20 Best Growing Medium For Microgreens (2023 Updated)

These hydroponic grow mats are durable and dependable. I’ve used them successfully many times to grow microgreens for my home kitchen. As stated by True-Leaf, they do emit an odor that is similar to oil/kerosene, but it is mild.

I encourage you to give growing your own microgreens a try. These mats are easy to use for that purpose.

I had really high hopes for these mats. I was attracted by the notion that they were mess free. These mats are very finicky about water retention. The do not have the ability to consistently stay moist enough for growth.

I was checking my trays about 5 times a day and still had issues with harvest loss because of the jute. It seems to wick away water instead of actually absorb. Its disappointing. I’m sure there are those that can have great results with these mats, but I only experienced failure.

I used these for my Amaranth for damping reduction. Still currently growing the first use of these jute mats which I belueve should cure my concerns. I had reviewed a farmers video which suggedted that I try the jute mats and cost wise it is more expensive than co co coir but damping is a big problem with coco coir for me.

The jute is looking great so far but I am new to using it. I used a brick for balast and It caused a delay in growth at the contact points in the tray. It looks like striping now like the American flag which I like.

Thank to True leaf for making it so easy.

The quality of the product is high but the instructions on how to use it are weak. Especially, if it is endorsed as the easiest way for beginners to start growing microgreens. That advise should be complimented by specific instructions on how make the jute mats perform best.

Hopefully, those are on the way.

I had been growing my microgreens on coconut coir, which worked nicely for me but was a bit messy. I experimented with these jute mats, and I found that while it takes a bit to get the mat fully saturated, it holds moisture well and works well with everything I’m germinating (brassicas, lettuces, etc).

The mats are sturdy enough when when to lift up a bit to take a look at the roots, and the root systems on these mats have been good. I did start to see a bit of mold when I slightly overseeded, but I dabbed with peroxide and fixed it and had no further issues with it.

The only drawback with these are the smell — it smells like kerosene or petroleum of some sort, but it does diminish over time. Anyway, these mats are now my go-to.

We buy this every year for the new season. Unlike some in the reviews, we’ve never been disappointed. but I think we use this product differently. We dump the bag into a large bin, and add several gallons of water, stirring and fluffing until it absorbs.

Then we add a small amount (several tablespoons) of the water retaining crystals. And THEN we add in three bags of standard Miracle Gro potting soil. This has been our go-to for flowers and any veggies we grow in containers.

The Expand ‘n Gro allows our potting soil to go farther than it might otherwise, and the water crystals keep the pots from drying out. I have everything from green beans to corn – AND many flowering plants and herbs – in containers, and we have thus far always been thrilled with the results we get!.

I’ve been using Miracle Grow potting mix for longer than I can remember, 3 to 4 large bags every growing season. Never had any issues with the product until my most recent purchase. When I opened the bag the first couple of scoops seemed normal then I started getting large clumps of some fibrous material.

My initial reaction was that it was fiberglass but upon closer inspection it appeared to be some type of organic material. It was dry and hairy in appearance and seemed to have black mold embedded in it.

The further I got into the bag the more of these clumps I encountered. The clumps were baseball to softball sized, very compact and there were over a dozen of them in the bag. Each clump had to be thrown aside as they would not fit in the pots I was using, nor did they appear to look like any potting material I had ever come across.

I would have thought that the potting mix would go through a screening process prior to bagging but that is not possible as these clumps would never had made it through such a process. Long story short, either Miracle Grow had a breakdown in their processing of potting mix or they have eliminated the screening process to save money.

In either case, this bag was a waste of money. I’ve seen cheaper potting mixes on the shelves but always gone for the Miracle Grow because of past experience. I think that it’s time to sample the alternatives.

I purchased several bags of MG potting mix for container vegetable gardening. I have used this product in the past over about a ten year period. The materials in the mix just purchased are not the quality ingredients I have used in the past.

In the past the mix was more uniform with smaller bark pieces and uniform shredded peat with enough perlite to actually promote good drainage it was easily used to fill cell packs. Most importantly it drained well and did not compact.

The current mix is garbage compared to what it used to be. The stuff I got h to his year has large chunks of wood and sticks large rocks huge chunks of hard organic matter globs peat like material the size of golf balls.

The mix does not drain well and packs down tightly. There is not enough perlite to maintain a good air to water ratio when wet. The mix used to be very similar to a traditional Cornell Peat lite mix but no longer.

It does not perform well doesn’t drain well and overpriced for the quality of product.

I needed some good soil for outdoors to till in with the dirt in our yard to have some nutrients in the dirt for a small garden. I never bought this kind before, but I’m glad I did. Combined with the added organic nutrients, It’s got enough of coco and perlite mixed in for a lightweight and spongy texture.

It holds water well for up to 5-7 days on long sunny days before you need to water your plants again. Overall Good soil at a Good $ price compared to others. Roots Organics has a good reputation for that which is really great.

I’m a customer for life. Im glad I found it online which is awesome, because it’s hard to find the soil you are looking for in my town other than Walmart or Lowes, Home Depot.

The 2 complaints I read were stupid fools. This is excellent stuff and make my own when I need 20 or more cubic feet, and this has everything I like in mine. For smaller amounts this is great stuff at a very good price.

I can’t make it cheaper in small amounts. There are only a few brands that rate this good and the others were to expensive so I tried this and now I’m back for more.

For me the best pre-made soil i have ever used. when I started I used fox farm but that dirt always has nats, which isn’t a big deal pretty common with organic soil but roots is like 1 out of 10 has nats fox farm is like every other bag and it burns seedlings.

roots I can put seeds right in it and no problems. been using this soil for about 8 years and the only thing better IMO would be making your own compost based soil.

I’m very happy with this kit so far. It’s giving me a wide variety to choose from. I’m currently creating the growing space in my laundry room which is the ONLY South facing window in my home. I’m putting together a shelf, installing grow lights, timers etc.

It’s going to take a little time still. I also got a 3 tiered rolling work-cart space to store seeds, tools, soils etc. Such a fun, worthwhile endeavor. Yay!! 💐🌱💪.

Fantastic starter set for my journey in to microgreen growing! The trays, growing medium, and the plentiful amount of seeds will definitely keep me growing for awhile. I like that there are so many microgreen seeds to sample, enabling my family to pick their favorites.

Shipping was fast, everything was packed well, and the instructions were easy to follow for start up. Thank you True Leaf!.

Excited to try growing microgreens for the first time! Take the note about seed substitutions seriously – my kit did not come with sunflower seeds so that’s a big bummer after how much this site raves about sunflower greens.

Received 5lbs of radish seeds instead. I like radishes as an accent but wouldn’t choose it as a base green flavor. I’ll have to buy sunflower seeds separately. Other than that, the kit is as described! Agree with other reviewers it would be super helpful to have growing instructions on each seed bag, but you can look them up one by one and find growing tips here.

Inconvenient but I understand that’s just how the bags are printed.

I have been exploring micro green growing. for some time. I’ve been “sprouting” for many years. I have been an avid gardener but am in an apt complex so availability to fresh grown food especially in winter is difficult.

Not anymore! Using just my living room sunny east facing window and the directions by True Leaf with the HYDROPONIC MATS I can successfully grow fresh greens right in my living room. It isn’t messy and the results are spot on! I would encourage even those “brown thumbers” out there to try this growing method.

Plenty of vids here at True Leaf to help you. So rewarding and fun! Who doesn’t love a green bounty growing on your windowsill in winter when all else is dreary? The mats work great!.

These work fantastically. I don’t know why people are complaining about crumbling when wet. This isn’t a product intended to be cuddled with. You put it in the tray, you wet it, you sprinkle seeds on top.

When it’s time to harvest greens, just grab the plants and support under the pad with the rest of your hand. There’s no reason to ever touch the substrate. Quit trying to make them be more than what they are – substrate.

It’s a great product. I keep coming back to buy more.

Only works for very small seeds. Larger seeds such as radish don’t grow consistently even though on the seed page it says it can be grown with hydro-pads. Pad deteriorates too quickly. Prior to harvest being ready, there is an odor that is extremely unpleasant.

Longer crops, such as basil, oftentimes will fail before harvest is ready because of the pad rotting. Great concept, sprouts evenly, but horrible execution. The ONLY microgreen crop I would use this for now is the spicy-mix (or mild-mix).

Otherwise, try something else.

I like these trays. They eliminate the need to mist my seeds daily. This is extremely helpful since I use paper towel as medium to grow microgreens. I am happy with my purchase. I hope that True Leaf will make these trays with better quality plastic.

The self watering micro green trays I recently purchased are terrific. You simply put 2 cups of pH balanced water in the bottom tray and plant your seeds. I grow them hydroponically. In no time at all you have a beautiful crop of healthy micro greens.

True leaf market is by far one of the best companies I have ever dealt with. Your employees are very knowledgeable and extremely polite and kind. I am an extremely satisfied customer. Thank you True leaf market.

Patrick Strapey.

These are the best trays I have ever purchased to grow microgreens. These make the growing process easy from start to finish. I highly recommend and will not use anything else to grow my micro greens from here on out!.

It’s not a bad setup, but my ‘crop’ didn’t as tall as in the pics and made it hard to harvest. It was very dense so a very high percentage of seeds must have germinated. Some people say their plants got too ‘leggy’ and supposedly that’s from lack of light, so I guess my plants had more than enough sunshine.

They tasted pretty good, but it’s obvious you need more trays unless you want only one crop every two weeks. The clear container does make it very easy to judge how often to water them. (I picked up a tip to water ONLY the roots, not to spray the leaves as that can lead to mold/fungus problems.

You want the roots to remain moist, not the leaves. ) So I watered them from one corner of the container, and could easily see through the sides if I used too much water, pouring out any excess. If you tilt it to any one corner, you should see only a little bit of water pile up.

I used bottled water, pouring in about 3/4th of a bottle during the day, and another 3/4th at night. I live in a desert climate so you’re amount may vary. On a side note, I also grew sunflower microgreens (seeds bought elsewhere) in a 10×20 container.

They grew fine, but the taste was WAY too powerful, overwhelming everything. Just a dozen leaves in a cup of cooked rice was too much. The powerful taste stays with you. Wish someone would have warned me as I won’t be growing/eating anymore of these.

I feel like this kit is for someone who doesn’t really want to do the research and shopping to buy all the components separately because to be honest that would have been cheaper. That being said, I decided to go with this kit because I didn’t have the time to look into buying everything separately to save some money.

The kit was really easy to follow and use. I feel like its a good starter kit for someone who wants to jump right into growing their own microgreens. My only issue is the spray bottle is junk. I’ll spend a couple minutes trying to pump the spray trigger to get it going and barely anything comes out even with a full bottle of water and it angled correctly.

Its only sporadicly sprays after toying with the nozzle a bit, but this happens everytime I try to use it. It looks cheap like something you’d find in the section in K-mart for little cheap reuseable travel bottles for soaps and shampoos.

Anyways good quick intro kit.

I love this product! My daughter is 12 and is always trying to grow foods from seeds indoors. She is innovative and has used cut off bottoms of soda cans to plant her seeds. I was concerned about harful things that may be getting in the soil from the cans.

When I was introduced to this product i knew it would ne the perfect gift for her. It was also a gift for me, having peace of mind she would have a healthier way to grow indoors. , using the bpa free tray it came with.

The product arrived and I watched as she set it up in a flash. The directions were easy for her to follow. It came with everything she needed to start growing immediately. The veg ledge provided is amazing.

It allowed us to pick the perfect spot in our window. We are all excited to be eating healthy microgreens in ten days!!.

I have been using soil for MG but hated getting the dirt during harvesting time. The bamboo mat is easy to use and extremely easy in harvesting time. I used the tray without holes and just lift up the corners or sides of the mat and water under the mat.

I add the FloraGro Hydroponic Microgreens Nutrients in the water. I harvest (cut with a scissor) a small amount and eat them right away (cut & eat). Wonderful experience.

We have cut our plant and harvest time down by using this medium. This stuff is like micro magic. Wether it’s us harvesting or our customers, it’s clean and you get the WHOLE micro stalk. During germination, it holds more water than the Mediterranean.

Being the micro helicopter growers that we are, we can easily monitor the grow as a result of the thickness and color of the media.

I decided to try them out with green cabbage seeds. Germination was good. Very pleased with this product. My cabbage micro greens were what I was hoping for. I had 4 mats on one tray. I harvested as needed.

I even reuse them.

New at this. Was pleasantly surprised at how clear and informative the instructions are. Got some good tasting greens on the first try. I underplanted out of fear of overcrowding. Next time, more seeds! I switched to using paper towels instead of the grow mats it comes with.

I did a trial run with both. There was no significant difference in the growth for the paper towel side vs grow mat side. When it came to harvesting, however, it was much easier to harvest from the paper towel.

The roots will pull right out of the paper towel with no paper towel left on, and it was really fast! The roots will not pull out of the grow mat, but instead, it will pull pieces of the mat up with it.

The only option I saw with the grow mat was to cut the greens, which resulted in more waste. Just a side note!.

Arrived in decent time, in great shape, and ALMOST as described. Everything was as advertised, but i got different seeds: I did NOT get pak choi or basil (sad face) but got others instead – must be substitutions, oh well I guess.

This is a good little starter set to get your feet wet and keep a nice little rotation of greens going for a bit (note to self: order more hydro pads and seeds!). The only real con here is the quality of the trays (you will be replacing them sooner than later if you choose to continue long term) BUT it’s not like they claimed them to be sturdy long-lasting trays, so I wouldn’t really fault the rating of this kit for that – just something to keep in mind.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this kit if you are new to this type of grow or new to growing in general and have an interest in microgreens.

I’ve finished growing my first batch of microgreens today and they’re ready to harvest. For a first time try they grew pretty well. However, the sunflower seeds barely germinated. The instructions in the started kit could use more details.

For example, after me watching YouTube videos I found out that the Sunflower seeds need to be soaked for 24 hours and then weighted down during the germination period. Over all, I am happy I choose the sectional starter kit.

Now, on to my next batch of microgreen!.

Ruined my tomatoes. Oh, they grew like crazy and had a ton of fruit. But as the tomatoes started to turn red EVERY ONE had blossom rot due to an inadequacy of minerals in the soil. Oh and this company claims they back their product.

This is only true if you keep the receipt and UPC code from the bag. I naturally trusted what I was buying…with a photo of flowers and vegetables…including a tomato on the bag was formulated correctly.

I tossed the bags. Long before the plants started to product tomatoes. This is what the company had to say so do t use it in a raised garden! “ Miracle-Gro All Purpose Garden Soil is designed for in-ground use only.

It is not formulated for use in containers, even large containers such as your watering trough. Soil in containers does not benefit from the natural processes of environmental interaction, such as natural fertilization.

Soil in containers is also prone to compacting, which is why our Potting Mixes use a blend of mediums that are designed to maintain soil aeration even when water has been applied. We do not recommend Miracle-Gro All Purpose Garden Soil for use in containers.

We want you to be confident in our products. For that reason, we offer a product guarantee to our consumers. Simply mail either the original itemized cash register receipt or the UPC barcode removed from each product packaging to the address below and I will promptly issue a refund check.

Emailed proofs of purchase do not qualify as originals. ”.

Bought 4 bags of this “soil”. Read numerous reviews about the debris so wasn’t surprised about the sticks, plastic and was lucky not to find other things. What did surprise me was the infestation of gnats? spiders? mites? small creamy white bugs.

Didn’t really notice them until I had done some planting and disturbed them. The soil was teeming with them so all 4 bags must of been infested. Luckily I used it only in one garden. Now have to try and get rid of them.

Unless you have a sure way of getting rid of these creatures I won’t recommend this product. Quite surprised at the over all poor quality of the “soil” to be associated with Miracle Gro. We assumed that a well-know company would pay better attention to quality.

I must stress that all the bags came from a brand-new skid – it still had the plastic wrap on it when I bought it.

I a have been noticing the quality of potting Soil Mixed for the past 5 years. Night price but low quality. There aren’t much real dirts but mostly finer much or grinned plants, trees and you can name it all.

I live I’m Austin Texas. When using all these grinned trees or barks they are baits for termites in a couple of months. Bring more termites to my property. When you dig up dirts in most ground in Texas, you can expect great amount of clay and limestone kind of dirt.

Not good for gardening at all. Spent quite a bit of money buy Miracles Soil or potting mixed but really I am pretty paying for grind trees and shrub. The big bag cost around $15. So not worthy. Please bring back your good quality of dirts if we have to spend $ on dirts.

Thought I would give this a try this season and wound up disappointed in the results. Seed germination took forever. Plant growth was half what I’ve got using another product in the past. Tomato plants are all discolored, but improving now that they’re in the ground.

I didn’t do anything different from what I’ve done in the past with the other product. Won’t use this again.

I use a lot of Jiffy seed starting mix when starting my seeds for the coming spring. I was thrilled to find this mix on WalMart’s website for about half the usual cost if ordered for shipping. I have a trial membership with WalMart that gives me free shipping, so this worked out great for me.

Also, Jiffy seed starting mix works really well to get new plants started.

It is excellent! It is very fine mix of ingredients and was very pleased with the fact that all I had to do was add water and plant. My last purchase was another big name brand and was a so called premium seed starting mix however I had to sort through it pull out chunks of bark.

Not impressed! Will buy Jiffy from now on!.

Sorry, but I have not had the time to open it yet. As it sits on my kitchen floor my cat makes good use of it as a stool. Since it is right near the side entrance he likes going out of, he has taken a liking to this package just as it is.

I am in the midst of moving and it has been quite disturbing. Therefore this has taken second priority for now. Although I am sure it will be put to good use. Now I find I have soil and plants, but not enough pots.

As I plan on taking the flowers that I ordered from seeds from your company.

This is my first review but it was delayed only because I have been busy building my outside patio garden this summer. Thanks to Epic Garden and True Leaf Market not only have I successfully grown tomatoes but also squash, herbs, beans, and tried new items such as ginger (wow) and cucamelons.

I learned how to start my seeds, sew my own grow bags and plant a productive patio garden! I’m growing Cat Grass for my kitties as well as microgreens for me. I highly recommend True Leaf for their superior products, prices and delivery!!.

I’m not an avid gardener, but I use this potting soil exclusively to grow pea shoots, basil, cilantro, mint, and chives indoors. It works well for me, and I’ve reused the soil many times for pea shoots (after letting it dry out a bit and removing the roots).

I never get bugs in my plants and have only gotten some wispy mold once, so in my amateur opinion, it’s great for my uses.

Last year I decided to not let living in an apartment keep me from growing & keeping plants something I have loved most my life since my grandfather taught me how to garden as a child. So I have only bought Miracle Grow brand soils since the beginning of my endeavor last year.

Shortly after I started noticing the gnats not thinking much of it I ignored this (big mistake) within a matter of weeks most my plants were dead dying or not growing & looking sickly after turning to the internet & a few professionals for answers I was told I had a serious fungus gnat problem so serious that I ended up disposing of everything from the plants to my pots & gardening accessories for good measure.

Then had to very thoroughly clean every surface & surrounding where my plants had been. Discouraged it took me a while to want to attempt to have plants again but I did this time w/ Christmas Cactuses & some ivys so again I buy Miracle Grow soil the Cactus/succulent blend & some other reg Miracle Grow potting soil in a matter of days the gnats were back I was livid cause never in a million years did it occur to me that it was my dependable name brand soil that caused all this damage.

I checked the leftover soil in the bags that were stored in a sealed bucket & sure enough eggs lots of them even showed the soil to a person who works at nursery to confirm & they said it was definitely infested.

Should have read the reviews for this I blame myself but I still can’t believe a company that’s been considered a household name & is so trusted by so many would allow for this to not just happen but continue to happen I get that after something leaves their wearhouse or packing plants that it’s hard to control every aspect of the product but surely something could be done to better protect from these things? Now I’m fighting to keep my remaining plants alive since it seems I’m locked into an on going battle with these pests.

My Birds of Paradise are starting to look terrible it really is depressing to see.

I used this for a few pots. I’m not a great plant parent, so I didn’t put much hope into growing anything and just picked easy stuff. I have potatoes growing in this mix and they are doing just fine.

It’s on the patio, so I haven’t noticed any gnats. I also started some “Zombie Plant” seeds in another container of this soil. Again, on the patio so I can’t say if there are gnats. The seeds sprouted and are doing well.

Not sure what the actual name of these are, but they seem to be thriving. This soil shipped well and lots to be just fine for my needs.

I’ve used Miracle Grow soil in my vegetable gardens year after year. The last 2 to 3 years I done the same and noticed the soil contains a large amount of wood chips and fibers. My vegetables seem like they’re straining to grow.

Not at all like they claim. Because of the poor quality of soil and poor growth of my vegetables I decided to do some research and found many similar complaints about Miracle Grow soil. The product is not the same as it was a few years ago.

The company has begun to add wood chips and fibers as a filler. There is less of the small spherical fertilizer. I relied on Miracle Grow for many years. I will no longer purchase this product for my subsequent vegetable garden needs.

I’m very disappointed in the changes of their soil.

Miracle Gro is an excellent potting soil. Unlike some cheaper brands, the texture is consistent, without huge clumps or chunks of wood. I use Miracle Gro for all of my plants at home and, this past year, for my Chef’s Garden at work.

We had beautiful, productive veggies and herbs for our Kitchen and we constantly received compliments on how lush and full our plants were. Looking forward to the upcoming season with Miracle Gro!.

I’m new to growing microgreens but I have to say this medium is wonderful to grow in. I’m growing radish, turnip and mustard in it and they took off so FAST! The roots dug into it beautifully and went right through this medium.

It holds water well as long as you soak it before you start. It also has a bit of stretch when wet so if you didn’t cut it perfectly you can still get it to fit exactly into your trays. The roll gave me 62 pieces to fill 1020 trays!.

All my crops have been infested with fungus gnats and their larva. It is very difficult, and thus far impossible, to find the “just right” level of moisture with these mats. Too dry, and the seeds don’t germinate.

Wet enough for germination, and the gnats are there. I stopped using the roll and am switching to soil to stop wasting my precious seeds. I would not recommend them.

I really love this grow mat. It is so much easier to cut than the coco coir. It also seems to retain moisture better. Some people say they don’t like the smell, but I actually think it is rather pleasant and it goes away in a very short time.

I haven’t had mold issues with this mat either. Seeds geminate faster. Great product @nd just what o have been looking for.

This Performance Organics®️ all purpose container mix from Miracle-Gro®️ is some seriously good stuff. I’m using it for my tomato plants, perrinials and even my herbs and the results so far are downright amazing! This potting soil easily yields up to 2 times more bounty than any other potting soil I’ve used.

It’s already blended with aged compost which is so convenient. And it provides plants enough nutrition for up to 3 months which is perfect for me and my busy schedule. There’s easy to follow instructions for transplanting and seeding right on the back of the bag.

And there’s even lighting, watering and repotting directions. Plus I absolutely love that this product is made from only organic and natural ingredients! It makes me feel so much better and safer about eating my tomatoes and herbs.

And this all purpose container mix fits perfectly with my green lifestyle. I truly couldn’t be happier or more impressed with this product! Highly recommended!!.