“Are sprouts and microgreens the same thing?”

It’s one of the more common questions we get asked these days. While the short answer is “no”, the good news is both are deliciously nutritious – and you can also get them right here at Sydney Sprouts.

What are microgreens?

Put simply, microgreens are the young, edible seedlings of green vegetables and herbs. Some of the more common varieties include beets, basil, broccoli, cabbage, celery, cress, fennel, kale, mustard, parsley, radish and sunflower. Like sprouts, they can be grown indoors all year round. But unlike sprouts, microgreens also need soil and sunlight to grow. They usually take a little longer before they’re ready to eat too. (Then again, almost everything is slower than sprouts given they grow so quickly!)

Interestingly, some seeds like broccoli and radish can actually be grown either as sprouts or microgreens. It all depends on how you grow them – and for how long.

Microgreens	Sprouts
Edible seedlings	Germinated seeds
Grown in soil/seed raising mix	Grown in water
1-3 weeks to grow	Under 1 week to grow
Require sunlight	Indirect light
Packed with flavour	Great for crunch
Broad taste range – from spicy and peppery to sweet and nutty	Tend to have a distinct ‘grassy’ taste
Leaves and stems can be eaten	Stem and seeds can be eaten
Rich in nutrients and antioxidants	Rich in nutrients and antioxidants

Micro by name. Super by nature.

They may be called ‘micro’ greens. But they’re a real ‘super’ food when it comes to nutrition. How super, you ask? Well, several scientific studies have been conducted around the world in recent years, including one that analysed the vitamin content of 25 different types of microgreens. The results were amazing! It showed microgreens typically contain far higher concentrations of vitamins than the fully-grown versions of the same plants. The study also found the leaves of most microgreens have up to 6 times the nutrients and antioxidants – like vitamin C, vitamin E and beta-carotene – when compared to the mature leaves of the exact same vegetables. 

Don’t forget your sprouts!

Of course, if you’re looking for the ‘super-est’ herbs and veges of all, you still can’t beat sprouts. They have an even higher concentration of nutrients than microgreens – and are a long, long way ahead of fully-grown vegetables.

Ready to grow your own microgreens?

Sydney Sprouts has several delicious varieties of microgreens available right now including sunflower, pea sprouts, broccoli and radish. Our broccoli and radish seeds are also ideal for both sprouting OR microgreens, so you can see the difference for yourself.

You can order your Sydney Sprouts microgreens here.