With crisis comes opportunity, and the current Covid-19 crisis is no different. We can keep dwelling on it or occupy ourselves doing things that are constructive, innovative and also may be experimental. Yoga and wellness are lifestyle choices, both for the physical body as well as your mental wellbeing, and the food we consume goes hand in hand to ensure the wellbeing of the individual.
So during this time, I experimented with Microgreens. The thought started with sustainability and how can we grow our own food by planting a small vegetable garden in the back yard. We all know how we can come up with various constraints as to how we cannot do something, like lack of space, or proper soil, or the hot weather, or large expense etc… Well, here you go: we can grow microgreens without soil and in your home with everyday household items without stepping out to buy anything or spending any money.
Try your hand at this, you won’t be sorry.
Why Microgreens?
Microgreens are the seedlings of vegetables and herbs, and are considered a superfood as they are packed with nutrients. They can be grown at home using everyday household items, either with or without soil, and act as an inexpensive way to produce fresh food throughout the year.
Microgreens grow from sprouts and develop leaves. When the cotyledon leaves – the first 2 leaves have fully developed the plant becomes a microgreen and can be harvested.
Microgreens can be grown from any herb or vegetable. Eg; Moong dal, Fenugreek (Methi) seeds, Coriander seeds etc
The leaves can be eaten raw, used in salad, or sprinkled on top of your food, so very easy to fit into your diet.
They can be harvested anytime from 1-3 weeks during growth depending on the Microgreen.
HOW TO GROW MICROGREEN WITHOUT SOIL
We chose Green Moong to try:
- First soak a handful of Green Moong overnight in water
- Take a tray, you can use whatever you have in your house, don’t have to buy. We decided to use an old school lunchbox.
- Layer it with tissue, or kitchen paper towel and spray water to make the towel/tissue wet and moist. Do not flood it with water
- Sprinkle the moong evenly over the tissue and spray some water onto the moong. Then cover with a lid and keep in a dark place, for example, inside a kitchen cabinet.
- Water every day to ensure that there is moisture (the tissue /towel should be moist and not drenched)
- After a day it will sprout and in about 3 days it will sprout with stem (see pic), then it is ready for indirect sunlight to help it grow
- and by evening, on the same day, it will have green leaves (after exposure to indirect sunlight)
- By Day 7, it should be ready to harvest
And you can eat it ………
Raw with salads, added to fruit – Mango (pic), or for those traditional food enthusiasts, have it with Idly (pic)
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“Nature is always giving, it is time to understand and reciprocate”
– Ajit Laxman
Written By:
Ajit Laxman