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Microgreens: How to Grow Nature's Own Superfood
Microgreens are the first true leaves of herbs and vegetables -- and today's hottest gourmet garnish. Microgreens is a practical guide to growing arugula and other popular mini-greens that offer a multitude of colors, textures and distinct flavors, as well as high levels of concentrated active compounds. Microgreens pack a powerful nutritional punch, are easily grown in containers as small as a bowl and can be ready to harvest in a week, giving quick rewards for the effort. Fionna Hill offers expert guidance on successfully growing, harvesting and preparing the 20 most popular microgreens, including arugula, beet, kale, radish, wheatgrass and basil. Her comprehensive instructions explain which containers and growing media to use, how to prepare and sow the seeds, when and how to harvest and how best to store the bounty. The book also includes 15 easy recipes that make the most of microgreens,
108 pages, Paperback
First published July 22, 2010
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395 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
January 18, 2020
Frustrating to read. Went from instructional manual to casual conversation sometimes over the course of two sentences. Beautiful pictures. Would have liked to see more photos of the actual process, though. And would have liked more detailed info on flavor, texture, and germination/growth standards for each of the varieties she discussed. Could be a useful tool but at this point I’m headed to the internet and will use this book as a list of varieties to try.
July 3, 2011
This book is visually very appealing (as you'd expect from a professional florist). It gives good advice, but I'd like it to be a bit more precise. Just how thick should the seeds be sown? Can you recycle the growing medium? What kind of fertiliser should you use, how dilute? Some photos of work in progress would be good too - step by step images so you know what to do at each stage. On the whole though, it's an attractive book and I suspect her message is, "Just have a go!"
October 1, 2011
Growing microgreens is a new concept to me, and it is beautifully presented in this book. The health benefits and each microgreen's properties, such as taste and use, are detailed. How to grow, in what kind of containers, and recipes are explained in separate chapters. Websites and resources and a glossary are included at the end of the book. One reviewer thought pictures of step by step planting and harvesting would have been great additions to the book, and I agree. Now I am enthused to try this new way of planting and using small plants in our everyday meals.
February 18, 2014
Microgreens, yes you're now used to the familiar wheatgrass sold everywhere. If you're lucky you'll now see more variety microgreens...they are not not to be confused with sprouts, they are grown in high light and in soil. Stronger in flavor and more concentrated nutrition, they can easily be added to your favorite dishes. You probably already have on hand everything needed to get started, so enjoy the anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antioxidant effects for yourself.
April 29, 2011
OK, I'm shallow. I got this for the pictures. I was pleasantly surprised to find it contained lots of good information on growing microgreens. And it is inspiring me to maybe even grow some! I'm trying to eat healthier and veggies are my least favorite food.
September 13, 2016
If you are wanting to get started in microgreens this book has lots of good information on the various types. I checked this out from my library to get started with my sprouts and microgreens, but I definitely want to purchase my own copy in the future to branch out into other types of greens!
July 26, 2011
I learned a good deal about growing greens, and I really enjoyed some of the recipes.
July 18, 2012
great info, now i have one more thing to plant........
November 8, 2012
Inspiring - now I'm off to buy some microgreen seeds :)
August 13, 2013
The pictures are really inspiring, the text not so much. Some interesting facts under the individual crop section.
March 8, 2015
I went straight to the farmer's market and bought sprouts after reading this.
May 9, 2016
Good beginner's guide to growing microgreens. Definitely good for reference.
October 28, 2017
Very informative about growing and using microgreens. Easy to understand and very clear.
December 9, 2019
When you strip away the hype of a book like this, there is still something worthwhile to enjoy, and that's what makes a book like this enjoyable even if the author is trying desperately hard to make it seem like microgreens are a superfood that can make your skin look better and stop cancer and so on and so forth. Again, when reading a book like this one has to assume that the author is going to promote something beyond what is reasonable, leaving the reader to judge for oneself whether or not there is genuine insight and worth to be found. In this case, there is, although it is not precisely what one would expect to find. As someone who has enjoyed sprouts as well as baby greens, I find that microgreens tend to inhabit a space in between the two, and so they have already placed themselves in a space that I am likely to enjoy, and that is a way to enjoy eating plants, something that I find worthwhile with some tasty balsamic vinaigrette to go along with them. If you have the same interest I do in eating tasty greens, then this book will be enjoyable enough even if you do not happen to believe the hype train that the author has hopped on.
This book is a bit more than 100 pages long and is filled with lots of photos and humorous quotes and even some materials I was not personally expecting. The book begins with an introduction of microgreens as being houseplants that one can eat and grow in very confined space (1). After that comes a discussion on how to grow microgreens, from seeds to containers to soil/growing media, to covering, watering, plant care, and harvesting and storing (2). After that comes a short discussion on how to solve plant problems (3) and encourage nutrition (4). About a third of the book's contents are then filled with a detailed discussion on how to crow individual crops, organized alphabetically from amaranth to wheatgrass, including notes on its flavor and how to harvest the greens in an appetizing fashion (5). After that the author talks about children growing microgreens because of the speed and ease of it (6), along with some recipes that I could take or leave that feature various microgreens in them, some of which look tasty (7). The book then ends with resources, acknowledgements, photo credits, a glossary, weights and measures, an index, and some information about the author.
What is the takeaway from this book? It does appear as if for some people growing microgreens could allow for profit given the vastly shorter time that it takes microgreens to become viable, although as a tradeoff for the greater speed of growing and harvesting one has to spend more money on seeds. For others, microgreens can offer tasty and nutricious ways of eating greens that one can grow even if one has very little space to work with, which makes them particularly worthwhile for urban gardeners, whether one does it on one's balcony or rooftop or something of that nature. It appears that microgreens have a following among hipster types who like to use them in exotic dishes as a way of showing their hipster cred, something that does not matter to me as much as the fact that they are able to be grown quickly in confined spaces. Additionally, I was intrigued about the way that the author (and not only her, it seems) view microgreens as a way of turning kids on to gardening because of the more instant gratification one enjoys from them as opposed to the rather long time it takes for most plants to grow to maturity. If you like greens and want them in a hurry, this is something worth checking out.
This book is a bit more than 100 pages long and is filled with lots of photos and humorous quotes and even some materials I was not personally expecting. The book begins with an introduction of microgreens as being houseplants that one can eat and grow in very confined space (1). After that comes a discussion on how to grow microgreens, from seeds to containers to soil/growing media, to covering, watering, plant care, and harvesting and storing (2). After that comes a short discussion on how to solve plant problems (3) and encourage nutrition (4). About a third of the book's contents are then filled with a detailed discussion on how to crow individual crops, organized alphabetically from amaranth to wheatgrass, including notes on its flavor and how to harvest the greens in an appetizing fashion (5). After that the author talks about children growing microgreens because of the speed and ease of it (6), along with some recipes that I could take or leave that feature various microgreens in them, some of which look tasty (7). The book then ends with resources, acknowledgements, photo credits, a glossary, weights and measures, an index, and some information about the author.
What is the takeaway from this book? It does appear as if for some people growing microgreens could allow for profit given the vastly shorter time that it takes microgreens to become viable, although as a tradeoff for the greater speed of growing and harvesting one has to spend more money on seeds. For others, microgreens can offer tasty and nutricious ways of eating greens that one can grow even if one has very little space to work with, which makes them particularly worthwhile for urban gardeners, whether one does it on one's balcony or rooftop or something of that nature. It appears that microgreens have a following among hipster types who like to use them in exotic dishes as a way of showing their hipster cred, something that does not matter to me as much as the fact that they are able to be grown quickly in confined spaces. Additionally, I was intrigued about the way that the author (and not only her, it seems) view microgreens as a way of turning kids on to gardening because of the more instant gratification one enjoys from them as opposed to the rather long time it takes for most plants to grow to maturity. If you like greens and want them in a hurry, this is something worth checking out.
June 3, 2019
Beautiful pictures and nice recipes plus some good information on growing micro-greens.
May 10, 2025
very well written
very informative
very informative
October 1, 2012
Useful guide, though I wish she'd provided info consistently on each plant. For example, with some seeds she specified the best growing medium, but not with all. Or best season for growing, etc. I don't believe her nutritional claims have much scientific backing. But it gave me the info I need, mostly.
January 2, 2012
Lots of pretty pictures. Encouraging if you want to grow on a small scale, even in a small apartment or just a bit for fun. Lacks specific horticultural information for each type of plant but includes basic info on growing microgreens.
February 6, 2013
Didn't really get any more/new info from this that I haven't read already online. In fact, the entire book feels like an overly long magazine article, with waaaaay too much emphasis on growing in "cute" or "attractive" containers. Who cares?!
January 26, 2012
It was informational. I did not think of using greens that small. I will definately grow grees to use before they are mature.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews