Welcome to the weekly oh nènè microgreens update, where we talk about the latest information on our microgreens journey. We started experimenting with microgreens in March 2021 and found the process fascinating. As we discover the wonderful world of microgreens, we feel inclined to share with you our progress.

Test on cilantro microgreens

This week, we started a test on cilantro seeds to see if we could finally grow this exciting and controversial tasting plant. We had attempted doing cilantro microgreens in the past, but we miserably failed. After reading about it a bit, we decided to try again by breaking the shells that cover the seeds.

Cilantro seeds in plastic bag
Cilantro seeds in a plastic bag

 

To break them, we put the seeds in a plastic bag and then used a roller as if we were preparing a dough. The shells easily break and don’t get damaged, exposing the seeds inside.

Split cilantro seeds in plastic bag
Split cilantro seeds in a plastic bag

 

We then started our experiment over a mesh, and we are still waiting for the results, but we can see now that they are very slow germinating, which we knew in advance.

Split cilantro seeds over mesh for microgreens
Split cilantro seeds over mesh
Split cilantro seeds over mesh for microgreens
Split cilantro seeds over mesh

 

Test on sunflower, once again

We’ve had a love/hate relationship with sunflower microgreens. We know many people like them very much, but they can be so complicated to grow! Since receiving the last batch of sunflower seeds, we haven’t been able to grow them properly on our meshes, and we thought it was a quality issue since we didn’t have those problems before. We contacted our supplier, and they sent us a sample of seeds from another batch so we could do some tests.

We wanted to see if, by any chance growing the seeds on coconut coir could make a difference, so we made a 50g-50g test with the current and new batch of sunflowers to see if:

  • the medium would make a difference, and
  • the quality of the seeds was different in a different substrate.
Sunflower seeds on coconut coir for microgreens
Sunflower seeds on coconut coir. Left: new batch. Right: current batch
Sunflower seeds germinating on coconut coir
Sunflower seeds germinating. Left: new batch. Right: current batch
Sunflower seeds germinating on coconut coir
Sunflower seeds germinating from the new test batch
Sunflower seeds germinating on coconut coir
Sunflower seeds germinating from the current batch

 

After about a week of testing, we can see how the seeds germinated reasonably well and how potentially the medium had a positive impact on both batches. However, we notice a clear advantage in the seeds from the new batch. The quality of the seeds from the latest batch is probably better, which is why we see a clear difference. Once we harvest, we will know the yield and have a concrete, tangible number to compare.

Adapting germination timings

Our rule of thumbs while using meshes was having five days of germination, but we recently decided to challenge that and have four days instead. In that way, we can expose our microgreens to light earlier and allow them to develop more their leaves instead of pushing their stems higher. We prefer relatively smaller stems with bigger leaves than the other way around.

Radish China Rose microgreens
Radish China Rose microgreens

 

You can buy our lunch box to store microgreens

When we started oh nènè, we were highly focused on our subscription. We spent quite some time figuring out the best solution to store our microgreens to give to our clients without compromising the environment and reducing waste to the maximum. That’s how we found the stainless steel boxes that we now use for our subscription.

We notice a significant shelf-life duration for our microgreens when stored on the lunch boxes, so we want to allow others to use the same box we do.

If you are interested, check it out here below 👇

Thank you for your time, and until next week!