This month we’re going to focus on indoor growing again. In June we can expect some warm weather and whether you grow your own or not, there is lots of fresh seasonal produce around and many people’s thoughts turn to salads. For window-ledge growers this is a good time to think about micro-greens (sometimes called cresses) to add variety and flavour to your dishes.

Microgreens are very young seedlings with just a couple of pairs of leaves, some people might remember the cress grown in eggshells to add green hair to painted faces, which was then cut and usually added to egg sandwiches.  There are many ways to make “cress heads” one of which is shown in this Cbeebies video making cress heads.

Many types of seeds are suitable for growing microgreens, beetroot, brassicas and pea shoots all work well. One family to avoid is the Solanaceae (including tomatoes, aubergines and peppers) as the sprouts are poisonous even though the fruits are delicious.

You’ll need a fairly shallow container with a flat bottom (a small seed tray or recycled food container is ideal) for the seeds to grow in. Line the container with an absorbent material (cloth, kitchen roll or if you have it capillary or water matting) and thoroughly wet it. Sprinkle the seeds on top of the wetted material and place the container on a warm windowsill or in a propagator if you have one. The ideal temperatures for germination are 18–22°C (65–72°F).

As the seeds begin to grow, make sure that you keep them moist by watering carefully or spraying with a mister. Simply cut the seedlings as you need them and add the micro greens to salads and other dishes.  The flavour of these young shoots is surprisingly intense and you get a genuine hit of the taste of the full grown vegetables from microgreens.

If you want a bit of extra help to get going, many seed suppliers offer starter kits that include materials and some of the most popular seeds.