A question I get asked often is, “How much lux do microgreens need”? Microgreens are a fun plant to grow in the home garden. They are edible and have a pleasant flavor when eaten. The hard part of growing them is keeping them from becoming smelly.

In order to keep them smelling nice I do use artificial means to control the amount of sunlight they get. That sounds like common sense doesn’t it? I mean you don’t want your plants absorbing all the bad odors from the ground or the air so why would you want to do it with your plants?

Well, it’s not really common sense but it is a common fact. Sunlight can do things to your plants, it will also do damage to them if they are exposed too long. One of the worst things that can happen is for your microgreen plants to freeze. It is one of their favorite food sources and you definitely do not want them to freeze. I know when I have one of my plants that has been sitting in the dark and went to sleep I wake up to a pile of leaves on the floor. Yuck.

The easiest way to keep your microgreen plants from freezing is by spraying them every day with an organic bug spray. If you have a problem with bugs at the moment, it may be time to switch to something else. Some of the organic sprays can even repel pests so that is something to take into consideration as well. If you are growing your plants internally, you probably have enough of an arsenal to combat any problem that may arise.

If you are thinking of starting a bedding plant of your own, I would advise going to the store and picking up a batch of straw, wood chips and maybe some coconut coir. You can actually use just about anything for growing microgreens. The more you can get the soil going, the better off you are going to be. The best thing that you can do is put the wood chips or straw down first, and then put some coconut coir in the bottom of the bed. This will help keep the soil moist and allow your plants to grow healthy. It may be necessary to add some water to the top about once a week just to keep everything moist.

Microgreens tend to grow very fast. As soon as you put them in the pot you should immediately put some water in there and let them grow for the day. As the plant starts to mature it will require even less water. Your plants will need good light and you should provide this for them daily.

They don’t have any leaves yet, so you will have to take care of them that way. Just remember to water them daily, but only with a small amount. You don’t want to drown them because they will wilt and die. As for what they will look like, they will be green and if you leave them in the sun they will turn into a gold color. Don’t worry about that until after they are about 5 weeks old.

Now that you know how much lux do microgreens need, you will also know how much you should purchase for your plants. You should also have some extra plants that you are planning on putting into your indoor garden, so you may as well include them in your water solution. Once you get them started, you will never want to go back to plastic.