The variety directory

Types of microgreens, compared

65 crops, every one answering the same questions in the same units, so you can compare them instead of reading a separate article for each that tells you its crop is the best one. Sort by whatever is actually deciding your choice: how forgiving the crop is, how long it holds a tray, how much seed it costs you, or how much it gives back.

About these figures

We would rather show you a gap than fill it. The figures below are working ranges from our own growing notes, being replaced crop by crop with sourced ones. A field reading not yet researched means nobody has measured it yet; a field reading not applicable means we checked and it genuinely does not apply to that crop. Those are different answers and we keep them apart.

The comparison table

Click any column heading to sort. Seed rates and yields are per standard 10 by 20 tray. Days to harvest assume an ordinary warm room; a cold room adds to every one of them.

Every microgreen variety compared on difficulty, days to harvest, seed per 1020 tray, soak, blackout, yield per tray, harvest window, germination temp, mold risk, hull shedding, shelf life, regrows, eaten as, family. Sortable by column. Cells reading not applicable were researched and genuinely do not apply to that crop; cells reading no published figure were researched and no figure exists anywhere; cells reading guide pending mean the crop's research is complete and its guide is not written yet; only cells reading not yet researched mean the crop has not been looked at.

Alfalfa	Moderate	4 to 6	Not applicable	4 to 12 hours	Not applicable	Not applicable	No published figure	60 to 70	High	some	7 days	Not applicable	raw	legume
Amaranth microgreens	Moderate	11 to 18	7.5	None	2 to 7 days	6.5	No published figure	68 to 77	High	some	1 to 10 days	no	raw	amaranth
Arugula microgreens	Beginner	6 to 19	10	None	2 to 5 days	10	No published figure	65 to 75	Medium	none	10 days	no	raw	brassica
Barley grass	Moderate	6 to 12	175 to 220	8 to 12 hours	3 to 5 days	No published figure	No published figure	No published figure	High	heavy	7 days	no	juiced	grass
Basil microgreens	Moderate	12 to 26	5 to 6.5	None	4 to 7 days	5.5 to 7.5	No published figure	75	High	some	1 to 10 days	no	raw	mint
Beet microgreens	Moderate	10 to 14	20 to 30	4 to 8 hours	4 to 5 days	No published figure	No published figure	65 to 85	Medium	some	No published figure	No published figure	raw	amaranth
Borage microgreens	Moderate	10 to 21	24.6 to 36	None	2 to 5 days	8.05	No published figure	65 to 75	High	some	5 to 10 days	No published figure	raw	borage
Broccoli microgreens	Beginner	7 to 15	13	None	2 to 4 days	11.5	No published figure	65 to 75	Medium	some	5 to 14 days	no	raw	brassica
Broccoli raab microgreens	Beginner	7 to 12	12 to 37	None	2 to 3 days	5.29 to 8.82	No published figure	64 to 72	Medium	some	13 days	No published figure	raw	brassica
Buckwheat microgreens	Moderate	6 to 12	91.4	12 to 24 hours	3 to 4 days	No published figure	No published figure	No published figure	Medium	heavy	21 days	No published figure	raw or cooked	knotweed
Bull's Blood beet microgreens	Moderate	16 to 23	23	None	2 to 5 days	7.5	No published figure	75	Medium	heavy	No published figure	No published figure	raw	amaranth
Cabbage, green microgreens	Beginner	8 to 12	No published figure	None	3 to 5 days	No published figure	No published figure	No published figure	Medium	No published figure	5 to 7 days	No published figure	raw	brassica
Cabbage, red microgreens	Beginner	8 to 15	10.5	None	3 to 6 days	8.5	No published figure	65 to 75	Medium	some	5 to 10 days	No published figure	raw	brassica
Cantaloupe microgreens	Guide pending	Guide pending	Guide pending	Guide pending	Guide pending	Guide pending	Guide pending	Guide pending	Guide pending	Guide pending	Guide pending	Guide pending	Guide pending	cucurbit
Carrot microgreens	Difficult	14 to 25	6.2 to 9.4	No published figure	3 to 5 days	2	No published figure	65 to 75	High	No published figure	5 to 10 days	No published figure	raw	herb
Catnip microgreens	Guide pending	Guide pending	Guide pending	Guide pending	Guide pending	Guide pending	Guide pending	Guide pending	Guide pending	Guide pending	Guide pending	Guide pending	Guide pending	herb
Cauliflower microgreens	Beginner	No published figure	No published figure	None	2 to 3 days	No published figure	No published figure	60 to 70	Medium	No published figure	No published figure	No published figure	raw	brassica
Celery microgreens	Difficult	21 to 30	1.1 to 4.4	None	7 to 14 days	No published figure	No published figure	70 to 77	High	some	5 to 10 days	partial	raw	herb
Celosia microgreens	Moderate	10 to 15	8	None	4 to 5 days	3.4	No published figure	65 to 75	Medium	none	5 to 10 days	No published figure	raw	amaranth
Chervil microgreens	Moderate	9 to 21	18.9 to 20	None	3 to 4 days	3 to 5	No published figure	65 to 75	Medium	No published figure	7 to 10 days	No published figure	raw	herb
Chia microgreens	Moderate	6 to 12	26.3 to 28.35	None	2 to 4 days	No published figure	No published figure	No published figure	High	some	3 to 5 days	No published figure	raw	mint
Chickpea shoots	Moderate	9 to 14	123 to 165	6 to 12 hours	3 days	No published figure	No published figure	59 to 77	High	heavy	No published figure	yes	raw	legume
Chive microgreens	Moderate	14 to 30	19.4 to 38.7	None	6 to 14 days	3.8 to 5.6	No published figure	60 to 70	High	some	5 to 7 days	no	raw	allium
Cilantro microgreens	Moderate	13 to 25	20 to 26	4 to 8 hours	6 days	6	No published figure	No published figure	High	some	7 to 10 days	no	raw	herb
Clover microgreens	Beginner	9 to 13	20	None	3 to 4 days	3 to 5	No published figure	No published figure	Medium	some	7 to 10 days	no	raw	legume
Collard microgreens	Beginner	7 to 15	28.35	None	3 days	No published figure	No published figure	No published figure	No published figure	No published figure	5 days	no	raw	brassica
Cucumber microgreens	Moderate	7 to 12	No published figure	None	No published figure	No published figure	No published figure	No published figure	No published figure	No published figure	No published figure	No published figure	raw	cucurbit
Dill microgreens	Moderate	12 to 25	10	None	3 to 5 days	3 to 5	No published figure	65 to 75	High	some	5 to 10 days	No published figure	raw	herb
Endive microgreens	Moderate	8 to 15	15 to 28	None	3 to 5 days	No published figure	1 to 3 days	60 to 68	Medium	some	7 days	no	raw	aster
Fennel microgreens	Difficult	16 to 25	28.3 to 43	0 to 6 hours	3 to 4 days	1	No published figure	65 to 75	High	some	No published figure	no	raw	herb
Fenugreek microgreens	Moderate	6 to 12	25 to 62	0 to 8 hours	2 to 3 days	3.9 to 4.3	2 to 3 days	No published figure	Medium	some	No published figure	No published figure	raw	legume
Flax microgreens	Moderate	5 to 14	35	None	3 to 5 days	5 to 7	No published figure	61 to 77	High	some	7 to 9 days	No published figure	raw	flax
Garden cress microgreens	Beginner	8 to 15	10.5	None	3 to 5 days	8	No published figure	60 to 72	High	Not applicable	2 to 3 days	No published figure	raw	brassica
Kale microgreens	Beginner	8 to 15	10 to 10.5	None	No published figure	11	No published figure	65 to 75	Medium	No published figure	5 to 10 days	no	raw	brassica
Kohlrabi microgreens	Beginner	10 to 16	9.5	None	4 to 6 days	11	No published figure	65 to 75	Medium	No published figure	5 to 10 days	no	raw	brassica
Komatsuna microgreens	Beginner	8 to 12	10 to 24	None	2 to 4 days	10.6 to 13.4	No published figure	64 to 75	Medium	No published figure	No published figure	No published figure	raw	brassica
Leek microgreens	Moderate	10 to 25	23 to 50	None	3 to 8 days	5.64	No published figure	65 to 85	Medium	some	No published figure	No published figure	raw	allium
Lentil microgreens	Beginner	8 to 12	19.1 to 28.7	6 to 12 hours	3 to 4 days	6.1 to 8.4	No published figure	No published figure	High	some	7 days	No published figure	raw	legume
Lettuce microgreens	Moderate	8 to 16	No published figure	None	0 to 1 days	No published figure	4 to 7 days	50 to 80	Medium	Not applicable	4 to 6 days	No published figure	raw	aster
Magenta spreen microgreens	Guide pending	Guide pending	Guide pending	Guide pending	Guide pending	Guide pending	Guide pending	Guide pending	Guide pending	Guide pending	Guide pending	Guide pending	Guide pending	chenopod
Mint microgreens	Difficult	10 to 18	No published figure	None	None	No published figure	No published figure	68 to 75	High	Not applicable	7 days	No published figure	raw	mint
Mizuna microgreens	Beginner	8 to 15	9.5	None	2 days	10	No published figure	65 to 75	Medium	Not applicable	5 to 10 days	no	raw	brassica
Mung bean shoots	Moderate	7 to 12	200 to 215	8 to 12 hours	3 to 4 days	No published figure	No published figure	No published figure	High	some	8 to 10 days	No published figure	raw	legume
Mustard microgreens	Beginner	10 to 15	8	None	No published figure	9.5	No published figure	65 to 75	Medium	Not applicable	5 to 14 days	no	raw	brassica
Nasturtium microgreens	Moderate	12 to 21	133	0 to 6 hours	3 to 4 days	5.64	No published figure	65 to 70	High	heavy	5 days	partial	raw	nasturtium
Onion microgreens	Moderate	10 to 21	4.8	No published figure	2 to 3 days	1.29	No published figure	60 to 70	Medium	some	No published figure	No published figure	raw	allium
Oregano microgreens	Difficult	16 to 25	No published figure	None	No published figure	No published figure	No published figure	No published figure	High	Not applicable	No published figure	no	raw	mint
Pak choi microgreens	Beginner	8 to 13	10.5	None	3 to 4 days	11	No published figure	60 to 70	Medium	some	No published figure	No published figure	raw	brassica
Parsley microgreens	Difficult	21 to 35	15 to 20	None	4 to 5 days	6.25	No published figure	60 to 75	High	some	No published figure	No published figure	raw	umbellifer
Pea shoots	Moderate	8 to 14	150	6 to 8 hours	2 to 3 days	8	No published figure	No published figure	High	some	No published figure	partial	raw or cooked	legume
Popcorn shoots	Moderate	6 to 14	142 to 227	8 to 12 hours	6 to 14 days	No published figure	No published figure	65 to 72	High	heavy	10 to 14 days	No published figure	raw	grass
Purslane microgreens	Moderate	8 to 25	No published figure	None	0 to 1 days	No published figure	No published figure	60 to 75	High	No published figure	No published figure	partial	raw	purslane
Quinoa microgreens	Moderate	7 to 14	No published figure	None	2 to 3 days	No published figure	3 to 5 days	68 to 72	High	No published figure	5 to 7 days	No published figure	raw	chenopod
Radish microgreens	Beginner	6 to 10	22.5 to 28.5	None	2 to 4 days	8 to 11.5	1 to 3 days	65 to 75	Medium	some	No published figure	no	raw	brassica
Sesame microgreens	Moderate	5 to 10	No published figure	0 to 6 hours	3 days	No published figure	No published figure	73 to 77	No published figure	No published figure	No published figure	No published figure	raw or cooked	sesame
Shiso microgreens	Moderate	16 to 30	11.5	0 to 8 hours	4 to 11 days	6.5	No published figure	No published figure	Medium	No published figure	6 to 7 days	no	raw	mint
Sorrel microgreens	Difficult	17 to 30	3.5	None	None	6.5	No published figure	60 to 75	Medium	No published figure	No published figure	No published figure	raw	dock
Spinach microgreens	Difficult	7 to 25	60	0 to 12 hours	4 to 7 days	7.2 to 8.8	No published figure	No published figure	High	some	7 days	no	raw	chenopod
Sunflower microgreens	Moderate	9 to 12	48 to 167	4 to 12 hours	2 to 4 days	18.77	No published figure	70 to 74	High	heavy	No published figure	no	raw	aster
Swiss chard microgreens	Moderate	16 to 19	31.5	None	No published figure	9.5	No published figure	No published figure	Medium	heavy	No published figure	No published figure	raw	chenopod
Tatsoi microgreens	Beginner	8 to 15	7.5	None	2 to 5 days	8.5	No published figure	65 to 75	Medium	some	No published figure	No published figure	raw	brassica
Thyme microgreens	Difficult	20 to 35	31	No published figure	No published figure	3.3	No published figure	72 to 82	High	No published figure	No published figure	No published figure	raw	mint
Turnip microgreens	Beginner	7 to 12	10	None	2 to 4 days	No published figure	No published figure	64 to 72	Medium	some	3 days	No published figure	raw	brassica
Watercress microgreens	Moderate	7 to 25	No published figure	None	4 to 5 days	No published figure	No published figure	No published figure	High	No published figure	No published figure	No published figure	raw	brassica
Wheatgrass	Beginner	7 to 12	450	4 to 8 hours	2 to 3 days	No published figure	No published figure	No published figure	High	some	No published figure	partial	juiced	grass

How to choose, in the order that actually matters

Most variety lists are sorted by how good the writer thinks each crop is. That is not a useful order, because the right choice depends on which constraint is binding for you, and there are only three that usually are.

If you are learning, sort by difficulty. The gap between a forgiving crop and an unforgiving one is much wider than the gap between two flavors. A tray that germinates evenly and shows you its problems early teaches you the method. A crop that is slow, uneven and mold-prone teaches you that microgreens are hard, which is the wrong lesson and the reason many people stop after two trays.

If you are selling, sort by yield and then by days to harvest. A tray is a unit of rack space for a fixed number of days, so what matters is what it returns per slot, not what it returns per tray. A crop that yields well but holds the rack for three weeks can be worth less than a lighter crop that turns over twice in the same time. The seed column is the other half of that arithmetic, because the varieties that yield most are also the ones that eat the most seed by weight.

If you are growing for your own kitchen, sort by flavor and ignore the rest. At one or two trays the economics do not exist, and the only failure mode that matters is growing something you do not want to eat. Strong brassicas divide people sharply, and so does cilantro. Taste before you commit a rotation to a crop.

The thing worth saying that most of these lists will not: several of these varieties are not worth your tray unless you specifically want them. Where that is true, the variety’s own entry says so.

The easiest microgreens to grow

Sorted by how much a crop punishes a mistake, not by how fast it is. The verdicts are allowed to be negative, because a directory that recommends everything recommends nothing.

The fastest microgreens, by days to harvest

Days from sowing to a normal first cut in a warm room. A cold room adds to every one of these.

The highest yielding microgreens per 1020 tray

Ounces at a normal first cut. This is the least published number in the category, and it is the one that decides what a commercial grower actually plants.

What each microgreen tastes like

Taste is the most searched thing about a named variety and it is usually answered with one adjective. One honest line each, including the ones people dislike.

Microgreens that need no soaking

Fine seed sown dry. Soaking these makes them clump and germinate less evenly, so the step is not optional in reverse.

Every variety guide

Each guide covers what the crop looks like when you have grown it right, what it tastes like, where it departs from the standard tray method, and what goes wrong with that variety in particular. All 62 of them are written: the table carries 65 crops, and the other 3 are older pages we kept for their rankings rather than guides still to come. Those 3 stay in the comparison above rather than being left out of it.

Types of microgreens, compared

The comparison table

How to choose, in the order that actually matters

The easiest microgreens to grow

The fastest microgreens, by days to harvest

The highest yielding microgreens per 1020 tray

What each microgreen tastes like

Microgreens that need no soaking

Microgreens that regrow after cutting

Every variety guide

Alfalfa

Amaranth microgreens

Arugula microgreens

Barley grass

Basil microgreens

Beet microgreens

Borage microgreens

Broccoli microgreens

Broccoli raab microgreens

Buckwheat microgreens

Bull's Blood beet microgreens

Cabbage, green microgreens

Cabbage, red microgreens

Carrot microgreens

Cauliflower microgreens

Celery microgreens

Celosia microgreens

Chervil microgreens

Chia microgreens

Chickpea shoots

Chive microgreens

Cilantro microgreens

Clover microgreens

Collard microgreens

Cucumber microgreens

Dill microgreens

Endive microgreens

Fennel microgreens

Fenugreek microgreens

Flax microgreens

Garden cress microgreens

Kale microgreens

Kohlrabi microgreens

Komatsuna microgreens

Leek microgreens

Lentil microgreens

Lettuce microgreens

Mint microgreens

Mizuna microgreens

Mung bean shoots

Mustard microgreens

Nasturtium microgreens

Onion microgreens

Oregano microgreens

Pak choi microgreens

Parsley microgreens

Pea shoots

Popcorn shoots

Purslane microgreens

Quinoa microgreens

Radish microgreens

Sesame microgreens

Shiso microgreens

Sorrel microgreens

Spinach microgreens

Sunflower microgreens

Swiss chard microgreens

Tatsoi microgreens

Thyme microgreens

Turnip microgreens

Watercress microgreens

Wheatgrass