The Secret to Growing Sweet Corn Microgreens
If you’re at all familiar with my blog, you know I have a crazy affinity for microgreens. Microgreens offer a ton of variety in flavor, texture, and nutrition profile, so they make an excellent addition to any meal. They are also super quick and easy to grow, giving you plenty of room for trial and error. There is one new variety in particular I recently discovered that really blew my mind. I learned that I can grow sweet corn microgreens!
What are Sweet Corn Microgreens?
Whether you love broccoli, sunflowers, peas, carrots, or whatever other vegetable, chances are you can grow them as microgreens and get all of the signature flavor with a fraction of the work. The same is true with sweet corn!
Get your Sweet Corn Microgreens seeds at True Leaf Market!
You can plant a tray of sweet corn and less than a week later, harvest your sweet corn shoots and enjoy them mixed in a salad or even by themselves
Flavor Profile
The best part about sweet corn microgreens is the shoots have that signature, sugary sweet corn flavor that you get from corn on the cob. You will be very surprised at just how deliciously sweet the shoots are!
Nutrition Profile
Sweet corn microgreens are loaded with nutrients. They contain vitamins A, B, C, & E, as well as other nutrients including calcium and magnesium. As with other microgreens, they pack a serious nutritional punch.
Preparing Sweet Corn Microgreen Seeds
When used as microgreens, sweet corn seeds should be prepared like most other larger seeds. They need to be soaked in cold water for at least 8 hours to soften their hard shells and kick-start the germination process. They can be soaked for up to 24 hours but 8 hours should be sufficient.
Sowing Sweet Corn Microgreen Seeds
Once your seeds are finished soaking, they should be planted just like most other microgreens.
Put a few cups of water in a 1020 tray (with no holes).
Fill the tray with about 1.5″ of soil and wet the surface. I flatten the surface with a piece of ply wood to ensure it is nice and even for planting.
Spread your sweet corn seeds evenly across the surface of the soil. It is okay if they touch but they shouldn’t be piled on top of one another.
Give them one more misting with water and gently press them down with a piece of wood to ensure good contact with the soil.
Now cover them with another tray and place them somewhere warm to germinate.
The SECRET to a Successful Sweet Corn Microgreen Crop
This next part is KEY! This is where sweet corn microgreens differ from all of the other ones.
DO NOT EXPOSE THEM TO LIGHT. SWEET CORN MICROGREENS MUST BE KEPT IN THE DARK FOR THE ENTIRE DURATION OF THEIR GROW CYCLE!!!
If you expose your sweet corn microgreens to light, they will begin the process of photosynthesis. This will cause the shoots to turn fibrous and bitter. If you can picture the toughness of a corn husk, this is what will happen to the shoots as they turn green.
Keep the shoots in the dark so they stay tender and yellow. You can remove the lid temporarily to water them with a spray bottle about once a day, but make sure to replace the lid.
Harvesting & Storing
After about 6-7 days, your sweet corn microgreens should be ready to harvest. They should be yellow, possibly with a very light green tint. Carefully cut the shoots about 1/2″ above the soil.
To store them, place them in a ziploc bag and keep them in the refrigerator. You want to store them dry so DON’T wash them before storing them. This can cause them to mold and rot. If you only wash them as you use them, they should stay fresh for at least 1-2 weeks.
Conclusion
Sweet corn microgreens are fun to grow, and they offer a completely different experience for your palate than other microgreens. If you love the taste of sweet corn in the summertime, then you will be able to enjoy it all year round now by growing it indoors as microgreens!
So give them a try and let me know what you think in the comments below. And don’t forget to keep them dark as you grow them.
To learn more about the benefits and how-to of growing microgreens, make sure to check out the other related articles below.
Enjoy your microgreens!
Cody
Thistle Downs Farm
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