Seed to Sandwich: Grow Your Own Sprouts and Fresh Greens

Nothing says true sandwich connoisseur like growing all the ingredients for the perfect sandwich in your own stacker garden. From delicious greens to juicy vegetables, there are so many seeds to try. Gardening expert Madison Moulton lists her recommendations for a delicious sandwich stacker garden.

Written by Madison Moulton Last updated: November 27, 2024 | 5 min read

A close-up shot of crops growing on a raised bed for a sandwich garden

Contents

If you take your sandwiches seriously, you need to try growing your own ingredients from scratch. There is nothing like the fresh crunch of homegrown sprouts, just-harvested lettuce, or the juiciness of a garden-picked tomato to take your sandwiches to the next level.

These 9 crops are a must-have in a sandwich stacker garden. Whether you need greens, crunchy fillers, or flavor-boosting toppings, you’ll have plenty to play around with. Plus, they are all super easy to grow and compact enough to keep in pots indoors or out, suitable for every kind of gardener.

Sandwich Stacker Seed Bundle

The Sandwich Stacker Seed Bundle from Botanical Interests contains 9 seeds for the ultimate fresh sandwich ingredients, straight from your garden. Check out this fun and delicious collection of crisp veggies and sprouts.

Shop now on Botanical Interests

Sandwich Mix Sprouts

This delicious sprouts mix is a combination of alfalfa, red clover, and radish.

The perfect sandwich starts with the right balance of flavors and ingredients, and this seed mix is the way to achieve it. Technically, you could argue that the perfect sandwich starts with the right bread, but once you taste these delicious sprouts, you’ll see why they are essential.

The sandwich mix is a collection of three different seed types—alfalfa, red clover, and radish. Alfalfa and red clover have a delicious mild flavor that’s great for packing sandwiches with nutritious leaves, while the radish sprouts add a little bite that balances the flavors. The seeds are mixed in the perfect ratio to maximize deliciousness.

If you’re an impatient gardener, you’ll also love the short growing time of this seed mix. You can start tossing them onto your sandwiches in as little as four days, as soon as they start to turn green.

Alfalfa Sprouts

If you prefer the alfalfa sprouts on their own or want to bulk up your sprout supply, try these seeds. Alfalfa is one of the most popular sprout crops, known for its impressive nutrient profile and tasty nutty flavor. The crisp crunch it adds to sandwiches is unmatched, especially when harvested fresh and eaten immediately.

Like the previous mix, you’ll be enjoying these sprouts in just 4 to 6 days. It’s also possible to grow them at any time of year indoors, even in the middle of winter. If garden activity has slowed down outdoors over the colder months, you can continue to garden by growing alfalfa sprouts indoors.

Since they are so easy to grow, there should be nothing stopping you from having a tray full of sprouts growing continuously in your kitchen. That way, you’ll always have a fresh supply of sprout sandwich fillings year-round.

Mizuna Mustard

Mustard leaves are great for adding a peppery bite and flavorful finish to your sandwich toppings. They are also super easy to grow, germinating well in a range of conditions and tolerating light frost. If you’re a gardening beginner, this is a great crop to start with.

In terms of flavor, ‘Mizuna’ mustard is milder than other mustards, a flavor that everyone can enjoy. It pairs well with other sandwich ingredients, complementing other flavors without overwhelming them. The leaves are also great in salads or stir-fries.

This Japanese mustard grows plenty of dense leaves, withstanding heat well and not bolting as quickly as some other leafy greens. Harvest the leaves as you need them for the freshest flavor and crunchiest texture.

Little Gem Mini-Romaine Lettuce

A shot of several rows of mini romaine lettuce showcasing their bright green colored leaves that is growing in rich soil on a raised bed in a well lit area outdoors — Little Gem’s compact size is great for filling gaps in the yard or containers.

The adorable ‘Little Gem’ lettuce is as cute as it sounds and just as tasty. This variety is an English heirloom, a mini romaine with a similar flavor profile to butterhead lettuce. The leaves are sweet and juicy—everything you could want for a tasty sandwich.

These compact plants grow only six inches tall and four inches wide, perfect for filling gaps around your vegetable garden. They’re also compact enough to grow happily in containers if you don’t have much outdoor space available.

Depending on how many leaves you need, you can harvest the entire head once the plant has matured or remove individual leaves from the outer edges. If you’re harvesting single leaves, don’t remove too many at once. If you cut the head a few inches above ground level, the leaves will grow back, but not as prolifically.

Astro Arugula

Like mustard, arugula (or rocket) is known for its peppery bite and unique flavor profile. It balances the flavors of milder greens like lettuce or sprouts well, and you don’t need to use many leaves to enjoy the flavor boost they add.

‘Astro’ is a tasty variety with much wider leaves than the standard rocket you may recognize. It also doesn’t bolt quickly as temperatures increase, leaving you with more leaves to harvest and stack on your sandwiches as the season progresses.

If you prefer milder flavors, harvest the leaves early when the plant is still young. You can start picking around a month after planting. To intensify the peppery flavor, harvest later in the season once the leaves have matured, closer to two months after planting.

Quick Snack Cucumber

A close-up shot of two small cucumbers showcasing its green colors that growing in a light-brown colored pot in a well lit area — This cucumber cultivar is compact and can fit in 6 to 8-inch pots with ease.

‘Quick Snack’ cucumbers add a fresh, juicy crunch to any sandwich or salad. These tiny cucumbers are the perfect size for slicing onto a sandwich or eating fresh, straight off the plant. At only a few inches long, they’re also perfect for pickling.

This compact variety not only produces snack-sized cucumbers but it’s also snack-sized itself. Ideal for growing in containers, ‘Quick Snack’ fits into six to eight-inch pots with ease, as long as the vines have a small trellis to climb.

Thanks to their size, this is a great cucumber variety to grow indoors in front of a sunny window or under a grow light. Because they are parthenocarpic, they do not need pollinators to produce fruit, so you don’t need to worry about fruit set when growing inside.

Glacier Bush Tomato

A close-up shot of ripe red and yellow compact Glacier Tomatoes, showcasing its lush vibrant juicy crops still attached to its vain in a well lit area indoors — ‘Glacier Bush’ produces juicy tomatoes, ready to pick in less than 2 months.

If you’re looking for the perfect sandwich tomato, look no further than ‘Glacier’. This crop produces juicy fruits two inches in diameter, the ideal size to slice and stack on your sandwich. The flavor is sweet and rated one of the best of the early-producing tomatoes.

Compared to other tomato varieties, ‘Glacier’ is one of the earliest producers of the season, ready to pick less than two months after transplanting. It is also one of the most prolific varieties, continuing to produce throughout summer until frost kills off the vines.

This semi-determinate tomato is compact enough to grow in pots or grow bags if you don’t have much outdoor space. Start seeds around 4 weeks before your last frost to get a head start on the season. Tomatoes need plenty of warmth for germination, so you may need the help of a hea t ing mat if you’re sowing early inside.

Lavewa Spinach Seeds

A shot of several rows of Lavewa Spinach showcasing its lush healthy broad leaves placed in healthy brown soil along with the same crop in the background, all situated in a bright sunny area outdors — ‘Lavewa’ spinach is cold-hardy, heat-tolerant, and disease resistant.

Lettuce greens are a great filler in sandwiches, but they don’t pack quite the same nutritional punch as spinach greens. For that, you should grow ‘Lavewa’, a tough and reliable spinach with impressive flavor.

This variety is incredibly cold-hardy, perfect for sowing in fall when the window to plant other crops is slowly closing. They don’t mind frost and can overwinter in climates with sub-zero temperatures, although they’ll perform better with some protection. Harvest the leaves throughout winter to add a much-needed nutrient boost to your sandwiches as temperatures drop.

‘Lavewa’ is a great spinach to grow year-round, thanks to its heat tolerance and disease resistance. Direct sow into containers or outdoors and harvest baby greens around a month after planting.

Mild Mix Microgreens Seeds

A selective focused shot of various microgreens with multiple different colors all placed in containers in a well lit area outdoors — This mix is a combination of various sprouts that grow quickly.

Finally, no sandwich garden is complete without a tray of microgreens to provide the perfect finish. This Mild Mix is a combination of beets, cabbage, kohlrabi, pak choy, and Swiss chard, balancing flavors and adding vibrant color to your sandwiches.

Much like the sprouts, one of the biggest benefits of growing microgreens is the short time from planting to harvest. You can start trimming your greens in as little as five days or slightly longer for a more developed flavor. Continue sowing every week or two to provide a continuous supply in your kitchen year-round.

Pack microgreen seeds densely into trays and provide continuous moisture for even germination. Trim the leaves with sharp scissors when you are ready to put a finishing touch on your sandwiches, keeping them as fresh and tasty as possible.