My first week as a microgreen gardener

Learning by doing, is the thing.I've thought about microgreens this week more than I've thought about anything else.  It's an enormously satisfying pursuit, and I'm inspired by the prospect of having a constant supply of fresh edibles growing in my own home.  Even the process of rotation and nurturing fascinates me.  I've decided that the best use of the shelving unit I bought last year and originally placed in my kitchen window would be as a vertical microgreen farm.  The shelves are adjustable and extras can easily be obtained, so on the unit pictured here I could fit about nine or ten shelves - ample space.Here are some things I have learned in my first week of microgreen growing.

1.  Flies like dirt, and they really like peas.  I'm going to need to find ways to deter flies away from my shoots as they grow, or learn more about what possible negative effects they might have.  They seem very interested in the compost - more so than in the peas and the shoots themselves.  I like to leave my windows open as home as much as I possibly can, so I will need to learn more about the sort of plants they don't like to be around.  I'm also keeping the peas covered as much as I can - it still remains to be seen whether the fleece cloths I'm using will allow in enough light and moisture for me to leave them their the whole time, or whether there will need to be fully 'exposed' at any stage.

2.  Weighing down/covering seeds really does make a difference.  Probably not a surprise to the more scientifically experienced gardeners, but it was interesting to me to discover how adding a little pressure to the top of the seeds, rather than covering them with soil, seems to aid in germination.  This might be more to do with how much light they're exposed to, more than the weight - again, something I need to read up on.  Nevertheless, the original tray I sowed a week ago I have no abandoned to the wormery.  Of the few peas that have put out shoots, I've included these in with my beans, to see if they can be friends.

The length of their roots, grown in only a week, is amazing.  The things going on just under the surface, while above it all seems to slow and still.

3.  No direct sunlight required.  It's the height of summer now, but it's been a dull week here in Lancashire, with only a few glimpses of the yellow orb to punctuate the grey skies.  Temperatures have been around 16 - 21 degrees through the week, and the peas and mung beans seem perfectly satisfied with this.  This bodes well, I hope, for the darker months, when fresh nutrients are even more important.Things are going well. 

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