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If you picture green sprouts when you think of microgreens, you should meet the lovely Swiss chard microgreens. They’ll brighten up your meals with their brightly colored stems and light green leaves. Why limit yourself to a green salad when you can mix in orange, yellow, or red chard?
How to grow chard microgreens
Swiss chard microgreens have a sweet earthy flavor similar to beets, which is not surprising given their ancestry. They’re also high in nutrients like vitamins A, B, C, and K, as well as fiber and protein.
Including Swiss chard microgreens in sandwiches and salads is a delicious way to increase your nutrient intake.
Swiss chard microgreens, like other microgreens, can be grown indoors under grow lights all year. So, if you fall in love with them, you won’t run out of options. Swiss chard microgreens are simple to grow.
Growing Swiss chard Microgreens
You must first gather the materials before you can begin growing Swiss chard microgreens. Then, in 1-2 weeks, with a little patience and daily care, you’ll have some crunchy greens to enjoy.
Read also: How To Grow Pea Microgreens Without Soil
Materials for growing Swiss chard Microgreens
You’ll need a few things to get started growing Swiss chard microgreens:
Seeds: We recommend True Leaf Market’s Swiss chard seeds, which are listed below.
Three shallow grow trays will be required. One of them should be equipped with drainage holes. We recommend Espoma’s seed starting mix or coconut coir as a growing medium. T5 grow lights are recommended.
Spray bottle: Your bottle should ideally emit a fine mist. Sharp scissors, such as kitchen scissors or gardening shears, are ideal.
Heat mats: If you need assistance keeping the soil at the optimal temperature, heat mats will come in handy.
Although it is not necessary, the trays in which you grow your Swiss chard microgreens should be shallow. A shallow microgreens tray has numerous advantages, beginning with proper hydration.
Because the roots don’t require much soil, a small amount of soil in a shallow tray will keep the soil moist and prevent your microgreens from drying out as quickly.
To begin growing microgreens, you’ll need three trays. One will aid in bottom watering, another will hold the soil and Swiss chard seeds, and the third will sit on top during the blackout period.
The tray with the holes will be in the center. The holes improve airflow and hydration. The trays can be the same size, but a larger watering tray may be more convenient. You can get by with two trays and a tea towel to cover the seeds at the very least.
A bright window with plenty of natural light will help you grow microgreens, but a grow light will make the process much easier.
You don’t need a fancy grow light, but something close to the Swiss chard will help it grow upright and full rather than leggy and leaned over.
Read also: How To Grow Radish Microgreens
Can you eat Swiss chard sprouts?
Microgreen Swiss chard is best eaten before it develops its first set of true leaves. They’re bright, sweet, and earthy, and they’ll liven up your salads and sandwiches.
What are the healthiest microgreens?
Most microgreens are high in vitamins and minerals, so you really can’t go wrong with any of them. Swiss chard contains vitamins A, B, C, and K, as well as fiber, protein, and a high level of antioxidants.
If you don’t want to grow Swiss chard microgreens, other excellent options include sunflower, radish, and wheatgrass.
Conclusion
Swiss chard microgreens have a sweet and earthy flavor with a slight crunch. If anything appears to be wrong and they’ve been stored for about a week, it’s probably time to throw them out and start over.
When you’re ready to eat the Swiss chard microgreens, you can wash them, but you don’t have to if they look clean.
There’s no reason to wash them if you harvested them without seed husks or growing medium on them, you know how you grew them, and you didn’t have any pests.
