WHOLLY ROOTED
  • Home
  • About
    • About Our Family
    • About Denise Cusack
    • Sustainable Practices >
      • Plant Conservation/Botanical Sanctuary
  • Analu Perfume
    • Analu Perfume for Good
    • Natural Perfumery
  • What I Do
    • Health Justice + Mutual Aid >
      • Seed Grants & Donation Distribution Network
      • Grow Herbs for HWB
      • Volunteer With Us
    • Regenerative Herbalism & Aromatherapy
    • Permaculture Education
  • My Work
    • Teaching/Speaking >
      • Upcoming Presentations
      • Past Webinars, Podcasts & Classes
    • Writing
    • Clinical Aromatherapy
    • Clinical Herbalism
    • Flower Essences
    • Freebies
    • Other Work >
      • Where We Are Located
      • What I'm Reading
      • Unschooling
      • Denise Art + Design >
        • Denise Art
        • Photography
  • Blog
    • Blog Archive
    • Recipe Archive >
      • Food + Pantry
      • Herbs + EO's
  • Contact+

Microgreens. (Pt.1)

3/12/2014

8 Comments

 
Growing Microgreens with Hydroponics {wholly rooted}
We have harsh long winters where I live. Dark, long, cold. I always start the winter loving the coziness of soups and stews and warm drinks and being inside while winter rages out there. But after a few months of that I start to really feel the darkness. And that is usually when I crave crave crave greens. Fresh, crisp, green. GREEN!  We have been growing herbs and microgreens in winter for years - and have been pretty happy with our setup. This year, however, we decided to up it a notch and try hydroponics. We have a simple two tray ebb and flow system which we setup right in our dining room. It keeps the bright fresh greens close at hand, and allows the boys to help and participate since it isn't tucked away in a forgotten corner or basement. I.LOVE.IT. We have grown more lettuces, cress, greens, and microgreens than ever. I use one tray for microgreens and every 7-10 days I have an entire tray to cut. An entire tray to cut! It is satisfying to cut whole tray of peppery flavorful crisp bright greens when the snow is deep and the wind is howling. 
 
The second tray we rotate for baby greens. Peashoots, arugula, cress, head lettuce, mesclun, etc. We harvest that tray every 15-30 days or so, depending on what we are growing.  So from a small two tray system in our dining room we have had fresh greens all winter. With no soil.  I like it so much we are considering expanding to a larger system in our basement next winter to grow more mature culinary herbs and vegetables - although the fast seed to harvest time of microgreens and baby greens really can't be beat.

Simple ebb and flow tray system for microgreens and baby greens. {wholly rooted}

This winter we have grown everything, it seems. Mixed microgreens with radish, broccoli, cabbage, fennel, dill, mustard, fenugreek, beet, onion, kale, chard, amaranth, and more! We have harvested multiple trays of peashoots. And the baby greens! Arugula. Wrinkly crinkly cress. Dwarf pak choy. Sorrel. Shungiku. Mizuna. YUM.

Hydroponic Baby Greens. {wholly rooted}

I have an excellent helper too, who loves choosing which seeds to start for microgreens, checking on our water levels and changing water, and especially cutting (his favorite part is cutting).  I think both boys enjoy seeing how quickly everything grows and choosing what to grow next.

Harvesting Microgreens. {wholly rooted}

I love having fresh greens all winter.  And now as hints of spring will slowly (every so slowly!) start to appear, I need the boost. I dream of salads and vegetables and herbs, but my garden won't be producing any of that for a long while still. So even though we are starting trays of seeds to plant outside, we have this more instant reward. We can see the green, we can watch the progress, we can pick and nibble whenever we like. It is so good.
8 Comments
Michelle link
3/12/2014 03:42:09 am

I started a tray of mesclun just over a week ago. I set it on our heated basement floor and it sprouted in 3 days. 3 days!! I now have it in a south facing window so I am hoping it will do well there. I am craving greens too. The produce at the grocery store tastes horrible!

Reply
Denise
3/12/2014 04:40:57 am

I love mesclun - it grows so fast and you can just cut it and it keeps growing! I have grown greens in a sunny window with success - so you should be good! I have a shop light with full spectrum grow bulbs for the hydroponics right now, but only because it is in a spot without much natural light.

Reply
Elvira link
3/14/2014 03:21:00 am

Oh this is so inspirational! I'm impressed with your results, and dying to give it a try too (though our weather is changing and spring is in the air - plus we didn't have snow all winter)

Reply
Denise
3/20/2014 04:25:41 am

I tend to grow them year round inside. By summer when things are bolting in the heat it is nice to still be cutting fresh greens!

Reply
Susan Damschen
4/7/2014 02:17:55 pm

I am excited to try this. Can you tell me what type of trays you used and where to purchase them? Thanks, Susan

Reply
Lauren L'Esperance
7/25/2016 08:40:27 am

Can you explain to me how you set up your ebb and flow system? How long do you flood the trays for? Thanks!

Reply
Kenzie Laduke
7/21/2020 01:13:06 pm

Does anyone know if you can extract oils from microgreens? I have never heard of anyone doing this and I can’t find anything about it online. Is there a reason why no one has done this before?

Reply
Jeremy Hara link
9/21/2021 06:33:17 am

What an exquisite article! Your post is very helpful right now. Thank you for sharing this informative one.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    whollyrooted.com

    denise cusack

    I am a certified aromatherapist, clinical herbalist, permaculture designer,  organic gardener, plant conservationist, photographer, writer, designer, artist, nature lover,  health justice activist, whole foods maker, and mother of two young adults  in south central Wisconsin. 

    RSS Feed

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    ​Categories

    All
    BAKED GOODS
    BEES
    BEVERAGE
    BODY
    BREAKFAST
    CHICKENS
    COMMUNITY GARDEN
    CONDIMENT
    CRAFT
    CSA SHARE
    DAIRY FREE
    DESKTOP CALENDAR
    DESSERT
    DIY
    EBooks
    FAMILY
    FARMETTE
    FRUIT
    GARDEN
    GLUTEN FREE
    HEALTH JUSTICE
    HERBAL
    Home
    HYDROPONICS
    KITCHEN DIY
    Life Is Good
    MAIN COURSE
    PANTRY
    PICKLES
    POLLINATORS
    PRESERVE
    RECIPE
    SALAD
    SIDE DISH
    SNACK
    SPICES
    SUBSTACK
    TEND
    This Week In My Kitchen
    VEGAN
    VEGETABLE
    VEGETARIAN
    VIDEO
    VOLUNTEERING
    WHOLLY ROOTED FARM


    My recipes at 
    Yummly

    Cook Eat Share

    ©2007-23 Denise Cusack, all photos and text. Feel free to share my posts on FB or Twitter or online media or pin on Pinterest (thank you!), but please keep the links back to my website intact (meaning please do not take or copy my images off of this website and share them unattributed or without linking back here or use them without permission). Thank you! :)

Work With Denise

​​Permaculture Consultations
​
Have Denise Speak at Your Event
What I Speak About
Webinars, Podcasts, Classes
Denise Writing
Denise Art 
Photography

work with denise

Permaculture Design
Herbscaping & Foodscaping
Speaking/Presentations
Upcoming Presentations
Past Webinars, Classes, Presentations
​Denise Writing

Journal/blog

About us

About Our Family
About Wholly Rooted Farm
About Denise
Our Values
Plant Conservation/Sanctuary
WR Environmental Commitment

Library

On the Blog
What is Permaculture
Free Downloads
Wholly Rooted Farm Photos
Where We Are Located
What I am Reading
Unschooling
Denise Art
Denise Photography

Health Justice
HWB Donation Network
HWB Seed Grant System
​Grow a Row for HWB
Herbalism  & Aromatherapy ​

What We Do

Permaculture Education
​
Perfumery
Regenerative Herbalism & Aromatherapy

LEARN ONLINE

Regenerative Herbalist
Regenerative Plant Medicine Business
Aromatic Herbalism

Media

Media, Bio, Info


Art  |  Writing   |  Design Work  |  Photography  | Food |  Perfumery  |  Herbalism  & Aromatherapy  | ​
© COPYRIGHT 2014 - 2024
​Wholly Rooted LLC,
​Denise Cusack & Family
Deerfield, Wisconsin


​Contact
Picture
All material provided on this website is provided for informational or educational purposes only, and is not intended as a substitute for the advice provided by your healthcare professional or physician. 
  • Home
  • About
    • About Our Family
    • About Denise Cusack
    • Sustainable Practices >
      • Plant Conservation/Botanical Sanctuary
  • Analu Perfume
    • Analu Perfume for Good
    • Natural Perfumery
  • What I Do
    • Health Justice + Mutual Aid >
      • Seed Grants & Donation Distribution Network
      • Grow Herbs for HWB
      • Volunteer With Us
    • Regenerative Herbalism & Aromatherapy
    • Permaculture Education
  • My Work
    • Teaching/Speaking >
      • Upcoming Presentations
      • Past Webinars, Podcasts & Classes
    • Writing
    • Clinical Aromatherapy
    • Clinical Herbalism
    • Flower Essences
    • Freebies
    • Other Work >
      • Where We Are Located
      • What I'm Reading
      • Unschooling
      • Denise Art + Design >
        • Denise Art
        • Photography
  • Blog
    • Blog Archive
    • Recipe Archive >
      • Food + Pantry
      • Herbs + EO's
  • Contact+