Angels in My Garden Week #28   July13, 2010

                                                                                      Linus Mundy

Hello Fellow Gardeners,

In 1973 a man named E.F. Schumacher wrote a book entitled, Small is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered, which has become a classic in environmental literature. Schumacher contended that small, appropriate technologies will do more to empower the people than huge, sophisicated mass production operations. He believed in the “maximum of well- being with the minimum of consumption” and that, “the less toil there is, the more time and strength is left for artistic creativity.”

Our square foot gardens fall right in with Schumacher's philosophy and I have recently been introduced to another application of “small is beautiful,” the growing of something called microgreens.

What are microgreens?

Microgreens are seedlings that are harvested with the first true leaves appear. That is when they're about an inch or an inch and a half tall. These young seedlings are packed with nutrients – vitamins, minerals and other life-sustaining phytochemicals. They are also often packed with flavor. Any greens that you put in a salad can be grown as microgreens, lettuce, spinach, beet greens, radish greens, mustard greens, cilantro, etc.

How are they grown?

Growing microgreens couldn't be easier. Find a plastic pan (some people use take-out food containers) about 3 inches deep and put some holes in the bottom for drainage. I used round, 12 inch diameter, trays that I found at the gardening center and put about 8-10 holes in the bottom of each, which I made with a corkscrew. Fill the pans to about one inch from the top with organic potting soil. Moisten the soil and sprinkle the seeds evenly over the top. Cover the seeds with another 1/8 to ¼ inch of potting soil. Keep them well-moistened with a mister and in a sunny spot and in about a week you will have your first crop of microgreens.

How are they used?

Microgreens have become very popular in gourmet restaurants in some parts of the country. Chefs love their intense flavor and the decorative affect that they add to a salad. They can also be used as a garnish on sandwiches or in wraps, or chopped and sprinkled on potatoes or in egg dishes such as omelets.

One of the beauties of microgreens is that you can grow them all year round - outside during the growing season and in a sunny window during the winter; and they grow so fast that you can always have a fresh supply of these nutritious tidbits.

Reflection: Have you ever noticed how exquisite some of the tiniest wildflowers are? It's easy to pass them by because they're so small, but a quiet walk in the spring woods will reveal a host of these delicate beauties. In our climate, they often make their appearance before the ground is fully thawed. It's worth the time it takes to more closely examine these tiniest of nature's ornaments which conform that small is beautiful, whether we're talking about technology, gardens, or acts of kindness.  As commentator Tom Slayton so beautifully stated, "If you ever wonder about the meaning of life, spring wildflowers give us a clue. The meaning of life is to continue, they say - if possible - to continue with beauty."

“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches.
                                                                        Matthew 13: 31-32

Note:  If you're on facebook please re-read this week's opening quote and then check out this video of our gardening community in Guatemala. http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=444606055707&ref=mf