Welcome to my weekly microgreens update, where I talk about the latest information about my microgreens journey. I started playing with microgreens in March 2021 and found the process fascinating, so I try to go deeper into this world and see where it takes me.
Experimenting with weight
After watching many microgreens videos, I could see how adding weight to the top tray of the microgreens was a recurrent theme. There were several apparent reasons for this:
- Seeds are stimulated to push against the weight as they would do under the soil, seeking the light source above.
- When seeds push upwards, their stems become stronger and healthier.
- The roots will dig deeper into the soil as they become stronger.
- Increase of germination across the sowed seeds.
- Moist remains in the growing tray as it is covered.
Given all these conditions, I added weight to all of my growing 10×20 trays with a brick I had at home, and it seemed to work just fine until I started noticing that some seeds were not pushing hard enough.
Too much weight
After three to four days after germinating the seeds, it would seem as if they couldn’t push anymore and were remaining stuck somehow. That’s when I decided to dig into the topic of weight a bit more.
I found information about how the added weight on top of a tray only works on some seeds and the “right” amount of weight, which is between 500g to 1250g. Of course, this is all very experimental, and it is not an exact science. However, I did learn that I was putting too much weight since my brick was 2700g.
I will find other ways of adding weight to my trays in the next weeks. Maybe a sandbag with beans or a Tetra pack with water.
Harvesting
I started about three weeks ago Radish and Sunflower microgreens, and they both provided a fantastic return as we have been harvesting and eating for a very long time. About 6 days ago, I noticed that the ones left were growing too much, so I decided to harvest everything at once and store it in the fridge.
These were the returns of about 1/3-1/4 of the 10×20 tray:
- For the radish microgreens, I collected 324g.
- For the sunflower microgreens, I collected 250g.
On Saturday, after 5 days since I harvested, they started losing their freshness. This means that their life in the fridge is about 4/5 days after harvest. I am sure, however, that their lifespan could be longer under better conditions.
Microgreens I started
Last week I talked about arugula and red clover, so these are the developments after one week. One problem I had was that I didn’t use enough seeds when sowing, so the tray is not looking dense enough. The density plays an important role in how the stems of the plants grow. The more seeds there are, the more they help each other stand straight. If you put too many though, they can suffocate, so there needs to be a balance.
Arugula
Arugula microgreens are relatively easy to grow, so these were not complicated at all. I need to wait a few days before we can start harvesting them.
Red clover
I’ve never done red clover microgreens before, so I was curious about their look and taste. At this point, they look as if they still need time to mature before we can harvest any of them.
Microgreens that were already there
Red cabbage
The red cabbage microgreens grew amazingly well, and after two weeks since sowing them, they look fantastic!
Watercress
With their very spicy taste, watercress microgreens were a great choice to have at home for our meals!
Next microgreens
This weekend I started a 10×20 tray of mustard and broccoli microgreens. I have done both in the past, and they are very similar in taste, a bit spicy and fresh. I’m excited about refining the process by not using a brick to start my microgreens!
Coconut coir medium
So far, I have used paper and coconut coir to grow my microgreens. I noticed that one block of dry coconut coir gives me enough medium to fill up six 10×20 trays. The blocks are quite practical, as they are dried and compact, and you just need to soak them in water so that they expand.
Thank you for your time, and see you next week!
Dani
