Free U.S. Shipping On Orders Over $65

Growing Microgreens During a Drought: The Water-Smart Way to Grow Fresh Food at Home

The 2017 study that first put numbers on it showed broccoli microgreens use 158 to 236 times less water than mature broccoli to produce a nutritionally equivalent amount of food. That was already a big deal at the time. Now, with roughly 77 percent of Texas (our home state) in drought conditions as of spring 2026, that number is the difference between feeding your family fresh greens and giving up gardening altogether for the season.

This blog walks through why microgreens are one of the most water-efficient ways to grow food, how the numbers actually compare against a mature vegetable garden, and how anyone living in a drought zone or under water restrictions can still grow fresh, nutrient-dense food at home year-round. If you're brand new to microgreens, our beginner's guide to growing microgreens and our Beginner's Guide PDF are great starting points before you dive in.

Quick Answer: Are Microgreens Good for Growing During a Drought?

Yes. Microgreens use dramatically less water than mature vegetables, in some cases 158 to 236 times less per nutritionally equivalent serving. A single 10x20 tray of broccoli microgreens uses roughly 1.5 to 2 gallons of water from seed to harvest in 9 to 14 days. A mature head of broccoli typically requires around 5.5 gallons over 80 to 100 days. Microgreens also grow indoors, don't depend on rainfall, can be grown year-round regardless of climate, and aren't affected by outdoor water restrictions. For anyone in a drought-prone region, microgreens are one of the most water-efficient ways to grow fresh food at home.

Cracked dry soil during drought conditions, showing severe water shortage in a garden bed

Why Drought Is Pushing Home Gardeners Toward Microgreens in 2026

As of early 2026, the U.S. Drought Monitor shows roughly 77 to 97 percent of Texas under some level of drought, with about a third in severe drought or worse. The Southwest, parts of Florida, the Upper Missouri Basin, and stretches of the Northeast have all faced drought stress in the last year. Many cities are now into Stage 2, 3, and 4 water restrictions, which restrict or outright ban outdoor garden watering, lawn watering, and ornamental irrigation.

That's a serious problem if you've planned a vegetable garden, an orchard, or an outdoor edible landscape around getting fresh produce at home. It also raises water bills significantly when usage is still permitted. Gardening for many people is more than a hobby though. It's how you eat well, save money, and stay connected to where your food comes from. Microgreens give you a way to keep doing all of that even when outdoor growing is restricted or impossible.

The Big Comparison: Mature Broccoli vs. Broccoli Microgreens

To make the case as concrete as possible, we focused on a single crop that everyone knows: broccoli. Here's the head-to-head breakdown.

Mature Broccoli (Garden Plant)

  • Higher vitamin K than the microgreen counterpart
  • Takes 80 to 100 days from seed to harvest
  • One plant produces one head of broccoli
  • Needs substantial garden space (12 to 24 inches per plant)
  • Cannot grow year-round in most climates
  • Cannot grow in every region of the world
  • Requires approximately 5.5 gallons of water per head over the full growing cycle

Mature broccoli plant growing in an outdoor garden bed with developed head

Broccoli Microgreens

  • Believed to have higher sulforaphane potency than the mature plant
  • Believed to have higher vitamin E and vitamin C than the mature plant
  • Takes 9 to 14 days from seed to harvest, depending on variety
  • A single 10x20 tray yields about 7 to 11 ounces of harvest
  • Takes up minimal space (a single 10x20 tray)
  • Doesn't flower. Harvested at the cotyledon to early true-leaf stage
  • Grows in a shaded outdoor area OR indoors with grow lights or natural light
  • You can stack many trays in a small footprint (a single shelf can hold 6 to 12 trays)
  • Can be grown year-round in any climate
  • The entire growing cycle uses about 1.5 to 2 gallons of water per 10x20 tray

Purple kohlrabi microgreens growing on a reusable microgreen grow medium from On The Grow

If you want to dig deeper into our exact growing process for this crop, our complete broccoli microgreens guide covers seed selection, seeding rates, watering, lighting, and harvest timing in detail.

The Water Numbers: How Big Is the Difference, Really?

Water ripple on the surface of fresh clean drinking water, illustrating water conservation during drought

The often-cited 2017 study published in Frontiers in Nutrition put hard numbers on the microgreens vs. mature vegetable water comparison. From the study:

"Extrapolation from experimental data presented here indicates that broccoli microgreens would require 158 to 236 times less water than it does to grow a nutritionally equivalent amount of mature vegetable in the fields of California's Central Valley in 93 to 95 percent less time and without the need for fertilizer, pesticides, or energy-demanding transport from farm to table."

Reference: Waterland et al. (2017). Frontiers in Nutrition, 4:7. Available here.

This finding has been independently replicated and cited in multiple follow-up studies since, including a 2024 review in Plants (MDPI) that confirmed broccoli microgreens reduce production time by 93 to 95 percent compared to mature broccoli, with nutrient concentrations approximately 1.7 times higher. NASA has also studied microgreens for long-duration space missions specifically because of their exceptional nutrition-to-resource ratio, citing minimal water, space, and time requirements compared to mature crops.

Here's what that water savings actually looks like in a side-by-side comparison over the same time period.

Same Time Window: 80 to 100 Days of Growing

  • Single 10x20 tray of broccoli microgreens (one cycle): 1.5 to 2 gallons of water, 9 to 14 days, 7 to 11 ounces of harvest.
  • Same 10x20 tray run for 80 to 100 days (7 to 8 cycles): roughly 12 gallons of water total, producing approximately 70 ounces of fresh microgreens.
  • Mature broccoli grown over the same 80 to 100 days to get comparable harvest weight (~70 ounces): approximately 38 to 48 gallons of water for a similar volume of mature plant material.

And that's not even accounting for the nutrient density difference. Microgreens consistently show higher concentrations of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants than their mature counterparts (often 4 to 40 times higher per gram), so the actual nutritional yield per gallon of water in favor of microgreens is even more lopsided than the harvest weight alone suggests.

Why Microgreens Work When Outdoor Watering Doesn't

The water savings are the headline, but there are several other reasons microgreens shine specifically in drought scenarios.

Indoor Growing Sidesteps Watering Restrictions

Most municipal drought restrictions target outdoor water use: lawn watering, garden irrigation, car washing, ornamental landscaping. Indoor microgreen growing uses such tiny amounts of water that it's typically not affected by Stage 2, 3, or even Stage 4 outdoor watering bans. You're not running a sprinkler or filling a swimming pool. You're filling a 10x20 tray with 1 to 2 cups of water at a time.

Bottom-Watering Eliminates Waste

Once microgreens are out of the germination phase, we bottom-water them by pouring water into the bottom tray, where the roots wick it up through the mesh tray and growing medium. Almost zero water is lost to evaporation or runoff. Compare that to an outdoor garden bed where soil evaporation alone can claim 30 to 50 percent of the water you apply on a hot, dry day.

Reusable Mediums Cut Even More Inputs

Growing on a reusable silicone grow medium eliminates the need to buy new soil or coco coir for every grow. Combine bottom watering, indoor growing, and a reusable medium, and you've cut your water, your packaging waste, and your input costs all at once. For anyone trying to garden sustainably during a drought, that combination is hard to beat.

Year-Round Growing Means No "Lost" Seasons

If your outdoor growing season ends because of a drought emergency, you've lost that produce until next year. Indoor microgreens don't care what month it is. You can run continuous cycles all year and never miss a harvest.

What You Need to Start Growing Microgreens at Home

You can start growing microgreens with very little investment. Here's the basic gear list:

That's genuinely it. A first setup can be put together for under $100 and will produce fresh microgreens within 9 to 14 days. For a fuller breakdown of equipment, including lights and racks, see our complete microgreen lighting guide.

The Best Microgreens to Grow During a Drought

Some varieties are better suited to drought-time home growing than others, mostly because they germinate fast, are forgiving for beginners, and use very little water per tray.

  • Broccoli: Our top pick. 9 to 14 days, beginner-friendly, packed with sulforaphane and other beneficial compounds.
  • Radish (Rambo, Daikon, China Rose): Fast (8 to 12 days), spicy, beginner-friendly.
  • Kale, cabbage, kohlrabi: All brassicas, all easy, all 9 to 14 days.
  • Mustard varieties: Fast and flavorful. Spicy oriental mustard is a favorite.
  • Peas: Slightly higher water use per tray due to larger seed mass, but still dramatically less than outdoor peas. Great for sweet flavor.
  • Sunflower: Hearty, nutty, and rewarding. Slightly more water than brassicas but still extremely water-efficient.

What About the Cost?

Beyond water savings, indoor microgreens can also be more cost-efficient than you'd expect. When you buy seeds in bulk and grow on a reusable medium, your cost per 10x20 tray of finished microgreens can be under $1 in seed plus a few cents in water and a small share of your electricity bill. Compare that to $4 to $7 for a similar volume of fresh microgreens at the grocery store, where they're often a few days old by the time you bring them home. Our blog on buying microgreen seeds in bulk walks through the per-tray math in detail.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much water does a 10x20 tray of microgreens really use?

From seed to harvest, a 10x20 tray uses approximately 1.5 to 2 gallons of water. That includes the initial misting during germination and the bottom watering throughout the growing cycle. Some varieties (sunflower, pea) use slightly more because of their larger biomass and longer growing cycle. Most brassicas use less.

Can I grow microgreens during a Stage 3 or Stage 4 water restriction?

In most U.S. municipalities, yes. Indoor microgreen growing uses such small amounts of water that it falls under normal indoor household use, which is typically not restricted. Always check your local water authority's specific drought contingency plan, but indoor food growing is rarely included in outdoor watering bans.

Are microgreens really 158 to 236 times more water-efficient than mature broccoli?

That figure comes from a 2017 peer-reviewed study published in Frontiers in Nutrition. It compares the water needed to produce a nutritionally equivalent amount of broccoli microgreens vs. mature broccoli grown in California's Central Valley. The number accounts for both water use and nutrient density. Multiple independent studies since have confirmed the dramatic resource-efficiency advantage of microgreens over mature vegetables.

Can I grow microgreens with tap water during a drought?

Yes. Tap water is fine for most microgreens. If your tap water is heavily chlorinated, let it sit overnight in an open container before using or use filtered water. Some growers also collect rainwater (when available) or use lightly fertilized water with Ocean Solution 2-0-3 for stronger growth, especially on reusable mediums where the growing medium contains no nutrients.

Do microgreens need direct sunlight?

No. Microgreens grow well under affordable LED grow lights, in a bright north or east-facing window, or under bright indoor lighting. They actually do worse in intense direct sunlight, which can wilt them and accelerate water loss. Indoor growing under controlled lighting is one of the reasons microgreens are so water-efficient compared to outdoor crops.

Are microgreens worth growing if I have a regular garden?

Absolutely, even outside drought conditions. Microgreens complement a regular garden because they give you a fast, year-round harvest (especially during the dead of winter when nothing else is growing), they take very little space and water, and they deliver concentrated nutrition that mature plants from the same garden may not match per gram. Many of our most committed growers run both outdoor gardens and indoor microgreen setups side by side.

Final Thoughts

We're not telling anyone to stop planting their regular garden. Mature broccoli, leafy greens, peppers, tomatoes, and everything else still have a place. But the reality of 2026 is that more growers in more regions are dealing with droughts, water restrictions, and unpredictable growing seasons than ever before. Microgreens give you a way to keep growing your own food, eat well, save money, and live more sustainably even when the conditions outside say otherwise.

If you're ready to start, our complete guide to growing microgreens walks through every step from seed to harvest. For a deeper dive, our Microgreen Masterclass covers our full 7+ years of methods, troubleshooting, and crop-specific tips in 11 modules.

Happy growing!

Related Blogs You Might Enjoy

This blog contains affiliate links. As an affiliate for True Leaf Market, On The Grow may earn a small commission on qualifying purchases through these links at no additional cost to you. We only recommend products we use ourselves. For full details, see our Affiliate Disclosure.

Disclaimer: The information in this blog is based on our personal experience growing microgreens for over 7 years and is intended for educational purposes only. The drought conditions, water use figures, and water savings comparisons shared throughout are general estimates based on our own growing data and on the cited 2017 Waterland et al. study in Frontiers in Nutrition, along with related peer-reviewed research. Actual water use will vary based on variety, seeding density, growing medium, environment, watering method, and grow setup.

Drought conditions, water restrictions, drought contingency plan stages, and outdoor watering rules vary significantly by country, state, county, city, and individual water utility, and they change frequently as conditions evolve. The drought data referenced in this blog reflects U.S. Drought Monitor readings at the time of publication and may not reflect current conditions in your area. Before adjusting your watering practices, growing setup, or outdoor garden routine, you are responsible for checking your current local drought stage and contingency plan with your municipal water authority, water utility, or local government. What is permitted in one city may be restricted in another, even within the same state.

The nutritional and scientific claims referenced in this blog (including water savings ratios, nutrient density comparisons, and harvest yields) are drawn from published peer-reviewed research and our own growing data. They are shared for educational and informational purposes only and are not intended as medical, nutritional, or dietary advice. On The Grow is not a medical, legal, or regulatory advisor, and nothing in this guide constitutes professional advice of any kind.

Published: March 2023
Updated: May 25, 2026

Leave a comment

Please note, comments must be approved before they are published

Back to On The Grow's Blog