The best microgreens to grow depend on what you’re after, but radish, broccoli, sunflower, and pea shoots consistently top the list for their combination of easy germination, fast harvests, and strong flavor. Most varieties are ready to eat in 7 to 21 days, need minimal equipment, and pack significantly more nutrients per gram than their mature counterparts.
Best Varieties by Flavor
Microgreens vary widely in taste, and choosing varieties you’ll actually enjoy eating makes the whole project worthwhile. They generally fall into four flavor categories:
- Peppery and spicy: Radish and arugula. These have a sharp, wasabi-like bite that pairs well with avocado toast, sandwiches, and creamy pasta dishes.
- Nutty and earthy: Sunflower and beet. Sunflower microgreens taste like a mild, crunchy sunflower seed and work beautifully on eggs, roasted vegetables, and grilled meats. Beet microgreens add a sweet earthiness and a striking magenta color.
- Sweet and grassy: Pea shoots and corn. Pea shoots are one of the most universally liked microgreens, with a fresh, sweet flavor that works in salads, stir-fries, and spring rolls.
- Citrusy and herbal: Basil and lemon balm. These are more specialized but excellent as garnishes for cocktails, desserts, or fresh cheese.
If you’re growing for the first time, radish and sunflower give you the most satisfying combination of bold flavor and visual payoff. Radish microgreens develop vivid pink stems, and sunflower shoots grow tall and leafy enough to feel like a real harvest.
Easiest Varieties for Beginners
Radish, broccoli, and kale microgreens are among the most forgiving varieties to grow. None of them require pre-soaking the seeds before planting, which eliminates a step that can introduce mold problems for new growers. They germinate reliably, tolerate minor mistakes in watering, and grow quickly enough to keep you motivated.
Radish is the single best starter microgreen. Seeds sprout within 1 to 2 days and reach harvest size fast, often within 7 to 10 days. Broccoli is nearly as easy and produces dense, delicate greens. Kale takes slightly longer but is very consistent. A premixed microgreen seed blend is another good beginner option since it removes the guesswork entirely, and no soaking is needed.
Varieties that are trickier for beginners include basil (slow and inconsistent germination), cilantro (seeds need to be cracked or soaked first), and beet (longer growing time and uneven sprouting). Save these for after you’ve had a few successful trays.
Nutritional Standouts
Microgreens are famously nutrient-dense, often containing 4 to 40 times the vitamin concentrations of the same plant at maturity. Red cabbage microgreens are particularly high in vitamin K, with measurable phylloquinone levels even at just a few days old. Radish microgreens contain about 52 mg of vitamin C per 100 grams of fresh weight, harvested at around 9 days. Across brassica family microgreens (broccoli, cabbage, kale, radish), vitamin E concentrations range widely but can be substantial.
If nutrition is your main goal, focus on brassica varieties. Broccoli, red cabbage, and radish microgreens all belong to this family and deliver concentrated amounts of vitamins C, E, and K along with beneficial plant compounds. Growing a rotation of two or three brassica varieties gives you a broad nutritional profile from a very small growing space.
How to Grow Microgreens Indoors
You need a shallow tray (a standard 10×20 inch nursery flat works well), fresh potting mix, seeds, a spray bottle, and a light source. That’s it.
Fill your tray about an inch deep with potting mix that drains well. Spread seeds densely across the surface. A typical seeding rate is 10 to 15 grams per tray, though this varies by seed size. Sunflower and pea seeds are large and need heavier seeding; broccoli and radish seeds are tiny and spread further. Mist the surface thoroughly, then cover the tray with another tray or a damp towel to create a dark, humid environment for the first 2 to 4 days. This blackout period encourages the seeds to push upward and stretch.
Once you see pale shoots about an inch tall, remove the cover and move the tray under light. A simple fluorescent or LED grow light works. The optimal light level for microgreens is a daily light integral of 9 to 12 mol per square meter per day, which translates to about 12 to 16 hours under a standard grow light placed a few inches above the tray. A sunny windowsill can work too, but growth will be leggier and slower. Keep the soil moist but not waterlogged, watering from the bottom of the tray when possible.
Harvest Timing
Most microgreens are ready when they’ve developed their first set of true leaves (the second pair of leaves that appear after the initial seed leaves). For fast growers like radish, this can happen in as little as 7 days. Slower varieties like beet or basil may take closer to 14 to 21 days. Cut the stems just above the soil line with clean scissors. They won’t regrow, so you’ll replant the tray for your next batch.
Avoiding Mold and Damping Off
The biggest enemy of microgreens is fungal growth, often called “damping off,” where seedlings collapse at the base and die. This happens when conditions are too wet, too warm, or too stagnant. High-density seeding, which microgreens require, makes this risk even higher than with regular seedlings.
Prevention comes down to a few non-negotiable habits. Always use fresh, sterile potting mix for each tray. Never reuse soil from a previous planting, and don’t use garden soil or compost, which carry fungal spores. If you’re reusing trays, soak them for 30 minutes in a 10% bleach solution and rinse before replanting. Keep your growing area between 68 and 75°F. Cold water below 50°F slows growth and invites infection, so use room-temperature water.
Air circulation matters more than most beginners realize. A small fan on low, pointed near (not directly at) your trays, reduces the stagnant moisture layer on the soil surface where mold thrives. Water to keep the soil consistently moist but never soggy, and make sure your trays can drain. If you see white fuzz on the soil surface, it’s often harmless root hairs rather than mold. True mold has a cobwebby texture and a musty smell. Gently increasing airflow usually prevents it from taking hold.
Best Varieties for Continuous Growing
Once you’ve grown a few successful trays, the most practical approach is a staggered rotation. Plant a new tray every 5 to 7 days, and you’ll have a continuous supply without gaps. A good rotation for variety and reliability: radish one week, sunflower the next, then pea shoots, then broccoli. This gives you a mix of spicy, nutty, sweet, and mild flavors cycling through your kitchen.
Sunflower and pea shoots are the most substantial microgreens, large enough to use as a salad base rather than just a garnish. They also yield more per tray by weight than smaller-seeded varieties, making them the most cost-effective if you eat microgreens daily. Radish and broccoli yield less volume but are nutritionally denser and grow faster, so they’re ideal as flavor and nutrient boosters alongside your main greens.