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12 Best Microgreens for Beginners: Easy Choices to Get You Started

Twelve easy microgreens for beginners: three crop types, four mixes and five single varieties that sprout fast and grow reliably.
By Hensley’s Seed Co.
Top-12 Microgreens for Beginners

12 Easy Choices: Best Microgreens for the Beginning Grower

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Top Picks for Getting Started

Microgreens grow fast and can be produced year-round. They're fairly easy, but not completely foolproof, and some are more beginner-friendly than others.

From the many microgreens available, here are 12 top picks for newcomers: 3 easy crop types, 4 easy mixes and 5 easy varieties. All sprout and grow quickly and dependably.

Whether you want to add variety and income to your operation or just try something new, these 12 are a great way to start out right.

Microgreen Types

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3 Easy Microgreen Crops

Radishes

Red Rambo radish microgreen
KEY ATTRIBUTES
  • Grows very fast
  • Spicy
  • Colorful
  • Bulky

Mustards

Wasabina mustard microgreen
KEY ATTRIBUTES
  • Spicy or mild options
  • Unusual leaf shapes
  • Colorful

Kales

Red Russian kale microgreen
KEY ATTRIBUTES
  • Mild flavor
  • Colorful
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4 Easy Microgreen Mixes

If you're ready to begin but want to keep it simple, premixed blends are an easy option.

Microgreen mixes can include many vegetables, such as amaranth, arugula, beets, broccoli, cabbage, kale, mizuna, mustards, pac choi and radishes, along with tender herbs like basil, fennel and cutting celery.

Good premixed blends combine varieties with similar growth rates, so they're ready together, along with a mix of textures, colors and well-balanced flavors.

'CONFETTI'
Confetti Radish Micro Mix
An easy, quick-growing blend of colorful radishes for microgreens.
'KALEFETTI'
Kalefetti Micro Mix
A blend of kales with contrasting leaf shapes and colors.
MILD MICRO MIX
Mild Micro Mix
A long-time favorite blend of sweet, mild brassicas.
SPICY MICRO MIX
Spicy Micro Mix
A colorful blend of bolder, spicier microgreens.

Check each mix's product page for available seed options, conventional or certified organic.

Sell the mixes on their own or combine them after harvest, for example blending the mild mix with the spicy one.

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5 Easy Microgreen Varieties

Feeling adventurous? Try starting with one or more of these 5 easy varieties.

'Tokyo Bekana'
Tokyo Bekana microgreen
Big, pale green leaves add contrast to a mix or stand on their own. Fast and vigorous, with a mild taste and buttery texture.
Arugula
Arugula microgreen
Classic nutty, peppery arugula flavor in about half the time of a field crop. Green leaves on purple stems.
Broccoli
Broccoli microgreen
Green leaves on long green stems with mild brassica flavor. An easy way to add bulk to a mix.
'Cressida' Cress
Cressida Cress Microgreens
Peppery bite and attractive three-lobed leaves. A quick, easy pick for growers at any level.
MIZUNA
Mizuna microgreen
Bright green, serrated leaves on contrasting white stems. Quick-growing and mild.

These varieties reliably produce thick, even stands that are easy to cut. Together they cover a nice range of flavors from mild to spicy, plus an appealing variety of colors, shapes and textures.

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Learn More

deluxe microgreens growing kit
A microgreens starter kit with several of the varieties above and all the basic supplies is another easy way to get going.

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These are just a dozen of the many microgreens you can grow year-round. Once you're up and running and have these down, you may want to take the next step, such as 'Rainbow Sprinkles' Beets & Chard Mix. Or start branching out: experiment and, in time, create your own signature mix.

How to Grow Microgreens

Additional Learning Resources

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Source and attribution

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