Did you know that you can grow your own vegetables with edible greens like cress, aqua root and watercress? Not only are these greens grown in other countries, but they are even certified as organic. Imagine growing your own vegetables that are certified organic. This article will provide a few tips on how to get started growing microgreens.
Are microgreens cress? Cress is an aquatic plant that is related to wheat. Microgreens belong to the cabbage family and are found growing naturally in southern Europe, Asia, Africa, North America and Australia. The leaves of the plant are pale green and when the root is squeezed it produces a juice that is used in cuisines. There are several varieties including the white cress.
The benefits of growing this vegetable are many. It is high in potassium and magnesium, two vitamins that are beneficial to the human body. It helps prevent constipation and improves the digestion. It is also known to be a natural laxative and to be anti-inflammatory. The cress prevents premature wrinkling of the skin, which is what happens to us as we age.
Do not worry if you are not comfortable with growing microgreens because they are easy to obtain and don’t require much space. If you have a large backyard then you can opt for the dwarf variety. In fact you don’t even need a trellis for them to grow. They are best planted in large spaces that receive direct sunlight but at the same time are not too crowded.
The biggest challenge when growing microgreens is ensuring that they get sufficient moisture and air. For this reason it would be ideal if you placed them on an outside trellis or in baskets so that they can receive the right amount of sunlight, air and water. This will ensure that they grow properly.
Microgreens are best harvested when they are approximately two to three inches in height. The leaves will appear small and bushy at this stage. This is when the green cress is in its full vigour. It would be best that you leave them to bloom until they are approximately six to eight inches in length and have dried up completely.
When you buy these little plants they come in bunches. You need to untie them and clip the growing tips. You will notice that most of these bunches have a lot of white hair attached to them. You should aim to remove about half of the white hair before your cress starts drying up completely.
If you want to grow a cress crop successfully then you should ensure that the soil where you plant them is rich in nutrients and there are enough nutrients in the soil for them to thrive. If the soil is deficient in these nutrients, the plants are likely not to thrive. One thing you could do to prevent a poor crop is to water the plants very well when they first come up. Once they have established themselves, you don’t really have to water them any more.
The main problems encountered with growing microgreens cress are the fact that they are such a delicate plant. They can easily be damaged by pests and disease. To prevent this, you should make sure you are giving them regular fertilization. If you do not do this the chances of them becoming affected are very high.
If you are growing microgreens cress yourself then you will also have to take into consideration the fact that they are very sensitive plants. If you place any sort of structure on top of them for example a trellis or some other type of support structures the cress may easily get damaged. If you intend to propagate these plants then you must know that planting them from seed is a very difficult task. So the best way of planting them would be to clone them from other suitable plants.
So how can you get around these difficulties? The best answer to this is to simply buy a small container for planting these plants in. The best part is that these can be bought for as little as 30 dollars. This is a great investment because through their cloning you could easily make numerous replicas of the microgreen cress and use them in a wide variety of dishes, potpourri and other decorative arrangements.
Microgreens cress are highly versatile plants. They make an excellent accompaniment to a wide variety of dishes. You can use them in soups, stews and other dishes where you would normally use spinach. They also make an excellent addition to salad oils and can be used liberally as well. In short they are very easy to grow and very adaptable plants.