- Basic Microgreens Starter Kit Instructions | Tech Sheet (PDF)
- Growing Microgreens Year-Round for Profit | Johnny's Selected Seeds
- Deluxe Microgreens Starter Kit Instructions | Tech Sheet (PDF)
- 12 Best Microgreens for Beginner Growers | Easy Choices to Get You Started from Johnny's Research Team
- Microgreens Yield Data Trial | Summary, Materials & Methods, Findings & Discussion
- Microgreens Yield Data Trial | Table of RAW DATA (XLSX)
- Microgreens Yield Data Trial | Table of Averages for Each Variety | Tech Sheet (PDF)
- Fast-Growing Microgreen Flowers, Herbs & Vegetables | Comparison Chart (PDF)
- Microgreens | Key Growing Information
- Slow-Growing Microgreen Flowers, Herbs & Vegetables | Comparison Chart (PDF)
- Microgreens Brochure | An Overview of Growing, Harvesting & Marketing Basics | Printable 4-pp PDF
- Microgreens Comparison Chart (PDF)
- Microgreens Production | Tech Sheet (PDF)
- Salad Mixes & Microgreens Mixes | 2-pp Spec Sheet (PDF)
- Video: Microgreens Production & ROI, with Thomas Macy
- Video: Mild Micro Mix | Exclusively from Johnny's
- Video: 'Rainbow Sprinkles' MicroMix | Exclusively from Johnny's
- Video: 'Confetti Radish' Micro Mix | Exclusively from Johnny's
- Costs & Materials Calculator | Microgreens & Seedling Bench for High Tunnel Installation
12 Easy Choices: Best Microgreens for the Beginning Grower
Top Picks for Getting Started
Microgreens are a super-quick crop that can be grown year-round. They are also relatively easy to grow, but they are not entirely foolproof. For beginners, some are more dependable than others.
Out of the dozens of different microgreen selections we offer, we chose these 3 easy crop types, 4 easy mixes, and 5 easy varieties as our top 12 recommendations for those new to microgreens. All of them germinate and grow quickly for reliable performance every time.
Whether you're looking to add diversity and profitability to your operation or simply to give them a try, here are the best 12 microgreen choices for getting off to a successful start.
Microgreen Types
- Microgreens can be grown from many different types of seeds, including herbs and flowers, as well as vegetables.
- A good way to learn as you grow is to start by focusing on one easy crop type, one of our curated microgreen mixes, or one or two easy varieties.
- If growing single, separate varieties to harvest the same day, be sure to compare their growth rates using our Fast-Growing Microgreens Chart and Slow-Growing Microgreens Chart, to time your sowings accordingly.
3 Easy Microgreen Crops
KEY ATTRIBUTES
- Choose from spicy or mild
- Interesting leaf shapes
- Colorful
4 Easy Microgreen Mixes
If you're ready to get started but prefer to keep things simple, premixed microgreens blends are a good way to go.
Micro mix can consist of many different kinds of vegetables—amaranth, arugula, beets, broccoli, cabbage, kale, mizuna, mustards, pac choi, radishes, to list a few—as well as tender herbs such as basil, fennel, and cutting celery.
We put careful selection and trialing into the development of our premixed blends so they reliably provide the advantages of uniform, compatible growth rates, a range of textures and colors, and well-balanced flavors.
A new formulation of easy, fast, and colorful radishes for microgreens.
A new blend of kales with contrasting leaf shapes and colors.
A perennially popular mix combining sweet, mild-tasting brassicas.
A colorful complement of sharper-tasting microgreen varieties.
We provide both conventional and certified-organic seed options for three of these four micro mixes.
You can offer one or more of these mixes individually or, alternatively, combine one or more post harvest—the mild product with the spicy one, for example.
5 Easy Microgreen Varieties
If you're feeling adventuresome, you could start off by growing one or more of the following 5 easy varieties.
Bulky, blonde leaves create great contrast in a mix or as a stand-alone product. Grows quickly and vigorously with a mild flavor and buttery texture.
Classic peppery, nutty, arugula flavor in half the time of field-grown greens. Green leaves and purple stems.
Green leaves and long, green stems with a mild brassica flavor. An easy way to bulk up a mix.
Spicy pepper flavor. Fancy three-lobed leaves. Excellent fast-growing selection for growers of all abilities.
Bright green leaves with a contrasting white stem. Fast-growing, serrated leaves. Mild flavor.
We've selected these varieties because, in our experience, they all reliably produce dense, uniform stands that are easy to harvest. Together, they also offer a pleasing diversity of flavors, from mild to spicy, and an attractive range of colors, shapes, and textures.
Learn More
Our Deluxe Microgreens Seed Starter Kit includes several of the varieties recommended on this page, plus all the materials you need to get started growing microgreens.
This article covers just one easy dozen out of many more microgreens that can be grown year-round. Once your program is up and running and you've mastered these easy varieties, you may want to step it up a level. The next step on your learning curve could be our 'Rainbow Sprinkles' Beets & Chard Mix. Or, if you feel ready, start diversifying; we encourage you to experiment and, over time, develop your own signature mix.
How to Grow Microgreens
- Microgreens • Key Growing Information
- Microgreens Production • Tech Sheet PDF
- Guide to Year-Round Microgreens Production • Article