medium and seeds-sprouts thoroughly moist.  We use another of the same size plate - inverted - as a cover.  We uncover our plants when they are about 1/2 inch tall, or when they are hitting the covering plate.   We then expose them to all the light our kitchen has to offer.  We even use direct sunlight when available.  We have to water them more often when we do this.  When it comes to watering, We mist them with a Spray Bottle until the seeds have firmly rooted.  After that -  when growing on a piece of  Hemp Felt on a plate; pour water directly onto the plate.  We gently tip and turn the plate so as much water as possible gets soaked up by the Hemp Felt, and then pour off most of the excess.
When growing on soil or  Coconut Coir; we continue to spray with the Spray Bottle, but we keep the medium moist by adding water directly to the plate or solid tray it is sitting on/in.   We allow the medium to drink up what water it can, and then gently pour off the excess.  Leaving a little water on the plate is fine - it will get sucked up before your next watering.  If it doesn't, cut back a bit next time.

There are some nowadays who want a Micro-Green to be a plant which puts out a True Leaf before they'll call it a Micro-Green.   We find that concept Very interesting, so we have worked to make that happen.

True Leaves

The first thing is to plant less seed.  Just how much is the question.  The general rule is this: The more space your plant has to grow roots - the bigger it can grow.
We are currently using 1/4 teaspoon in a 5x5 inch tray.  That leaves quite a bit of room between the seeds-plants, but gives them enough space to grow to the True Leaf stage.  This can take 2 weeks or more.   The main thing that is needed is More Light.  Plants get "leggy" when they need to reach for light.  We use that to our advantage in all other circumstances in the Sprout World, but here we want to minimize the legginess of the plants.  If you can put a light right above your crop -  or keep it in direct sunlight, that will help.  Keep everything adequately moist. Remember - the more light the faster the medium and plants will dry.  This may sound like a lot more work, but really it isn't much more than usual.
We cover the seeds only until they have sprouted when growing this way.  We plant on Coconut Coir (which hold moisture like nothing else we've ever worked with)  enriched with 25% Earthworm Castings, which add nitrogen that a plant uses to grow leaves.  When making up the mix,  do not exceed 25% Earthworm Castings as too much nitrogen can burn your plants (they actually whither and die when the soil is too "hot" - which means it has too much nitrogen).   Mix the castings into the base  Coconut Coir, or soil (any kind will work, though we do not advise mixes that are heavily peat moss as we find it hard to work with and we don't find the crop turns out as well) - it is the roots that will need access to the rich medium.
If growing a mix, not all of the plants will grow True Leaves at the same time.  Keep growing until most have them.  Harvest then and eat them up.  Though you can store Micro-Greens,  they degrade quickly, and since you have put so much work in these - you should enjoy them at their peak.

The Next Variation

The next obvious step (to us anyway) we find really exciting.  It is to grow even fewer seeds into even fewer plants.  Those plants will grow more leaves.  They will be more like Baby-Greens than Micro-Greens.  They will require more time. They may re-grow more quickly because they'll have a bigger root-mass. The container (tray, pot, etc.) they grow in will likely be too small for that root-mass to live long, but it's possible.  When it comes right down to it, we're talking about an indoor-garden.  All the other stuff we offer is about indoor gardening, but this is more like a garden.  Not many of us have space in our homes to Garden inside, but we love the idea.  We're working on this, and we'll tell you what we find out as soon as we know something.  It was gardening that eventually led us to sprouting.  We feel like this is closing that circle started so long ago - now it is sprouting leading back to gardening @:-)  Start with Coconut Coir enriched with Earthworm Castings and you'll have a  great experience.  Happy Micro-Greening!