“What do you recommend for growing microgreens and baby lettuces? I am interested in buying your products at retail for now to test.” Question from Karman of Indianapolis, Indiana

Answer: We recommend growing microgreens and baby lettuce in OMRI Listed Black Gold Seedling Mix. Our seedling mix holds water well and is porous and fine, to encourage the development of small roots and shoots. To find BG seedling mix, search for stores that carry it in your area via our Store Finder or purchase it online at Ace Hardware or Urban Farmer. We also recommend purchasing seeds from a quality source, such as High Mowing Organic Seeds, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, and Truleaf Market. They all offer a wide selection of microgreen seeds.

When growing microgreens at home, we recommend starting them in well-drained flats or large seedling trays as you would start any seeds. (Click here to read our many useful seed-starting blogs.) Fill the pots with a pre-moistened seedling mix, evenly sprinkle seeds along the top at a good density, and cover the seeds with a plastic hood to keep them from drying out. Place the flats in a sunny window or beneath grow lights, then keep them lightly misted and irrigated until they have sprouted. Once they have sprouted and begun to develop second leaves, microgreens can be harvested.

When growing baby lettuce, space seeds around 1 square inch per seed, being sure to surface-sow them (lettuce seeds need light to germinate). Once the lettuce plants have sprouted and developed several sets of leaves, they can be harvested. I also encourage you to watch the video below about great lettuce varieties and how to grow them.

I hope that these tips help!

Happy gardening,

Jessie Keith

Black Gold Horticulturist