These are some quick facts about growing chia microgreens:
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Soak the seeds? | No, they germinate easily without soaking |
| Sow the seeds directly? | Yes, sow them without soaking or rinsing first |
| Germination time? | 2-3 days |
| Time until harvest? | 7-14 days |
Chia microgreens are easy to grow, as they don't require any prepration before you sow them, and they grow very quickly after germination. Here's how a batch of microgreens looked about 10 days after I sowed them in potting soil:
The container shown in these pictures is a circular plastic food takeout container that I thought could work as a small tray for growing microgreens. It turned out quite well!
Germinating chia seeds
First, I filled up the container with about 1 inch of water to bottom-water this batch of microgreens. Then I filled the container with coconut coir. Finally, I sprinkled chia seeds on top, evenly apart, and gave them a quick misting with a spray bottle. In this picture, I tried to spread the seeds out a bit after sprinkling them on. Some of the seeds are slightly below the surface.
Then I covered the container with aluminum foil and pressed it down a bit to both keep the environment around the chia seeds dark and humid, and also to put a little pressure on the seeds so the seedlings will have to do some work as they grow.
Expect it to take a few days for the seeds to start germinating. The chia seeds will be a little slimy if the have enough water around them. This is completely normal, as chia seeds can absorb over 10 times their weight in water! Make sure to check up on the tray a few times each day to watch out for mold.
After germination
A day or two after the chia seeds germinated, I saw that they were pushing up against the aluminum foil. Then I removed the aluminum foil and placed the tray under a grow light. Starting out, the chia sprouts were all yellow but by the end of the first day, they had all started turning green. Here's what they looked like a day after being exposed to light:
Chia microgreens grow very quickly. Just a few days later after 12-18 hours per day under an LED grow light, this is how this batch looked:
By now, these are ready to harvest! They'll continue turning more bitter in taste as they grow larger, so you could harvest them a little earlier if you prefer a more mild taste.
Harvesting chia microgreens
Here's how this batch looked before I harvested them.
To harvest them, I used a chef's knife to cut them a couple of centimeters above where they grow out of the soil. You can use scissors to cut them too. Just make sure to avoid getting any soil along with your harvest.
How to eat chia microgreens
By now, they're nutritious and ready to eat. Here are some ways to eat them:
- Eat them raw in a salad
- Stir fry them lightly
If you choose to eat them raw, make sure that you're confident they're clean first. I like to quickly stir fry them in avocado oil with a little bit of himalayan salt and freshly-ground peppercorns. Healthy and delicious!