Microgreens – nutritious herbs you can grow easily indoors

From seed to ready-to-eat in as little as seven days, harvesting your own greens has never been so simple.

radish microgreens being harvested

by Piper Huxley |
Updated on

Vibrant, delicate, and delicious microgreens are taking the gardening and culinary world by storm right now. Small in size and jam-packed full of nutrients, they're a super-easy way to nourish your body and add depths of flavour to your meals. They're an easy-to-grow indoor plant that can fit nicely onto your windowsill.

What are microgreens? They are essentially the seedlings of larger edible vegetables and herbs. Miniscule in size and loaded with nutrients such as vitamins C, E, and K, lutein, and beta-carotene, they contain four to six times the vitamins and phytochemicals found in mature leaves of the same plants. Packed with intense flavours and lovely texture, they'll elevate any salad dish or make the perfect garnish. They can be grown in indoor hydroponic gardens.

Best microgreens at a glance:

Best all-natural microgreen sprouter: Geo TZZ0933 "Geo Terradisiena Terracotta" Sprouter - View Amazon UK
Best microgreens starter kit: Microgreens Rainbow Seed Grow Kit - View on Amazon UK
Best microgreens seeds: Microgreens Salad Seeds Mix - View on Amazon UK

You may have already seen them on the menus of gourmet restaurants, but did you know you can easily grow them at home too? These miniature veggies and herbs require little space and plenty of light, and they're perfect to grow on a windowsill at home or in a window box. They're ideal if you have little or no outdoor space.

From seed to ready-to-eat in as little as seven days, harvesting your own greens has never been so simple and low maintenance – even a serial plant killer would struggle to kill these off. Microgreens are one of many easy to care for plants.

Best microgreens starter kits and accessories

Best all-natural microgreen sprouter

Geo TZZ0933 Geo Terradisiena Terracotta SprouterAmazon/Geo
Price: £24.95 (was £26.43)

This authentic microgreens sprouter is made in Tuscany. It's known as a "Geo Terradisiena Terracotta" and is a simple and natural way of spouting seeds as clay absorbs water and prevents seeds from drying out. You benefit from completely natural materials as well as it's wonderfully unusual decorative element.

Customer review: "Bought this to grow my seeds and salad sprouts. It is a great product. Very easy to use and adds a decorative element to my kitchen. It comes with the handy instructions and even my child can figure out how to use it."

Pros

  • Elegant and decorative
  • All- natural and healthy
  • Easy to use and spouts fast

Cons

  • Use kitchen towel to stop seeds getting stuck in the drainage holes

Best microgreens starter kit

Microgreens Rainbow Seed Grow KitAmazon/Thompson & Morgan
Price: £7.99 (was £8.99)

If you're interested in dabbling in the health benefits of microgreens, this Thompson & Morgan starter kit is a great place to start before investing in more kit. You receive four packets of microseeds so there's a rainbow of variety. This Microgreens Rainbow Seed Grow Kit provides everything you need to grow microseeds. It's a lovely little activity to do with youngsters or if you're looking to see if growing microgreens could become the hobby for you.

Customer review: "So much fun planting and tending to my little plants! A fun little project with healthy and yummy outcome."

Pros

  • Amazon's Choice recommended product
  • Harvest your microgreens in a week to 10 days
  • Ideal for beginners or an activity to do with children

Cons

  • Some customers felt this was too basic

Best microgreens seeds

Microgreens Salad Seeds Mix
Price: £9.95

Specially selected for colour and flavour and pre-mixed for convenience, this Microgreens Salad Seeds Mix is perfect for growing super-nutrient greens at home. Featuring seeds for English Garden Salad, Kale and Friends, Rubylicious, Radish Delught and Rainbow Chard, the results in as quick as nine days.

Customer Review: "These microgreens are amazing, with swift and tasty rewards. They are great value for money, and I highly recommend them."

Pros

  • High germination
  • Easy to sprout

Cons

  • Few customers haven't had much luck

Best value microgreens kit

Mr Fothergill's 24725 Microgreens Growing KitAmazon/Mr Fothergill's
Price: £8.93

If you're looking to take your microgreens hobby further, this kit from Mr Fothergill's includes a reusable tray – simply add seeds and water and watch your healthy microgreens grow. The tray is designed to sit on a window sill and it has two sides so you can create a continuous supply of growing and ready to harvest microgreens by alternating sowing and harvesting.

Customer review: "I love this item. I fill one half of the tray first with one packet of seeds then roughly 7-12 days later when micros are ready to eat I then fill the other half with a new packet of seeds to keep the harvesting continuous. Looks great on the window sill. Easy to clean. Great product."

Pros

  • Customers comment that it's easy to use
  • Reusable tray, plus seeds at a good price
  • Fits on a window sill

Cons

  • Some customers found that their seeds went mouldy

Best microgreens beginner book

Microgreens: The Insiders Secrets To Growing Gourmet Greens & Building A Wildly Successful Microgreen Business
Price: £14.95

Don't know where to start with microgreens? Get this handy paperback book that gives you an essential guide to gourmet greens. Plus, it's free with Kindle Unlimited. The Microgreens: The Insiders Secrets To Growing Gourmet Greens & Building A Wildly Successful Microgreen Business is perfect for those of us concerned with our health.

Customer Review: "Overall a great buy!! Really good advice for a range of people, from beginners looking for a new hobby to people aspiring to make a successful business from Microgreens too. The advice and tips in the book really do work and I particularly liked the bonus 20 recipes which are fun to try out. The business advice in the book is a great bonus too, and an all-around book on Microgreens."

Pros

  • Perfect for health-conscious individuals
  • Complete with recipes for microgreens

Cons

  • A little focused on business for some

Best microgreens growing tray

Mr Fothergill's 24725 Microgreens Growing Kit and 3 Packets of Seeds
Price: £8.93

High-quality reusable trays to get you started growing microgreens with no need for soil! Just add seeds and water for healthy, colourful, and full of flavour greens. Seeds included are Basil, Coriander and Rocket. For an easy, budget-friendly microgreens garden, consider Mr. Fothergill's Microgreens Growing Kit and Seeds.

Customer Review: "This simple, little tray sits neatly on my kitchen windowsill. The kit came complete with seeds and clear instructions. It was all much simpler than I thought, and the seeds started germinating within two days. I should probably have waited longer but couldn't wait to nibble the first shoots which were big enough to taste after the fourth day. I have left half the tray for a full week and am 'harvesting' tasty shoots each morning."

Pros

  • Budget-friendly option
  • Year-round, no soil is required

Cons

  • No frills - very simple

Best easy to clean microgreens kit

Back to the Roots 43002 Organic Microgreens Grow Kit with Ceramic PlanterAmazon/Back to the Roots
Price: £14.55 (was £18.88)

With porous surfaces and plastic there is the possibility of mould growing on the spouting tray. The benefit of this ceramic dish is that it's easy to clean and sterilise. Grow organic microgreens on your window sill and snip them at leisure to add to salads and liven up sandwiches.

Customer review: "I followed the instructions and had a successful harvest. After I had cut half of my sprouts, I sprinkled some chia seeds on the soil to see what would happen following the same process and they sprouted too! So now I will cut them in a day or two. Love seeing the microgreens grow as well as eating them. I'm going to buy more."

Pros

  • Grow organic microgreens
  • Easy to clean dish
  • Comes with clear instructions so great for beginners

Cons

  • Note the dimensions as it's a small dish

Best premium microgreens

Six Premium Microgreens Seeds CollectionEtsy

Receive (of gift) this beautifully presented collection of microgreen seeds, elegantly curated with the benefits of each type of microgreen. There is Amaranth Red Garnet, Broccoli, Chia, Mixed Salad, Rambo Radish and Rocket included. Snipped fresh onto a salad every day, you reap the health benefits of essential nutrients, antioxidants, enzymes and amino acids (which are the building blocks of protein).

Customer review: "Great greens - started to grow already, fabulous shop - we'll be back :)"

Pros

  • Superfood health benefits
  • Novel gift idea
  • Diverse collection of seeds with unique gains

Cons

  • Seeds are tiny, take care not to pour too many out at once

Best microseeds jar kit

Seed Sprouting Jar KitAmazon
Price: £19.99

This well-designed Seed Sprouting Jar Kit has everything you need to create healthy microgreens at home. A shade cover is included to simulate the dark night-time conditions to cultivate longer and sweeter spouts. It's a great way of introducing kids to how plants grow and healthy eating.

Customer review: "Functional, easy to use, easy to clean and, using quality seeds, will produce great results. Just a few minutes a day to wash sprouts, quickly drain most of the water then put on stand for remaining excess to drip into tray. The black covers are good quality with a snug fit. Recommended."

Pros

  • Colour-coordinated lids help identify what's growing in each jar
  • The design offers better airflow and drainage
  • Food-grade safe materials
  • Sprout a wide variety of beans, seeds and nuts

Cons

  • Best suited to larger seeds as small ones get caught and rot

How we chose the best microgreens

All of these microgreens have been hand-selected by our team of Modern Gardens shopping experts. We carefully considered quality, price and customer reviews in our selection of the best. Our team has spent hours investigating and researching microgreens to make it easier for you to find the very best, and we'd never recommend a product we don't believe in.

Where possible, we also test and share the latest and best products you should know about. And with help from Modern Gardens Magazine, Garden News and Garden Answers, we share expert gardening knowledge to help you get the most from your product.

FAQs

Which are the easiest to grow?

Radish

Broccoli

Cabbage

Kohlrabi

Rocket

Basil

What's not to love? Harvest your own super greens in as little as seven to ten days. Get started with our round-up of the best kits and accessories to get you started on your microgreens harvesting journey.

What do microgreens taste like?

Microgreens vary in taste depending on the variety. It can either taste relatively neutral, peppery, slightly sour or even bitter.

What are the health benefits of microgreens?

Microgreens are highly nutritious and may reduce the risk of the following diseases:

Heart disease: Microgreens are a rich source of polyphenols, a form of antioxidants linked to a lower risk of heart disease.

Alzheimer's disease: Antioxidant-rich foods with high amounts of polyphenols may be connected to a lower risk of Alzheimer's disease.

Diabetes: Antioxidants may help reduce the stress that can prevent sugar from properly entering cells.

Certain cancers: Antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables, especially those rich in polyphenols, may lower the risk of various types of cancer.

Best food for plants to ensure healthy growth

Small indoor plant pots to give your plants the best start in life

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Piper Huxley is a Homes, Garden and Wellness Product Writer for Modern Gardens Magazine, an all-rounder. When she's not writing about houseplants, she's tending to her own growing collection…

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