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.
Weight experiments
Last week, we started three new experiments with weight different weights to see if we would notice a difference in how the roots of our microgreens would develop. These were the tests we did:
- Red cabbage with 5kg of weight using bricks on the top tray.
- Red beet with no added weight on the top tray.
- Broccoli raab with 5kg of weight using bricks on the top tray.
The results were fascinating! The red cabbage and the broccoli grew solid and healthy roots that made for a beautiful crop. The red beet also grew insanely well, and we’re delighted with the results in general.
Weight experiment conclusion
We will continue to use weight to motivate the seeds to grow a stronger root system. The difference is night and day when it comes to using weight. The only thing to note is that not all seeds require such a technique, like red beet, so we will need to run some tests with other types of seeds to see the best solution.
New blackout vs no blackout experiment
We are very curious about the best ways to grow our microgreens. Since we are preparing for larger-scale production, we need to optimize our methods to be efficient and obtain a quality product. This week, we started another experiment to see the difference between using blackout vs no blackout when growing our microgreens.
To clarify doubts, the blackout technique consists of putting an inverted tray on top of the germinating seeds after a couple of days underweight to stay in the dark but without resistance on top. The blackout technique helps motivate the stems of the seeds to push higher towards the top tray as they seek a light source. The whole point with the technique is to grow taller microgreens, which comes in handy when having tall trays.
To test the experiment, we used red cabbage seeds once again, and after four days under the weight of 5kg bricks, we put one tray in a blackout and the other under the light. We will see in a couple of days if there’s a difference in growth between these two.
New Bionova cocobricks
Super exciting news! This week we got a pallet of coconut coir from Bionova. We talked with them for over a month, and we finally got our shipment. In total, 32 boxes are containing 768 coconut bricks. That’s a lot of bricks! But enough to work on our farm for the following months and start selling some of them on our webshop! Say what?! Yes, a webshop! But more on that later, as we are still getting ready with the technicalities of a webshop.
Concerns about the plastic
We are worried about the use and abuse of plastic globally, so we are not happy with our coconut coir order’s amount. We talked to our provider to find a solution for the amount of plastic, especially the coconut coir carrier bags, and they have found a way to eliminate it!
However, our pallet contained a bunch of plastic, and from what we understood, this is related to transport logistics, and there’s little we can do about it. We refuse to accept no for an answer regarding the plastic waste from the materials we need to run our business, so we will try to find a more durable solution with our providers to see if they can make an effort to change away from plastic.
New lights
This week we also got our new lights! We are super excited about them because it means that we can already expand our production to two new racks, or 40 more trays! It sounds like a lot, but we are ready for the challenge. The lights are growing lights from LEDs of 48 watts and 120cm long. Every light would feed four trays per shelf, which means one tray would use about 12 watts of electricity and based on our calculations, this is actually a good energy usage ratio.
Steel containers
We are testing steel containers as a more sustainable way of storing our microgreens to avoid plastics or non-reusable materials. After six days in the fridge, these Radish China Rose microgreens look very fresh and healthy. We will see when they will keep their beautiful look to determine the most we can get from this steel container.
Microgreens update
Last week, we kept a close eye on our weight experiment trays, red cabbage, red beet, and broccoli raab. We are thrilled with the results, and we will be eating these beautiful microgreens in the following days.
Last but not least, we have our new red cabbage experiment with two different trays. We will have to wait a couple of days before understanding what method is better, blackout or no blackout.
Thank you for your time, and until next week!
