How-to Guide
How to Grow Microgreens at Home
The short answer
Microgreens are ordinary vegetable and herb seedlings harvested while still tiny, so the whole method is fast and forgiving: fill a shallow tray (a repurposed takeout tray or pie tin works) with a moistened growing medium such as a peat-based seed-starting mix, coconut coir, or a grow mat, then sow seeds much more densely than you ever would in a garden — the shoots are cut young, so crowding is the point.
Keep the medium moist with a spray bottle, give the tray a bright windowsill or an inexpensive grow light for a total of about 16 hours of light a day, and harvest by snipping just above the medium. Depending on the crop and conditions, you can be cutting greens as soon as about seven days after sowing and typically within three weeks. Good starter crops include radish, broccoli, arugula, and sunflower.
What you actually need
- Seeds sold for microgreens or sprouting (radish, broccoli, arugula, and sunflower are popular, reliable choices).
- A shallow tray with drainage — standard 1020 nursery trays work well, but repurposed food containers are fine for home use.
- A growing medium: peat-based mix, coconut coir, or a natural- or synthetic-fiber grow mat.
- A spray bottle for watering and scissors for harvest. Extension guidance is clear that home microgreen growing needs no special equipment beyond the seeds.
Sow, grow, harvest
- 1Sow densely — Scatter seed thickly and evenly across the moist medium — on the order of a quarter inch apart or less — and press it into contact with the surface.
- 2Keep moist and lit — Mist regularly so the medium never dries out. Natural light from a window or balcony is generally enough; if you supplement with a grow light, aim for a total of about 16 hours of light per day.
- 3Harvest young — Cut the stems with clean scissors just above the medium. Production runs roughly 7 to 21 days from seeding depending on the crop and the growing environment.
✔ Microgreens are harvested once and resown — after cutting, compost the spent medium and roots and start a fresh tray. Sowing a new tray every week keeps a steady supply coming.
Honest limits
Microgreens are a windowsill crop, not a grocery replacement: each tray yields one cutting, and the seed cost per salad is higher than growing the same plants to maturity. They are the right tool when you want fresh greens fast, in tiny spaces, year-round.
Sources
Reviewed 2026-07-18. We cite university Extension, government, and established horticultural sources — and never invent pesticide rates or dangerous treatments.
- Penn State Extension — A Step-By-Step Guide for Growing Microgreens at Home — Household supplies list, no special tools needed, dense sowing (~1/4 inch apart or less), 7–21 days seeding to harvest, ~16 hours total light per day, natural window light generally sufficient.
- University of Maryland Extension — Growing Microgreens and Baby Greens Indoors — Repurposed containers and 1020 trays, seed-starting mix / coconut coir / hydroponic grow mat as media, starter crop suggestions (arugula, radish, broccoli, sunflower).
- Clemson HGIC — Growing Microgreens — Microgreens grown in limited space in a short time, harvested at immature stage; media options including peat mixes, coir, and fiber mats.