It makes sense to grow vegetables, fruits, flowers, and other plants for yourself. Greenhouses can help novice gardeners cultivate plants and increase yields. Many backyard workers have fun growing in a greenhouse and they want to explore more types of gardening.
Microgreen growing has become a popular form of cultivation today with its unique cultivation techniques. If you are also learning about information and tips on miniature plant growing, please continue reading this blog for more inspiration.
What are microgreens?
Before you can grow your first microgreens, you need to understand the definition of microgreens.
First, you need to understand that you should not confuse microgreens with bean sprouts, even though they look similar and are both baby plants. The difference between bean sprouts and microgreens is that bean sprouts sprout and grow in water, while microgreens need to be grown in soil.
Microgreens are seedlings of edible vegetables and herbs, and micro is one of the most obvious characteristics of such plants.
Unlike larger plants that take weeks or even months to grow, microgreens can be harvested and eaten a week to ten days after the cotyledons develop.
Why grow microgreens?
While many backyard gardeners prefer to grow larger plants, which are more conducive to garden landscaping. Also, you can find more tips on cultivating larger plants on the internet, which is more beneficial for novices.
However, if you learn about the benefits of plants like microgreens, you would like to start your microgreens planting.
Good taste
Although the size of microgreens cannot be compared to larger vegetable plants, microgreens have a more intense flavor. Unlike traditional recipes, microgreens are usually cooked in a way that does not require boiling but is more suitable for eating raw.
Therefore, microgreens are often used in salads, such as vegetable salads and fruit salads. Because of the rich flavor of microgreens, salads made from these plants are more flavorful.
High nutritional value
A scientific study published by the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry showed that microgreens can bring more benefits to the human body. An analysis of 25 microgreens showed that microgreens have four to six times the nutritional content of their larger counterparts.
Red kale microgreens contain 40 times more vitamin E than their counterparts, and cilantro microgreens contain three times more beta-carotene.
Lower Cost
If you want easy access to microgreens, the places you're most likely to go are supermarkets, plant stores, farms, or large farmers' markets. However, due to the high nutritional value of microgreens and the lower scale of cultivation, you usually need to spend more money on microgreens than on similar plants.
However, if you buy seeds to plant, your costs will be much lower.
Economic value
Microgreens are loved by many gardeners as well as food lovers for their delicious taste and high nutritional value. Many people like to taste salads, pizzas, and soups made from microgreens, which is a business opportunity for plant cultivators. If you can cultivate microgreens on a large scale, it means you will get a huge profit.
Grow microgreens in the greenhouse
Why grow microgreens in a greenhouse?
Greenhouse cultivation is a favorite cultivation method for many gardeners. Microgreens require little growing space and can be grown in any greenhouse.
Microgreens cannot be grown in cold conditions and you need to provide them with a warmer environment. If you wish to grow microgreens outdoors, you will encounter many challenges. By moving microgreens into a greenhouse, you have the flexibility to control the temperature, humidity, and other conditions inside the greenhouse, giving your microgreens the perfect space to grow.
If you want to reap the economic benefits of microgreens, greenhouse gardening can give you more insights. Many bloggers have shared their experiences with microgreens in videos and articles. Greenhouses can promote higher crop yields, and the quality of these plants is great.
Three greenhouse microgreens Inspirations you must know
- Greenhouse Size
Although you can grow microgreens in any size greenhouse, greenhouse size should still be on your list of considerations. You need to consider the size of your deck or backyard when choosing a greenhouse, and this will have a bearing on what size greenhouse you will have. If your backyard or patio is small, a small greenhouse or mini greenhouse will be a better match. If you are a large garden owner, you can grow microgreens on a large scale in your greenhouse and you have more options such as glass greenhouses, portable large greenhouses, etc.
Although the larger the planting area, the more you will harvest. But you still have other factors to consider besides gardening.
- Greenhouse costs
You can grow microgreens in a greenhouse all year round, but in the winter and summer, you may face some problems. As we have already mentioned, microgreens cannot grow in cold conditions, so when winter comes, you will need to set up the heating in the greenhouse. However, the summer heat can also adversely affect the growth of microgreens, and setting up cooling facilities is necessary.
Whether you are heating a greenhouse or cooling it, you need to consider the size of the greenhouse and the materials used for it. These two aspects greatly determine the cost you will spend on greenhouse growth.
A 10x20 greenhouse must require more heating or cooling facilities than a 10x8 greenhouse. In other words, if you want to build a huge greenhouse garden, you will spend more on facilities, maintenance, and more. If you are a novice gardener, it is recommended that you start your microgreens growing in a small greenhouse at the beginning.
Regarding greenhouse materials, more gardeners choose materials such as glass or plastic, such as fiberglass, polycarbonate, or polyethylene film.
If you have enough budget for greenhouse materials, it is recommended that you use a greenhouse made of polycarbonate. Polycarbonate is one of the best greenhouse materials. It is strong in texture and can be used for a long time.
Polycarbonate is available in single-wall, double-wall, and triple-wall thicknesses. You can customize your greenhouse at a professional greenhouse website. If you want to change the wall thickness of your greenhouse to a different one, this will increase your cost.
Compared to the above two materials, polyethylene coverings are less costly and more suitable for most hobby gardens. Polyethylene fabric is often used to make portable greenhouses and is durable. These types of greenhouses are easy to set up and are popular with many novice gardeners.
Quictent offers high-quality portable greenhouses made of polyethylene mulch for your microgreens gardening. Quictent's greenhouse covers weigh 180g, and are waterproof and UV-proof, giving your mini plants the best protection.
- Growing Tips
You can try to grow any kind of microgreens, but to have a smooth harvest, it is important to have some growing tips.
Microgreens are a bit picky about the growing environment. The temperature in the greenhouse has a great influence on the growth of microgreens. During the fall and winter months, if you can't keep the inside of your greenhouse consistently warm, the miniature plants may stop growing or even die. And, to make these miniature plants grow, you also need to provide them with good ventilation.
Because of the sensitivity of miniature vegetables to the growing environment, gardeners need to check the growth of these plants frequently and adjust the temperature and ventilation inside the greenhouse according to the situation. For hobby gardeners, it will be less difficult to grow miniature plants if they live in an area with the right temperature. If you live at a high altitude, you will need to spend more energy and money on the temperature, humidity, and ventilation inside the greenhouse.
Conclusion
Whether it's nutritional or economic value, microgreens are worth trying. If you're ready to start a micro-plant planting program, you can consider greenhouses, a widely tried gardening tool.
If you have a greenhouse ready for growing your microgreens, you can start buying seeds and other equipment. Please note that during the process of planting, you will encounter some problems, don't worry, you can get many suggestions online.
Start your microgreens gardening now!
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