How to Grow Corn Microgreens

Corn microgreen shoots - yellow and green

Crop Name:	Corn (Yellow Popcorn)
Sowing density (10x20 tray):	200g
Bury Seed:	Yes
Medium:	Coco Coir or Soil
Presoak:	12 hours
Germination Time:	1-2 days
Grow Time:	7 to 8 days
True Leaf Emerges:	Day 2
Total Weight/Blackout Days:	7
Weighted Blackout:	4
Blackout Dome:	3
Top watering:	Day 1 to Day 3
Bottom Watering:	Day 4 to Day 7
Antifungal application:	Yes, for the first 3 days
Expected Harvest weight:	200g (1x times the weight of seed)
Flavor:	Sweet (without light) or Bitter (with light)
Shelf Life:	5-6 days
Growing Notes:	Keep it away from light, even after harvesting to keep it yellow and sweet. Bury the seeds to prevent mold.
Difficulty:	Intermediate

Things you need to grow Corn Microgreens

300g Corn seeds
10 x 20 Microgreens tray x 2 - without holes
10 x 20 Microgreens tray x 1 - with holes
6 cups of coco coir
Grow lights (or sunlight)

Steps to grow Corn Microgreens

Pre-soak the corn seeds in a pH balanced water (6.0 to 6.5) for about 12 hours.
Stack a 10x20 tray with holes on top of the 10x20 tray that does not have holes.
Fill the tray (with holes) to the top with coco coir.
Spread the Corn seeds as evenly as possible.
Mist antifungal spray water (2tbsp hydrogen peroxide in 1 liter of water) to avoid any mold or fungus.
Stack another 10x20 tray on top for the first 3 Days for a Weighted Blackout. Add a 5 pound weight on top of the tray for the first 3 days.
On Day 3, seeds will be germinated. Keep the 10x20 tray flipped on top until harvest day (next 3 Days) like a Blackout Dome so it can stretch for light a little bit more.
From Day 4, start bottom watering as required.
Harvest on day 7, when seedlings reach 3-4 inches.

Days	What to expect	Do This
Day 3	Most seeds germinated	Mist with hydrogen peroxide spray until day 3 Blackout dome
Day 4	Corn stalks have come out of the medium	Bottom water if required
Day 5	Tall yellow germinated seeds with white roots underneath	Bottom water if required
Day 6	Corn gets more taller	Bottom water if required
Day 7	Reached terminal height	Harvest day.

Tips on growing Corn microgreens

During the entire growing time, we only water corn microgreens twice. One when you plant the seeds, and another time when you start bottom watering on Day 4.
Corn microgreens are susceptible to mold, so that is why we use antifungal spray and bury the seeds as burying the seeds mitigates the formation of mold.
You could keep the corn microgreens under light but the flavor will be less sweet or bitter.

Corn Microgreens Harvest

Corn microgreens start germinating in the first 2 days itself, and are ready for harvest by day 7.

Harvest corn microgreens on day 7 or day 8, and so not cut all the way to the bottom. Cut above the white stem as you would only want to cut the yellow part of the corn microgreens.

A typical Corn harvest is expected to be the same weight as the weight of the seed. For example, if you use 200g of Corn seeds, you can expect a harvest of about 200g.

Business Tips for Selling Corn

The best thing about corn microgreens is that the seeds are cheap, and it does not require any light at all to grow. Selling corn microgreens gives great ROI. You can sell a 4 ounce container for $10-$12. However, there is not a lot of demand for corn microgreens in the market due to their very strong sweet aftertaste like an artificial sweetener but only grown on special orders from restaurants who love how they look and use them for garnishing certain dishes.

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