Growing microgreens at home - the ultimate zero miles micro-garden

We love sowing and growing fresh microgreens for you here at Lightfoot's Farm in the New Forest; but we can't help but share our growing knowledge and love to see others join in - we even sell a grow kit and seed and soil refills!

From a 20x10cm windowsill box, to a full rack, a few seeds sprinkled on a low-nutrient compost or coco coir can give you the pleasure and therapeutic benefits of growing, the company of plants, and the freshest of zero miles food in your own home.

We even sell kits, and seed and soil refill kits to help! So what do you need?

• A growing medium - composts prepared from wood materials like sylvagrow; or coco coir work, they should be low fertility and 'sterile', or close enough.

• A tray with holes and one without (to catch the drips)

• A lid for the first few days (an upside down base-tray is perfect)

• Untreated seeds

• Water (just from the tap is perfect)

• A warm sunny spot that isn't too humid (and don't worry if its a little cool - they'll just take a bit longer)

How is it done?

Level your compost in the tray with holes; moisten it with water; sow your seed thickly but evenly; puff a little more water from a spray bottle; cover and leave in the dark for a few days.

Uncover and set in a warm light place.

Watch the magic happen and cut when you simply can't resist - just about as they begin to think about setting a first true leaf is perfect.

Is it for me?

Of course! It's the most natural thing to sow a seed and watch it grow, our senses evolved with close connection to plants - our survival depends on it! Research shows a host of ways it does us good to grow and have plants for company - the colours, the volatiles that enter our blood stream and nourish us by simply passing by and breathing them in; the mindful distraction; the oxygen they give us to breathe as we breathe our carbon dioxide to make them grow; and the nourishment of the freshest of harvested plants.¹

How much will I get?

If it's volume and diversity you're after, or even if you want the cheapest option, then we can do it for you! But for a little extra on the occasional meal home growing is perfect. We can grow more cheaply because of our bulk supplies and optimised conditions; and it's easy for us to pack 15 varieties into the three mixes pack that we deliver. But a 20x10cm tray should give you 30g of most varieties within a couple of weeks and brighten up a windowsill and we'd suggest you consider buying a 'bulk' bag of seed for a variety or two of 200g-500g each rather than small packs of just a couple of grams that don't go very far.

References

¹ Health effects of plants, light, and natural elements of biophilic interventions in confined settings: a systematic review, Frontiers in Physiology, 2025. Link