a few microgreens

I think microgreens are silly.  There, I said it.  I realize they are oh-so-cute and are supposed to be really healthy but I wouldn't buy them.  Partly because they are super expensive and partly because they are so small you don't get any real leaves (only cotyledons are harvested for most micros.) Don't know what the botany jargon means?  See here.

 Since my reasons for not liking microgreens have no real solid basis I happily eat ones I grow myself.  I sowed these greens a bit over a week ago when I realized I hadn't actually planted anything in a tray for the growth rate project.  So I stuck in some old seeds from my collection to see if they were still viable.  

Tokyo bekana is in the back of the above photo.  It is a great microgreen because it grows fast and has big heavy cotyledons.  In the middle is a mix of brassicas that came from leaking seed packages and pooled at the bottom of my seed box.  In front are bulls blood beets.  They are ever so pretty and tender.  Varieties like ruby streaks that can be a bit spicy seem to have an extra zing to them.  Of course this may be due to the warm weather.   Tonight we're having a $24 salad for dinner!

Photo Friday

Seedlings of bulls blood beet in the foreground, and tokyo bekana in the background.

What greenhouse one looks like.  Flats of spinach, lettuce and mizuna for the growth rate project in the foreground, and newly seeded flats for the variety trials in the background.

plant profile: Mizuna

Brassica rapa juncea

(kyona, shui cai)

Appearance - Mizuna is an upright green with deeply cut serrated leaves on thin white stalks.  It is part of the hot and spicy group of mustards in the Brassica rapa family but has a mild flavor.  It can tolerate both heat, humidity and cold weather making it a good year round crop.  

Uses - Originally, mizuna is from China but is thought of as a Japanese green that is primarily used for cooking.  Here in the west is mainly used as a salad green but as it becomes more well known its uses are growing to include stir fries and stuffing for raviolis.

Varieties

Culture - Mizuna is easy to grow and should be treated like other Brassicas.  Sow seeds 1/4 inch deep in moderate temperatures between 60-85.  Once the seeds have sprouted temperatures a bit lower, between 55-75 degrees, is sufficient for growth.  

For baby greens seeds should be sown in 2-4 inch bands with 60 seeds per foot.  For larger leaves sow only 15 seeds per foot in 2 inch wide bands in rows 18 inches apart.

Harvest - Baby greens should be ready for harvest in about 21 days, depending on temperature and light levels.  Full sized leaves should be harvestable in 40 days.  Mizuna is a cut-and-come-again crop and will produce multiple harvests.

Pests - Like all Brassicas flee beetles are the major pest of mizuna.  Using floating row covers is an easy method of controlling these pests.  For more information check out the UNH Cooperative extension's page on flee beetles.

plant profile: lettuce

Lactuca sativa

Asteraceae family 

Appearance

Uses

Varieties - There are hundreds of lettuce varieties but we'll only be using leaf lettuces - those that don't form heads. Leaf lettuce seeds can be purchased as a few pre-mixed varieties which are chosen to compliment each other.

Culture - Lettuce is a cool loving crop best grown between 60 and 65 degrees Fahrenheit, but can grow in temperatures as low as 40 degrees. For salad mix or baby-leaf size sow seeds in a 2-4 inch band with about 40 seeds per foot.  Cover lightly with soil and keep it moist.

Harvest

Pests