I just love greens. Lately I have realized that I enjoy eating baby greens even more than full-size greens.
I don’t mean microgreens. I mean baby greens that are about 3 to 6 inches tall. I eat them with everything. I add them to ramen bowls, rice, eggs, and noodles. Most of the time I do not even cook them when I add them. Sometimes I eat them as a salad with a little olive oil and vinegar.
No matter how I eat them, I want them all year!
When it is too hot, I grow them inside under lights or in a sunny window. But for most of the year, they do fine outside with indirect light, such as on a porch or on a table under a roof where they get light from all sides.
Bok Choy
Dwarf curled blue kale
mustard2
Growing Greens for Baby Leaves
For growing baby greens, I start with organic potting soil. You can use small 2- to 4-inch pots, a large tray, a large pot, a raised bed, or the garden.
Since I like to have greens year-round, I mostly use a large tray or small pots. If you grow them in the garden or a raised bed, you can harvest them as baby greens first when they are about 4 to 6 inches tall. You can keep doing that as long as you want, then let them continue growing to full size later.
When growing for baby greens, space them close, about 2 to 4 inches apart.
When they reach about 4 inches tall, start harvesting the outer leaves. Always leave the middle, and they will regrow. They can be cut many times over and over.
To help them regrow, fertilize every 4 weeks with a liquid fertilizer such as fish/kelp. They can also be transplanted later into the garden or a larger pot if you want to let them reach full size.
Growing Greens to Full Size
If you want to grow greens to full size, space them about 12 inches apart so they have room to mature.
You can harvest the whole plant, but leave the middle third of the leaves so it can continue to grow. Specific mature plant sizes will vary, so check each seed packet for the variety you are growing.
Why Baby Greens Are Worth Growing
If you do not like kale, collards, or similar greens when they are full grown, try them as baby greens. You will probably love them as I do!
An added bonus is that they are healthy and full of nutrients.
