Micro vegetables are called Microgreens in English, because micro vegetables are seedlings of vegetables, so they are also called micro seedlings and micro vegetable seedlings. Miniature vegetables are relatively expensive, and in the past, basically more upscale restaurant chefs occasionally used them when side dishes. Micro vegetables have only become popular in recent years as people pay more and more attention to the health of their diets.
What are micro vegetables
Because micro vegetables are relatively new ways of growing, here we will introduce you to what is micro vegetables, what are the differences between micro vegetables and traditional vegetables, the nutritional status of micro vegetables, and which vegetables can be planted in the way of micro vegetables and so on.
The growth of vegetables can be roughly divided into three stages: the first stage is germination, the second stage is to grow the true leaves to maturity, and the third stage is to grow into our traditional mature vegetables.
The mung bean sprouts and soybean sprouts that we usually eat belong to the 1st stage of vegetables, and the mung bean sprouts and soybean sprouts are the sprouts of the 1st stage. In fact, there are many varieties of sprouts, but bean sprouts are more popular on our Chinese table.
The third stage is the ripe traditional vegetables, which are the various vegetables that we are very accustomed to going to the supermarket to buy.
Then the vegetables of the second stage are what we call micro vegetables, and the growth period of micro vegetables is generally between one week and three weeks. That is to say, the vegetables have just grown two or three pieces of true leaves and began to harvest. Because micro vegetables are very small seedlings, its taste is very tender, and many parts that cannot be eaten in traditional vegetables are very common in micro vegetables. For example, sunflowers, we plant sunflowers for two to three weeks or so and harvest them before they can be eaten. This may be unthinkable among traditional vegetables. In addition to the increase in taste and optional variety, what about the nutrition of micro vegetables?
According to some studies, although the volume of micro vegetables is very small, the nutritional value is very high. For example, red cabbage, coriander and carrots contain more than 40 times the nutritional value of mature plants. The general micro-vegetables contain between 4 and 40 times the nutrient content of mature vegetables. Because I often grow micro vegetables myself, I have heard some friends say that the nutritional value of micro vegetables is relatively high. However, I was very surprised when I saw this result. If you are interested, you can find some English information on the Internet.
Micro vegetables are grown indoors, because the growth cycle of the entire micro vegetables is very short, generally harvested in about two weeks. Here are the general steps for growing micro-vegetables.
The first step is to choose the flower soil in the store when growing miniature vegetables. Use a shallow tray, or a 1020 tray for planting flowers and germinating.
The second step, sowing seeds, it should be noted that the micro-vegetables are sown in a very dense way, because we do not need them to grow. In addition, intensive cultivation methods can increase the yield of micro-vegetables.
Step 3: Water daily to keep the soil moist, while liding the tray until seedlings grow.
Fourth, after the vegetables have grown seedlings, the lid can be removed, the vegetables can see the sun, and then harvested in a week or so. Generally speaking, vegetables can be harvested when they grow to about two inches. Depending on the variety of vegetables, peas can grow to 4-5 inches and then harvest, like broccoli is also called broccoli (Broccoli) can be harvested between one inch and two inches.
Therefore, the growth of micro vegetables relies on the nutrients in the seeds, and there is no need for fertilization at all. Miniature vegetables are grown indoors and do not require a vegetable garden, so almost everyone can grow them.
The more common micro-vegetables are peas, sunflowers, cauliflower (Broccoli), coriander, cabbage and so on
Because when planting micro-vegetables, the seeds are sprinkled very densely, and the soil where micro-vegetables are grown should be kept moist. Therefore, pay attention to ventilation to avoid mold, which is a common problem in the first place to grow micro vegetables.