Microgreen experiment update
Happy New Year!
My Microgreen experiment continues. Thank Sleevendog and D’arch for the information and inspiration.
I am definitely getting better results but I am still learning what kind of crops I want to grow.
And a bunch of photos are gone.
Comments (8)
6 years agoLooks good! Some successes.
The top pic has a fast grow and proper density of seed. The others look waterlogged and the chard is sooo slow growing and not enough seed. Too wet. let them dry out to almost light by weight trays. A small fan on low will help.
I plant all seed on TOP of the soil, then tamp down to get good contact. Very different than gardening outside. Seems counterintuitive but very different growing conditions indoors.
Your spicy mixes, like behind the clay pot in the clear 'shoe bin', looks good...tiny seed so you hit the proper density.
The peas could all be in one tray, not three. They get woody fast if too far apart. Learning curve. Proper density they grow tight together and that density creates very tender stems. (less light hits the stems.) Top growth needs light, stem and bottom growth does not. like baby greens, mesclun, the top growth forms a canopy. The stems are very void of light. (tender stems)
What is the grassy stuff in the clay pot? Looks like wheatgrass or corn. Only good in a blender drink. Way too tough for salads. Corn needs absolute darkness to be prime edible. Void of all light. Covered by a cardboard box. Commercial growers use a dark chamber with humidity controlled like a big non-cold fridge.
Don't give up on ones that don't pan out.
On the Johnny's site, click on the 'fast growers' button. Not to necessarily purchase but to get to know what 'grows fast'.
^ It is on the sidebar of the micro green page.
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6 years ago- 6 years agolast modified: 6 years ago
- 6 years ago
Round three - for a potluck gathering this coming weekend.
This time I used no soil over the seed and left them covered up an extra day.
- 6 years ago
- 6 years ago
Looks great. The pale yellow, just uncovered, will green up in just a few hours. That is when I just spritz on top, then once up a bit and green I use a pint juice bottle to water from the edge (lifting up a corner so it flows all over). And do let them dry out a bit. If the trays have weight at all, resist watering. I've come home with a couple trays near flat and desert thirsty...a few hours later standing up hydrated.
And good timing for sharing! It is only Tuesday. Should get some fast growth by the weekend. Maybe not 'macro' but definitely 'micro'.
One question I get a lot is when are they ready to snip. Anytime once they green up but that is micro/garnish. Still packed with flavor and nutrients but I get ahead of myself often and prefer 'macro'. I often need to bag it for the fridge but being so fresh it lasts a long time.
Top left is probably a 5-6 day radish, micro, and a 8-9 day 'macro'.
- 6 years ago
I like taking trays to dinner parties. I prefer to make fresh spring rolls with my greens but my basils and herbs take forever to grow and hard to time them. This box went to a pot luck. It was fun for all to taste and add to other salads...(and ran out of time to shop the international market that has Thai basil and the time it takes to make spring rolls)
agmss15Original Author