Turning a Bag of Beans into Microgreens

They Said It Couldn’t Be Done: Turn a Bag of Beans into Microgreens! (Video)

Click here for Turning a Bag of Beans into a Tray of MicroGreens video!

I have a question.

Have you ever asked yourself, is it possible for me to turn some simple bag of beans into a glorious tray of microgreens? Because I know I have.

My family said it was impossible. My friends called me insane. So, I proved them all wrong! Not only is it possible, it’s easy. So in this guide, I am going to teach you how.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

What are microgreens
Benefits of microgreens
Supplies needed
Steps for growing
TLDR recipe and directions

What Are Microgreens?

In case you didn’t know, microgreens are a type of plant that falls between a sprout and a baby green. They are young, edible plants that are grown from seeds of vegetables, herbs, grains, and other edible plant species. They are typically harvested after 7–21 days, when the cotyledons have developed and the first true leaves have appeared. Microgreens are smaller than baby greens because they are harvested before the plant has fully matured.

Benefits of Microgreens:

Microgreens are a great source of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants. Some studies suggest that they may contain up to 40 times more phytochemicals than fully grown plants. They have a more intense flavor than larger vegetables and herbs, and can add sweetness, spiciness, texture, color, and flavor to salads, sandwiches, smoothies, and more. You can eat them raw to maximize their nutrients and freshness, or use a sprinkle to enhance other dishes.They’re nutritious and may offer many health benefits.

Here are some potential health benefits of microgreens:

Antioxidants: Microgreens can help fight inflammation, support heart health, and protect cells from damage. They may also help reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes, some cancers, and Alzheimer’s disease. Microgreens are rich in polyphenols, a class of antioxidants that may help reduce the risk of these diseases.

Digestion: Microgreens can improve digestion and immunity because they are high in nutrients and minerals, and don’t contain preservatives.

Vitamin C: Microgreens contain high levels of vitamin C, which is important for healthy skin and bones.

Vitamin K: One serving of microgreens provides 47% of the daily value of vitamin K, which can help reduce bleeding and bruising from minor injuries, and help maintain healthy blood pressure.

Cancer prevention: Pea shoots are a good source of folate, antioxidants, and carotene, which can help prevent cancer. Folate helps produce and maintain cells, and protects against DNA damage, while antioxidants help fight free radical damage, which is linked to a higher risk of cancer. Broccoli sprouts contain sulforaphane, which may help fight cancer.

Magnesium: Swiss chard microgreens contain more than twice the amount of magnesium as spinach, which helps transmit nerve impulses and muscle contractions, and can have a calming effect on the nervous system.

Folate: Beet microgreens contain folate, which is important for DNA synthesis and preventing neural tube defects during pregnancy.

Anyway, now that we are done nerding out, let’s get to it!

Supplies Needed for Turning Beans Into Microgreens:

First, you’re going to need a few things. Run down to your local grocery store, and grab yourself a bag of beans. Seriously, it doesn’t need to be anything special. I’m going with the classic, tried and true – GOYA pinto beans.

Next, you’ll need a few supplies. Grab yourself a glass. Any glass. I’m using a wine glass. A fancy one at that.

Now you’ll need a few common growing supplies. If you don’t have these items, you can get them here at Garden Labs, the best online gardening store out there. Everyone involved at Garden Labs is a pro, and products are carefully selected to be quality, affordable, ethically sourced and tested. We only sell products we use ourselves, and we are here for you along the way during any phase of your growing journey. We make it easy.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Tray
Lid for tray
Spray bottle
Growing medium
LED grow lights
Love (Always in stock at Garden Labs)

Steps to Grow Microgreens from Beans:

Start by just pouring out some beans into the tray. This helps you judge the amount of beans used in the next step.

From there, pull out your glass and fill it with the beans and some tap water.

Let that sit for an hour or two, just to give them a nice head start. Then we’ll move on to propagation.

Take that same tray you used earlier and fill it with some pre-moistened growing medium.

Now, most importantly, we’ll give these beans some love and wish them on a safe journey through life.

(All jokes aside, some science actually shows that love is an important ingredient when it comes to growing plants. We’ll let you check out those studies yourself. Now, back to the beans.)

We’ll pour the beans into the tray, spread them out evenly, and press them gently into the growing medium.

Now, these beans will need to stay moist, so we’ll give them a nice proper shower just to make sure they don’t dry out. Spray them with some water, and a little water on the lid too.

Close them up and set them in a safe place where your husband or wife won’t accidentally throw them away (true story…). They should be safe under your LED lights, which we’ll keep off for now.

24 hours later and we start to see the first signs of life!

At this point we can now turn the lights on, which we’ll have on for about 18 hours a day. Over the next few days, keep checking on them twice a day, opening the lid to make sure some fresh air passes over the beans.

48 hours from starting this project, things should be progressing nicely. Turning the light on when things first sprouted has given these beans the energy they need to produce more chlorophyll and turn green. However, we still need to be careful to keep these babies moist at all times, as nothing will kill them faster than drying up.

Checking the progress on day three, we should see leaves are beginning to emerge.

(How cute!)

Keep checking, fanning and spraying your beans as you have, for a few more days.

Exactly seven days later, almost to the hour since we originally sprouted these seeds (or sprouted these beans I should say), our little babies are all grown up! At least, as much as they should be as microgreens. You can see the leaves, and the bean itself acts as the cotyledon leaves.

You have the husk of the bean here. This slides right off.

And this tastes pretty fricking good, actually. Great to add to salads, full of fiber, full of protein, full of enzymes, full of nutrients. Everything you could ever want packed into this little itty bitty package.

If you used Goya Pinto Bean microgreens like me, the flavor is similar to a sunflower microgreen, if you’ve ever had one of those. Kind of a nutty flavor to it, but definitely tasty.

It’s hard to tell, but there’s still several more just getting ready to sprout. So you can probably get two flushes out of this. Cut the first one off, use it for salads, and then the rest of them will come up. Just keep caring for them, loving them as you have.

Overall, I am very happy with the success. I hope you are too.

So in the end, we achieved our goal and perhaps discovered something about ourselves along the way. And best of all, we proved our family and friends wrong. (Ha!)

Here’s a fun video to help you grow your own:

Turning a Bag of Beans into a Tray of MicroGreens

Thank you for hanging out, and never stop growing!

For more free knowledge, grow tips and product discounts – follow Garden Labs on our other platforms, subscribe to our email list, and check out our store today!

TLDR – Recipe and Directions:

Ingredients: Beans to Microgreens

Dry beans
Tap Water

Supplies: Beans to Microgreens

Tray
Lid for tray
Spray bottle
Growing medium
LED grow lights
Drinking glass, cup, or bowl

Directions: Beans to Microgreens

Pour dry beans into a glass, cup or bowl, and let sit for 1-2 hours.
Fill the tray with pre-moistened growing medium.
Pour soaked beans into the tray. Spread them out evenly, and press them gently into the medium.
Spray beans with some water, and spray a little water on the lid too. Close them up and set them in a safe place, underneath an LED light set to OFF.
24 hours later, you should see the first signs of life. Turn the LED lights on, and leave them on for about 18 hours a day.
For a total of 7 days from first sprouting, check on beans twice a day by opening the lid to make sure some fresh air passes over the beans. Keep moist at all times. Spray with water as needed.
In about 7 days, microgreens should now be ready to eat. Pick microgreen, slide bean husk off, and enjoy as desired.

Turning a Bag of Beans into Microgreens