My family and close friends will be reading this review with surprised looks on their faces as they know that salad and raw veg/fruit is not something I get excited about. As I have got older I can manage to eat the odd rocket leaf and I have even stopped picking cress out of sandwiches but still do not ask me to munch into an iceberg lettuce leaf - that is not going to happen.
I was intrigued when approached by the nice people at Getting People Growing to see if I wanted to trial one of their microgreens kits. "Why not" I thought to myself, I love growing things from seeds and this sounded like it would be fun. I have not paid for this kit but my words and opinions are as ever my own.
The kit duly arrived along with a handwritten note, regular readers will know I am a sucker for a handwritten note. Everything you need is included in the box, you do just add water.
The seed trays are made from clay and have a nice weight to them, I liked this, this is attention to detail and not skimping. I put the growing medium into the tray, used the metal container provided to measure out the right amount of water, poured it in and waited a few minutes.
I was given a few seed packets to try, they are all organic seeds and I decided to go with the Radmix (which apparently has a little heat to it) and the Nutritional Mix. You get comprehensive instructions so that you know exactly what to do.
Seeds were sprinkled....
and then you soak the wrapping paper that protected the seed pans in transit and use them to cover the seeds. This is a really nice touch. The paper was soaked and the seed pans put into a dark place that was not too cold for them to germinate.
You are meant to leave them until you can see the paper being pushed up by the seedlings, but of course I peeked before then. Within two days there were signs of life.
In four days they were lifting the paper and so out they came to get some light.
I was sent the hanging set for my seeds, this does not form part of the standard set and you can of course just put the seeds on a window sill. I hung mine in the conservatory and within a day they had turned green. The eagle-eyed amongst you might notice a few seeds ungerminated on the lower pan. This is not because when putting it in the hanger I dropped it and it all got mixed up so I chucked (technical term) a few more seeds on for good luck, No, that would have been a clumsy thing for me to have done....
and they are growing well and I have eaten some and they are tasty, I mean really tasty. There is definitely an edge of heat in the Radmix. Microgreens are also good for you, they have a good nutritious value plus I think most people agree that just the act of growing something is good for our mental health.
Best of all you get enough growing medium for more than one sowing and you can buy refills. You can also subscribe so that you know you will not run out.
Am I now a convert to fancy-pants cress? (well that's that I have decided to call it) Yes I am. I am still not going to dive into the world of raw tomatoes and cucumber, but these microgreens work for the level of fussy eater that I am, which of course makes me think that if you get children growing these kits that it might also work on them too. They do make a kit especially for children.
Prices are at the time of writing £16.99 for the starter kit, 6.50 for refills and then there are seeds and growing medium too that you can buy separately.
I love this kit, it is well thought out and does what it says it does. This would make a wonderful Christmas present I am sure.
Stay safe and be kind.