Indeed, microgreens can indeed develop to their full stature if the right conditions are given.
If they have enough space, soil, and nutrition, microgreens will outgrow their typical stage but it would be difficult for them to grow to full-size plants because they are grown in high-stress conditions.
Microgreens are micro herbs grown in soils and are about 2- 8 cm tall.
Microgreens have a lot of nutrients in them and they are packed with good flavor. In general, any plant over 2 inches tall is not considered a microgreen.
Microgreens should be consumed after sprouting, before maturing to full-sized plants.
You can harvest them after they have developed their first leaves and small roots.
Microgreens have three parts:
- the stem
- young true leaves
- and the cotyledon leaves or leaf
You can easily grow microgreens; all you need is a tray, soil, and water to do so.
Conditions under Which You Can Grow Microgreens to Mature Plants
Different microgreens have unique outcomes. It could grow or it will not grow. Additionally, it really depends on how you harvest and cutting them.
The growing tip, or apical meristem, is the leading cause for a baby plant.
If you cut just above the other set of leaves, you can revive those tips to grow back. You should note that this isn’t really for grasses!
Your microgreens will have greater nutritional value and taste with the first cut and continue to take in nutrients from the soil when fully grown.
Once, they grow taller and thicker, the roots will also grow large and require more space to keep growing.
To grow, you will have to transplant them in:
- an open space (garden)
- or a deeper pot
When transplanting, you will have to cut the soils into cubes and plant in deeper soil, water and let them grow to full-size plants.
Transplanting your microgreens to larger containers will provide them considerable development with their root systems and provide high-quality, mature plants for your garden.
The new container needs to be roughly twice the size container that allowed enough space and nutrients for them to continue to grow into microgreens.
Don’t Forget: Watch for enough sunlight and temperature requirements.
How Do Microgreens Grow Into Mature Plants from Seeds?
You can grow microgreens seeds into mature plants by placing organic soil uniformly in a tray:
- Next, in order to speed up the germination process and not get confused each time you plant, let the seeds soak in warm water overnight,
- Spread seeds an inch over the container soil, then lay down the thin top soil.
- It’s time to water the seeds and place the pot near a sunny location or grow lights. All light will color the plant differently!
- Finally keep the soil moist over the seeds, and water daily to maintain a healthy color and growth.
Microgreens can be harvested in 2 to 3 weeks. When harvesting, use scissors to cut the stem just above the soil mix, or at least wait for the third set of leaves to emerge.
The second and third sets of leaves are referred to as true leaves, the first set of leaves is referred to as seed leaves. Cut above the other leaves and look for more growth of leaves from the true leaves.
Wait until the 2 to 3 weeks to harvest. Cut the stems just above the lowest set of true leaves once again. Repeat this process until the flavor of the microgreens is bitter and they’re about to go to seed, which are fully rooted.
Works fine: Cut cube sections of the soil mix and roots out and plant them in separate pots or garden and water for ~2 to 4 months.
Why It’s Difficult to Grow Microgreens into Mature Plants?
Should you have grown the seeds originally for the purpose of making microgreens, the plants would not reach maturity.
The level of stress and the cutting method, also affect the health of the microgreens.
Although microgreens are typically planted in a tight location, which demands the plants to have to compete for all the nutrients provided, therefore growth will be stunted if grown past the harvest stage.
Low stress will initiate growth, but in cases of high pressured responsibilities, the plant dies.
Cutting of microgreens is effectively the same, as not harvesting the plants. If the stress is too bad, the plant cannot rebound from the situation to grow back.
Even when more nutrients are provided, microgreens will still die.
| Advantages of growing microgreen to mature plant | Disadvantages of growing microgreen to full-size plant |
|---|---|
| You can harvest for a long time | When mature is bitter and tough |
| You get seeds that you can use to grow microgreens | It is expensive |
| Have fewer nutrients compared to microgreen |
The Drawback of Growing Microgreens into Full-size Plants
Full-size plants can cost significantly more to purchases and grow.
Microgreens may be compared higher, but when you consider their nutrition, they become a bargain.
You will also pay more for additional soil nutrients in the form of water or fertilizers that full-size plants require in addition to transportation.
Full-size plants are also less nutrient dense than microgreens. Microgreens are nutrient-dense, containing 25 times as many nutrients than their on-longer full plant counterparts.
So, any microgreens that you harvested are equal to the nutrition of 25 times their mature plant.
Fun-fact only a few know: As the microgreens transition into plants, the percentage of nutrient density declines, they change in texture and flavor, and their first flavor is often replaced with a more bitter, tougher taste every time you harvest them.
Final Thoughts
We can say that if you want to grow microgreens to full size, you can.
You just need to provide the right environment for them to grow, such as giving them enough space for them to grow to full size, etc.
Most people grow them to mature plants for seeds. However, if the environmental conditions don’t support their growth to full size, the microgreens will die off slowly.
Most growers prefer to harvest them while they are still microgreens due to their nutritional packing, good texture, taste, etc; rather than wait for them to grow to their mature bitter, tough maturity.