Veggie Bites – Microgreens for Breakfast

If I were to continue with microgreens, I think I would grab several packets of regular seed from the dollar store and do a multiple seeding with them. I think that would be much less expensive as you need a lot of seeds for a good showing of microgreens.

Greetings fellow gardeners,

The sky is pink this morning, which means there could be snow later; I enjoy the colour at this hour.  Two days ago, as I stood in the kitchen looking into the backyard, I watched as clouds of snow blew gently between the big trees. I love the trees at the back of my property, flashy white birches, apple trees and a smattering of sugar maples. The colours in the fall are stunning. While enjoying this view, I noticed at the top of these trees there were a number of squirrels, tumbling and racing and chasing each other like acrobats in Cirque du Soleil. 

I have found that squirrels and chipmunks have become an issue in my garden, and I have been reading various articles to see what I can do about them. They will dig up seeds and seedlings, so I know that I have to be aware of that. Chipmunks seem to be particularly fond of pea seeds. As I plant a lot of my vegetables in pots, many of the squirrels and chipmunks dig in the pots, and this displaces or destroys the seedlings. I found that bird netting prevented the chipmunks from digging and discouraged the squirrels. One day, I found my big toad wrapped up in the netting! I carefully cut away the netting and removed it from my pots. I don’t want anything hurting my toads. The main thing to do is to cover the soil surface to discourage digging. A friend of mine uses pinecones, sometimes I use smooth stones, and this year I want to try groundcovers. I think I have lots of experimenting to do. As I am an organic gardener, I won’t be using any chemical pest deterrents, and I am hoping to find a way that these rodents and 1 can live together, peacefully.

Today I am going to have my first microgreen tasting. I chose swiss chard microgreens. A large number of seeds arrived in a lovely package with clear instructions. I planted them in a recycled take-away tray and had excellent germination. The seeds I planted are the same as any swiss chard seed. If I were to continue with microgreens, I think I would grab several packets of regular seed from the dollar store and do a multiple seeding with them. I think that would be much less expensive as you need a lot of seeds for a good showing of microgreens.

So, as you can see, I boiled a couple of eggs, and using my scissors, I harvested a number of swiss chard microgreens. They are at the seed leaf stage, and I am being careful not to pull them out of the soil. I sprinkled the greens on my breakfast and took a picture. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. The greens added a depth of flavour to my breakfast and I am going to definitely continue to use them. They have a very intense chard flavour and I might try some other microgreens using some of my old leftover seeds.

Well, the snow did show up and it has made my view look like the inside of a snow globe. The sun is sparkling through the trees and it makes it impossible not to smile. Have a wonderful week. Judith.