What Works Best for Harvesting Microgreens: Knife vs Scissors vs Electric Trimmers

February 3, 2023

When it comes down to harvesting your microgreens, there are three main ways most people go about it. You can grab a pair of scissors, a sharp knife, or for larger commercial operations, an electric harvesting tool. If you're real fancy and can afford it, there's also the $560+ Quick-Cut Greens Harvester, though, for microgreens, we'd opt for a battery-powered grass shear or mini hedge trimmer before going that route. Just make sure if you go the mechanical harvester route that you understand the food safety considerations around blade lubricants (more on this below).

In this blog, we're going to focus on the three most popular options: scissors, knives, and electric harvesting tools. We'll cover what we use, what we'd recommend, and what to watch out for with each.

Mandi of On The Grow holding a Mercer harvesting knife and scissors used for harvesting microgreens

Quick Answer: What's the Best Tool for Harvesting Microgreens?

For most home and small-scale commercial growers, a sharp Mercer Culinary harvesting knife is the best all-around tool. It produces clean cuts that protect shelf life, works on every variety, is easy to clean and sanitize, and is much gentler on your hands than scissors over long harvest sessions. Battery-powered grass shears or mini hedge trimmers can speed things up for high-volume harvests of hearty crops like pea shoots, sunflower, and wheatgrass, but they don't work well for delicate varieties and come with real food-safety concerns around blade lubricants that need to be addressed before using them on anything you'll eat.

Harvesting With Scissors

Photograph of 2,000-year-old ancient scissors showing how long this harvest tool has existed

Let's start with scissors, which have been around for thousands of years. Check out these scissors that are thought to be around 2,000 years old. We wonder if they were also using them to harvest microgreens. If only we had time travel.

When it comes to scissors, you want ones that are very sharp. Put away those multi-colored dull scissors we used as kids and find some that have a nice sharp edge to them (like these). The main reason is that if you use a dull-edged scissor, you will end up crushing the stems, which quickens the decay process. At least that is what we have noticed in our experience with dull scissors.

Think of it this way: scissors cut through stems by pinching the crop on its sharp blades as it compresses. As the plant tissues are smashed, they release their cell contents. This bruising caused by pinching can shorten the shelf life of the product.

A fully harvested tray of microgreens cut cleanly with sharp tools by On The Grow

When you find a good pair of scissors they can be just as effective as a good knife for harvesting your microgreens, especially if you're only harvesting a little at a time. If you have A LOT of microgreen trays to harvest and/or you are selling your microgreens, we highly recommend going with a knife or mechanical harvester. The reason is that over time you'll develop hand cramps with scissors, you'll generally experience slower harvest times, and they are harder to clean, sanitize, and sharpen when they get dull.

Harvesting With a Knife (Our Top Pick)

On The Grow holding the Mercer harvesting knife and scissors used for cutting microgreens

Personally, we prefer the simplicity of a sharpened knife that glides through the microgreens like butter. After years of harvesting, the Mercer Culinary Millennia Wide Bread Knife is still our number one choice. It comes razor sharp out of the box, holds its edge well, has a comfortable grip, and the wide blade is perfect for harvesting a full row of microgreens in one pass. This is the knife we recommend to anyone serious about harvesting.

Of course, this is only our opinion, but we find that using a sharp knife to harvest is easier on the hands and wrists over time, especially if you're harvesting a few trays. Sharp knives make clean cuts and do not pinch water-conducting vessels the way scissors can. This translates directly into better shelf life for your harvest.

Tip: One of our followers shared that if you use a ceramic knife, it does not react to the chemicals in the microgreens' stems. Thus, it is less likely to oxidize and brown the stem at the point of cutting.

We also prefer knives because it gives you the chance to get up close and personal with your crops to check for any signs of decay or disease as you harvest the microgreens. On top of being easy to use, we find knives much easier to clean, sharpen, and sanitize compared to scissors. The only downside is being careful not to cut yourself.

Custom leather On The Grow knife sheath handmade by Darrell Warbington for the Mercer harvest knife

Once you pick your personal favorite harvesting tool, remember to take care of it. Just like anything in life, if you want it to last, you should spend the time maintaining it. We always clean and sanitize our tools after harvesting and sharpen the blade after every 2 to 3 harvests to prevent having a dull and grabby blade on your next harvest day. Here's the tool we recommend for sharpening your knife: AccuSharp knife sharpener.

Mercer microgreen harvesting knife and scissors stored on a wall-mounted magnetic bar

The Mercer knife we love and recommend to everyone comes very sharp straight out of the package but does not include a lasting knife sheath to protect the blade and you. The best way we've found to store our harvesting tools is by using a magnetic metal bar that we have attached to the wall.

Electric Hedge Trimmers and Grass Shears for Microgreens

Over the past few years, more and more commercial microgreen growers have started using battery-powered grass shears or mini hedge trimmers (the same kind you'd use to trim a small hedge or grass edge in a yard) to speed up harvest day. Some commercial farms have built their entire harvest workflow around them. If you're harvesting dozens of trays a week, the time savings can be significant.

That said, we have some real concerns about this method, and we want to walk through them honestly so you can make an informed decision before going this route.

Concern #1: Crushed Stems and Shorter Shelf Life

This is the big one, and it's the same issue as dull scissors but potentially worse. Electric trimmers work by oscillating a set of blades against each other to chop through plant material quickly. Even with sharp blades, the cutting action is closer to a scissor pinch than a clean knife slice. If the blades aren't kept extremely sharp, you can end up crushing the stems instead of cleanly slicing them, which speeds up the decay process and shortens the shelf life of your harvest.

For our own setup, we've stuck with knives specifically because the clean slice protects shelf life better than any pinching or chopping action. If you're selling microgreens, shelf life is everything. A crop that lasts 10+ days in your customer's fridge is a crop that gets reordered. A crop that wilts in 4 days isn't.

Concern #2: Food-Safe Lubricants

This is the concern most growers overlook, and it's the one that worries us the most.

Most consumer-grade electric hedge trimmers and grass shears come from the factory pre-lubricated with petroleum-based oils designed for trimming yard plants, NOT for cutting food. Even after the factory oil is wiped off, every manufacturer recommends ongoing lubrication of the blades to prevent rust, reduce friction, and extend tool life. The standard lubricants recommended (3-IN-ONE oil, motor oil, WD-40, chain bar oil, silicone spray) are absolutely NOT food safe.

Some growers have started using food-safe alternatives like food-grade mineral oil, food-grade silicone spray, or even canola oil. These can work, but you have to be careful: cooking oils like canola or vegetable oil can go rancid and gum up the blades over time, and food-grade silicone sprays vary widely in formulation. Before you use any electric trimmer on microgreens, you should:

Fully disassemble the blade and wipe off ALL factory lubricant with a clean, food-safe degreaser
Re-lubricate ONLY with a verified NSF-rated or food-grade lubricant (NSF H1 rated mineral oil is the gold standard)
Re-clean and re-lubricate between every harvest session
Never assume "biodegradable" means "food safe." They are not the same thing.

If you're not willing to do all of that consistently, we'd recommend sticking with a sharp knife.

Concern #3: Not All Microgreens Work With Electric Trimmers

Electric trimmers work best on hearty, taller crops with sturdy stems: pea shoots, sunflower, wheatgrass, popcorn shoots, and similar shoot varieties. They do NOT work well on delicate varieties like:

Basil
Amaranth
Cilantro
Lettuce
Most small-seeded brassicas at delicate stages

The vibration and chopping action of an electric trimmer can shred or bruise delicate stems, leaving you with a lower-quality harvest. For these crops, a sharp knife or scissors is still the better tool.

When Electric Trimmers Make Sense

If you're a commercial grower harvesting 50+ trays a week of pea shoots, sunflower, or wheatgrass, and you're willing to invest in food-safe lubricants and a strict cleaning protocol between harvests, a battery-powered grass shear or mini hedge trimmer can absolutely speed things up. Several established microgreen farms swear by them.

If you're a home grower or small-scale commercial grower harvesting under 50 trays a week, especially across mixed varieties, we'd recommend sticking with a sharp Mercer knife. The time savings of an electric trimmer don't outweigh the food safety and shelf life trade-offs at smaller volumes.

General Harvest Tips

Regardless of which tool you choose, a few harvest-day habits will dramatically improve your final product:

Harvest in the morning. Microgreens are at peak hydration and crispness in the morning before the lights have been on for hours. Morning harvests last longer in storage.

Cut just above the medium. Avoid catching roots or grow medium in your harvest. Our blog on why we don't eat microgreen roots like sprouts covers why this matters for food safety.

Sanitize between trays. Wipe your blade with a food-safe sanitizer between trays, especially if you're harvesting different varieties or have any concerns about cross-contamination.

Cut, then store unwashed. Washing microgreens before storage dramatically shortens shelf life. Store unwashed in a breathable container in the fridge and rinse just before eating.

Don't pull the roots out. If you're using a reusable medium, leave the root mat behind for cleaning. Our Microgreen Medium Scraper is purpose-built for removing root debris from reusable silicone grow mediums between grows.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the best knife for harvesting microgreens?

The Mercer Culinary Millennia Wide Bread Knife is our top pick. It comes razor sharp out of the box, holds an edge well, has a comfortable handle, and the wide blade harvests a full row in one pass. We've used ours for years and recommend it to everyone.

Can I use an electric hedge trimmer to harvest microgreens?

You can, but with caveats. Battery-powered grass shears and mini hedge trimmers work well on hearty crops like pea shoots, sunflower, and wheatgrass. They don't work well on delicate varieties like basil, amaranth, or cilantro. The bigger concern is blade lubricant: most consumer-grade trimmers ship with petroleum-based lubricants that are NOT food safe. Before using one on microgreens, you'll need to fully clean off the factory lubricant and re-lubricate with an NSF H1 rated food-grade lubricant, and re-clean between every harvest. If you're not willing to do that consistently, stick with a sharp knife.

Do scissors really shorten microgreen shelf life?

Dull or low-quality scissors absolutely can. Scissors cut by pinching stems between two blades, which can bruise the plant tissue and release cell contents at the cut point, speeding up decay. Sharp, high-quality kitchen scissors do much less damage and are perfectly fine for small home harvests. For larger volumes, a sharp knife produces a cleaner cut that protects shelf life better.

How often should I sharpen my harvest knife?

We sharpen ours every 2 to 3 harvest sessions. A dull knife is just as bad as dull scissors. It crushes stems instead of slicing them. The AccuSharp knife sharpener is what we use to keep our blades sharp.

How do I clean and sanitize my harvest tools?

After every harvest session, wash your knife or scissors with warm soapy water, then sanitize with food-safe sanitizer (a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution works great), and dry completely before storing. A wall-mounted magnetic bar is a clean, dry storage option that keeps blades off countertops and avoids damaging the edge.

Should I harvest microgreens before or after watering?

Harvest before watering, ideally several hours after the last watering so the foliage is dry. Wet microgreens at harvest are much more likely to go bad in storage. If your microgreens are wet at harvest, fan-dry them gently before packaging.

We hope this helps with your current or future harvests. As always, we appreciate your support, so let us know if you have any questions or suggestions for future blogs.

Until next time, happy growing!

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Written by: Mandi Vaughn
Edited by: CJ Vaughn
Published: September 3, 2021
Updated: May 2026
All content is property of On The Grow®, LLC