Corn plants are known to grow quickly, so it makes sense that corn microgreens should be some of the fastest you can grow. In less than a week, you can turn a handful of tough grains into a plethora of healthy, delicious microgreens. If you haven't tried growing microgreens before, this is an excellent place to start.
Most microgreens taste a bit like their full grown, green selves, and corn is no exception. It's one of the sweetest tasting microgreens – especially if you use sweet corn seeds. All varieties should grow roughly the same corn sprouts. You can even plant popcorn seeds, which are usually the Everta subspecies of Zea mays.
These microgreens also contain more nutrients than the full-grown, green version. Because corn microgreen is so young, corn sprouts get all of the nutrients they need straight from the seed as they grow. Ripe green plants, on the other hand, often have no nutrients as they only get what is available in the soil. When you eat corn microgreens, you're getting a healthy dose of vitamins A, B, C, and E, iron, calcium, and even magnesium (along with great taste!).
This article covers all of the specifics of growing corn microgreens. Follow these steps and your cute tooth will be satisfied soon!
Good Products for Growing Corn Microgreens:
Corn microgreens short info
Corn microgreens are as sweet as the corn itself.
| Taste: | Sweet and sugary |
| Soaking: | 8-12 hours |
| Rinse / Drain: | No |
| Germination: | 2-3 Days |
| Ideal harvest: | 6-7 days |
Cultivation of corn microgreens
Corn sprouts require very few materials to grow, which is great for small spaces and budgets. Everything you need to grow popcorn microgreens can be found here.
materials
- seed: Any type of corn or popcorn seeds will do, but our favorites are these Golden Bantam Corn Seeds from True Leaf Market
- container: You will need at least two growing trays with drainage holes
- Growth medium: We love the Espoma seed starter mix for growing microgreens, but coconut coconut works well too!
- Harvest shears: Kitchen scissors like these are perfect
- Pouring bowl: A shallow container slightly larger than the growing bowls
- spray bottle
- Heating mat (Optional)
If you have experience growing microgreens you may have noticed that something is missing from this bill of materials. That's right, we left out the growing light. Corn microgreens spend their entire lives in the dark, so no fancy light is required! This saves space, time, and money – another bonus for growing corn microgreens.
All forms of corn seeds can be grown as microgreens, including popcorn seeds. Source: JimmyMac210
You can grow corn sprouts hydroponically but do their best job in the soil. Since the seeds are not buried, a fine-grained soil is best so that they stand evenly. The seed starting mix is an excellent choice for growing corn microgreen because of its texture and good drainage.
You need at least two rearing dishes per batch of microgreens. We're going to plant in one and use the other to block out the light. If you only have a single grow tray, you can use a lid, board, or even a thick towel to keep the microgreens dark.
soaking
If you're one of those people who chew on the unbroken kernels at the bottom of the popcorn bowl, you know how tough those seeds are. When growing microgreens, we want to give the seeds a little boost by softening them in water before planting.
All you have to do is soak the kernels in cold water for 8-12 hours. You can let them soak for up to 24 hours, but 8-12 hours is usually enough. Once the seeds are soft, start planting your microgreens right away.
plants
To start growing microgreens, we first prepare the growing tray. Fill it with a few inches of soil and lightly moisten it. Flatten the surface as flat as possible. Then spread the corn seeds all over the ground. The kernels should be tightly packed, but not one on top of the other.
Give the seeds a good mist of water and cover them with the second tray. Your new home should be completely dark so add a towel if necessary. If you want to speed up the germination process, you can add a heating mat underneath. Otherwise, it will take 2-3 days for the microgreen seeds to germinate.
Growing
Make sure your corn isn't exposed to light!
It is imperative that the corn sprouts are not exposed to sunlight. When this happens, corn sprouts develop chlorophyll in the leaves and begin photosynthesis, causing the corn sprouts to turn green. This doesn't seem like a big deal, but exposure to light will actually make the taste bitter. The corn sprouts also become more fibrous and inedible like a corn husk.
To prevent bacteria from growing, we're going to water the popcorn shoots from below. Fill your watering bowl with a couple of inches of water and place the tray inside. Let the soil fill through the drainage holes, then remove it. Do this whenever the soil begins to dry out. You can check this by feeling the weight of the tablet.
If you look under the lid, you will see that the kernels become thin and light yellow corn sprouts. These plants are monocots, which means that they only grow a single cotyledon. The cotyledon leaves are long and flat and unfold from a tubular stem. In fact, corn sprouts grow like yellow, shaggy leaves of grass!
harvest
After 6-7 days of growth, your corn sprouts should be 2-4 inches tall with pale yellow leaves. This is the perfect time to harvest, as corn sprouts become more fibrous and bitter as they age (when they grow above 4 inches). You can harvest the corn sprouts at once or move them as long as you stay in the small window if the sweet taste is ideal. If the plant has turned green, it will have a bitter taste and you will run out of time to harvest.
Use clean, sharp scissors to cut the corn sprouts just above the ground. Corn sprouts stop growing after being cut. Therefore, compost the used soil after the harvest.
storage
When you're ready to use the yellow corn sprouts, rinse them well in cold water. Then you can use your microgreens to flavor sandwiches, omelets, smoothies, salads, or literally any food (okay, maybe no ice cream).
Store unused corn sprouts unwashed in a sealed container in the refrigerator. Place a paper towel in the container and change it as needed to absorb additional water. With this method, your yellow corn microgreens should be stable for 7 to 14 days.
frequently asked Questions
Q: How do corn sprouts taste?
A: Corn sprouts have a sweet taste. Typically these taste a bit like sweet corn.
Q: What is the biggest benefit of microgreens?
A: Microgreen sprouts have the same nutrients as the grown, mature, green plant, but in larger quantities. This is because microgreens get their nourishment from the seed instead of the soil, the latter often being poor in nutrients. Also, these greens usually retain some of the flavor of the plant being grown.
The green fingers behind this article:
