When you decide, for whatever reason, that you want to have a go at growing your own food, I bet your first thought was not about growing sprouts or microgreens. I can understand that, mine wasn’t either (all those years ago), but maybe it should have been. Here are some points to ponder as to why!
There are a number of very good reasons why you should have sprouts, shoots and microgreens growing in your life, even if it was not your first thought and here is why -
- They are tasty and versatile, there are a huge number of veggies that can be grown as sprouts and microgreens, and they can be included in many dishes as a garnish or a main ingredient. Such dishes include salads, sandwiches, stir fries, noodle bowls and pasta dishes, dips and spreads, soups and smoothies. They can be used instead of lettuce in burgers, tacos and burritos, they fin into all sorts of dishes. You can bet that there will be a number of sprouts, shoots and microgreens that fit your flavour profile!
- They provide great nutrition being rich in a variety of vitamins and minerals, antioxidants and depending on the variety you use they can also be high in protein and fibre. (No, I refuse to use the term ‘super-foods!)
- They don’t take up much space. Depending on how many you want to grow they can be placed in or on cupboards, tables or bookshelves and when it comes to sprouts, they can be placed inside cupboards or wherever you have space because they don’t need light to grow. They are ideal way to produce food if you live in a flat, unit or townhouse where your growing space is restricted, or non-existent.
- They don’t need much water. When it comes to sprouts, they need to be rinsed a couple of times a day, but the rinse water can then be used to water other plants, rather than dumped down the drain. In hot dry weather conventional fruit and veg can require quite a bit of water to keep going, but these fellas don’t.
- They’re easy to set up, and require only a minimum of kit, most of which you probably already have hanging around. Things like glass jars, plastic lunchboxes and aluminium trays sitting in the back of your cupboard cost nothing, with the addition of some seed and you are able to feed yourself.
- They are cheap to set up and run, the main ongoing cost is seed, and perhaps a bit of potting mix, the cost of which is nothing compared to the cost of buying in your sprouts and microgreens at the supermarket.
- They are quick to produce food, there is no need to hang around for a couple of months waiting for a harvest, they will provide a harvest within a week of setting up and getting things firing.
- They can improve your resilience, being able to produce some of your own food reduces your reliance on long supply chains that can be cut unexpectedly. Some seed and the knowledge of how to grow sprouts, shoots and microgreens means less worries in times of trouble.
- They can reduce your environmental impact, taking it back from (to use the imperial terminology) from food miles to food feet!
If you want to start growing food, you could do a lot worse than starting out growing some mung bean sprouts in a kid’s lunchbox. Starting out small is a great way to go, then as your enthusiasm builds and you learn more (particularly by reading this eBook) you can spread out and diversify, adding more and more crops to your repertoire.
Why not make a commitment and start tomorrow? (you could start today, but you need to soak the sprout seeds overnight!)
