How To Grow Fenugreek Microgreens in 6 Easy Steps

Fenugreek microgreens are often overlooked, but they shouldn't be. These nutritional powerhouses are delicious! Chelsea Fuss shares the steps you need to grow them, from planting to harvesting.

Written by Chelsea Fuss Horticulture review by Sarah Jay Last updated: July 26, 2024 | 5 min read

Close up of fenugreek microgreens with vibrant green leaves and light-colored shoots with brown seed casings scattered

Contents

A legume with clover-shaped leaves, fenugreek microgreens add an unusual flavor to meals. A mainstay in Indian cooking, samudra methi as they’re known in India are often paired with potatoes.

Fenugreek is used as a spice in its seed form and as an herb or green in the leaf form. You might be more familiar with fenugreek as a spice, which is used in curry powder and garam masala.

With a taste described as fresh, grassy, spicy, mustardy, and similar to curry powder, fenugreek microgreens can be added to salads, curries, or vegetable dishes. The seeds have a caramel, burnt sugar scent, but the leaves are more subtle and bitter in their taste.

Packing a punch when it comes to nutrition, fenugreek microgreens make a great option for the home microgreen gardener to grow due to their health benefits and the unusual taste they add to a dish.

What You’ll Need

Fenugreek plants can be difficult to find in many places, so growing your own organic fenugreek microgreens at home is a great way to change up the flavors in your kitchen, and add more fresh greens to your meals. Here’s what you will need.

Seeds

Fenugreek Sprouts Seeds have a nutty flavor and a maple syrup aroma when grown as a microgreen. This variety is chosen specifically to give excellent results.

Containers

Bright green-colored sprouts growing in a light blue container with brown seed casing scattered among leaves with a white background — Use pots or containers with drainage to keep roots healthy.

Use a shallow container with drainage holes so the root mass and medium will not get waterlogged. It is also nice to have a larger tray without drainage holes for easy for bottom watering.

Epic 6-Cell Seed Starting Trays and Germination Domes & Bottom Trays are good for protecting seeds as they grow and creating little ecosystems that improve the germination rate.

Growing Medium

Trigonella foenum-graecum sprouts growing from coco coir placed in a plastic transparent tray on a black surface with black background — They can thrive in soil or coconut coir.

Use a high-quality starter mix or coconut coir. Fenugreek microgreens don’t need a lot of soil and they prefer a well-draining medium. In India, they are grown in sand.

Grow Lights

If you are growing these microgreens indoors, it’s best to use grow lights to ensure the greens grow upright. We recommend Small Epic Seed Starting Grow Light or the Standar Epic Seed Starting Grow Light for growing indoors. They have multiple other uses for houseplants as well.

Extras

A spray bottle with black head held by someone, pointing it at a tray of microgreens meant to be watered — Keep the sprouts moist using a spray bottle.

A spray bottle is helpful to keep your microgreens moist but not too wet. Also invest in a sharp pair of scissors or pruning shears to cut your greens when they are ready.

Fenugreek microgreens can handle a range of temperatures. If you are growing them in conditions that could dip to 30°F (-1°C), you will want a heating mat and cloche.

How to Grow Fenugreek Microgreens

Follow the steps below to get the most out of fenugreek seed. There are many benefits and healthy minerals in these micros, so it’s well worth the effort.

Step 1: Soak

A clay tray containing Trigonella foenum-graecum sprouts growing from soaked seeds placed on a wooden surface — Soaking is not necessary but encourages sprouts to germinate faster.

You don’t have to soak your fenugreek seeds, but soaking them it can speed up germination.

Fenugreek has a hard seed coating. When you soak the seeds before planting, it encourages them to sprout quickly. In India, where fenugreek microgreens are a common commercial crop, they are soaked for eight hours before planting.

Step 2: Plant

Deep green colored Trigonella foenum-graecum with light green stems growing in a shallow pot placed near the window on a sunny day — Lay seeds down without clumping to avoid overlapping during growth.

Mix the soil and water well so that it is damp but not soggy. This applies to both coconut coir and seed starting mix.

Gently pat the medium down to remove any air bubbles. You do not want your soil compressed all the way, but slightly firm on the top. Make the soil as flat as possible to keep everything even for harvesting.

Spread the seeds densely across your growing medium but try not to clump them together. A flat layer across the surface is ideal, rather than overlapping. Fenugreek seeds are not the tiniest seeds but they are small, so it’s easy to clump.

Once you’ve planted the seed in the moist soil or coconut coir, gently mist with water using a spray bottle.

Step 3: Cover

Young Trigonella foenum-graecum sprouts emerging from dark brown soil with seed casing hanging on leaves — They sprout well in the dark during the initial stages.

The plants need to be dark for the initial sprouting. Cover the fenugreek seeds with an opaque lid or sheet of paper, or alternately cover them with a thin layer of soil. It’s even possible to use a lightweight towel. For clean microgreens at harvesting, cover with anything but soil.

Keep your tray in a dark area for the first few days. Check the plants daily, and keep them moist but not too wet. A good way to tell if your plant needs water is to lift the tray. If it feels light, they probably need water. If it feels heavy, it is probably best not to water the seeds.

Watch for any signs of mold or fungal problems as the seeds turn to sprouts. It is normal for microgreens to have white, fuzzy root hairs when sprouting, particularly in the case of fenugreek. This is different from the web-like mold you will see if your tray is too wet. Using a spray bottle to water or watering from the bottom is a great way to avoid fungal or mold issues.

Step 4: Grow

Vividly green Trigonella foenum-graecum leaves shaped in a circular formation with the container placed on a wooden surface with light — The sprouts tend to lift the cover as they grow taller.

When the seeds get started, you will see them sprouting and even pushing the lid upwards as they start reaching for the light. At this point, you will want to move the plant into the light. The sprouts will look yellow because they have not been exposed to light but they will start to turn green and form their second pair of leaves.

If you are growing your plant indoors, move the seed tray under grow lights at this point in the process. Ideally, you should expose the plant to around 16 hours of light per day. Keep the light close to the tray so that your fenugreek microgreens do not get too leggy. But keep it just far enough away that the heat of the lamp won’t cause damage. You could also move the plant to a windowsill.

Fenugreek microgreens tend to hold on to the seed hulls a bit longer than most microgreens. Take your hand and run it gently across the top of the seedlings to knock these off.

Outdoor growers should start plants in a shady, protected area like a balcony. If your microgreens start reaching for more light, it’s time to give them some sun. This should only be indirect bright light rather than full and direct sunlight.

Step 5: Harvest

Speouts with vivid green leaves growing long with pieces falling over on the moist white surface, stems appearing white to pale green — After their true leaves grow, wait for them to become three to five inches tall before harvesting.

Your microgreens should have between one to three leaves when you harvest. The true leaves begin to appear after the first pair. Your microgreens should be harvested from three inches to five inches tall.

Harvest your fenugreek microgreens with a pair of scissors or lightweight pruning snips. You do not have to wash the greens, particularly if you did not cover the seeds with soil. If you do prefer to wash them, a cold rinse with a mesh strainer works well.

Step 6: Store

Vivid green sprouts placed in a transparent glass-like container filled with some water sitting on a pure white surface — These sprouts are ideal when fresh.

Microgreens typically can store for up to three days in a mesh bag in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator. After three days they will start to lose nutrients and freshness. For the best taste, level of nutrients, and freshness eat them as soon as they are harvested.

Store them in their tray prior to harvest, but once they start to get leggy, harvest and refrigerate, using them quickly.

How To Grow Fenugreek Microgreens in 6 Easy Steps