How to sow micro-leaves & sprouting seeds

Want a quick, tasty crop any time of year? Micro-leaves and sprouting seeds are the answer – they’re easy, fast, nutritious, flavourful and great for garnishing dishes with a cheffy flourish.

You don’t even need any special equipment. White mustard (cress) seeds for example, can simply be sown on damp kitchen towel or cotton wool and will soon produce a forest of pale stems topped by green mustardy leaves that can be snipped at 5cm tall – more micro-leaves or micro-green than a sprouting seed, which are eaten when the seed has just burst into germination before the leafy stage.

Alternatively, sow on a shallow layer of compost in a seed tray. You can sow all sorts of micro-leaf seeds this way from tiny alfafa with its pea-pod flavour, chard, rocket and various herbs, to bigger pea seeds to produce succulent pea shoots that are lovely mixed into salads. This is a great way to use up any leftover half-empty packets of pea seed you might have from last summer.

Micro-leaf growing kits are available that make the process even easier. The kit from Johnsons includes a re-useable tray that you don’t even need to fill with soil, simply sow the seed and water, and three packet of micro-leaves: basil, coriander and rocket.

For other sprouting seeds, you’ll get better results if you use a seed sprouter or large, clean jam or kilner jar. Fenugreek, sunflower seeds and mung beans can be sprouted this way. Wash the seed in cold water and leave it to soak for approximately eight hours. Put the seed in the jar and cover the top with a clean piece of muslin or thin cloth. Rinse and drain the seeds once or twice a day and by day three to five, they’ll have sprouted and can be used in salads or stir fries.

Some sprouters have tiered layers so you can have multiple varieties germinating at the same time, or seeds at different stages for a constant supply.