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.
This week is a special edition because last week we didn’t write an update.
Blackout vs no blackout
Two weeks ago, we started an experiment to test the differences between using the blackout technique vs not using it. The results were impressive but non-exhaustive since we still need to run the test with other seeds and not only with red cabbage.
So, what happened?
We started two trays of red cabbage with the same conditions, three days of germination under some weight and no peeking in between, meaning, for three days, we didn’t remove the weight to check if everything was ok or not. After the third day, we opened both trays for the first time, and we let one on blackout with a tray on top (Tray A), while the other tray went straight to light, skipping the blackout entirely (Tray B).
After two days of the blackout, we removed Tray A from it and exposed it to light for the first time. The difference between both trays was obvious.
- The microgreens on Tray A (blackout) grew considerably more during the blackout stage than those on Tray B.
- The microgreens on Tray B (no blackout) were ready to harvest faster compared to Tray A. However, they had shorter stems, which made it more complicated to harvest.
To use blackout or not to use blackout?
As we said earlier, not a real conclusion here, but a great insight. Skipping the blackout stage can accelerate the harvesting day, however, giving you slightly shorter stems on your microgreens.
New microgreen trays
We are super excited because we got our new microgreen trays! These trays are from Garland, a U.K. provider we found after doing lots of research for trays. The trays are tough injection moulded BPA free plastic which means great durability! We will be using these for a long time for sure.
Higher yield
One of the positive aspects of using these new trays is their measure, which allows us to use four of them next to each other on each shelf of our rack. This switch will help us increase our yields and be more efficient with the space available.
Shallow border, easier to harvest
Another very positive aspect of these trays is that they have shallow borders. Why is that important? It allows us to harvest our microgreens more easily since we don’t need to worry too much about making them grow too high to harvest.
Some annoying waste
Unfortunately, getting the trays wasn’t without waste. We spoke to Garland to reduce/eliminate the plastic in their order, and they did their best to satisfy our request. Nonetheless, moving a pallet requires plastic wrap, so the products don’t fall over, so we were left with a bunch of plastic waste. Hopefully, we will find a better solution in the future.
Too many trays?
We obviously overbought for our current scale, and there’s an obvious reason for that. We want to sell them too! We will be working on our e-shop in the following weeks so anyone can get their own microgreen trays. Interested? Please register to our mailing list via our homepage to stay up to date.
Microgreens update
This week, we were very eager to start using the new trays, so we are doing a couple of experiments to see how they work.
- Experiment A: Four trays with Broccoli Calabrese seeds stack on top of each other.
- Experiment B: One tray of Broccoli Calabrese seeds.
Both of these experiments have added weight on top, and we sowed them in the same way. What we want to test is the efficiency of doing several trays at a time (Experiment A), but also, how growing a single tray of microgreens works with the new trays (Experiment B).
Thank you for your time, and until next week!
