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.
The weight mystery solved, for now
Last week, we started a stack of four trays of Broccoli Calabrese microgreens. To tackle the problem with the lower two trays, we decided to add more medium (coconut coir) to these trays. We patiently waited for the germination process to finish, and when we switched to blackout, we saw that the results were as we hoped: even germination across all four trays! Victory!
When stacking four trays to grow microgreens, we will use more medium on the lower two trays and less on the upper two trays.
Stainless steel box update
We have been debating a lot about which box would be the best to suit our needs for our reusable box delivery service. Our options were many, and the debate revolved around how functional, practical and cute the box should be. We openly asked our followers for their opinion on our social media, and there was a clear cuteness winner. However, the preferred box had some functional and sustainability problems.
First, the sample box contains a silicone ring around the lid to help keep liquid contents inside the box without leaking. Without getting into much detail, we didn’t want to have silicone for many reasons, but also, it isn’t necessary to have a leakproof box.
Second, the box has a couple of buckles on the sides to make the box leakproof. Even if the fasteners are cute, they are not very practical for us since we would have to open and close them to add microgreens constantly. Opening and closing buckles could take a lot of our time, and that’s not efficient.
Better planning
We got inspired by Piedmont Microgreens to have an Excel planner for our growth schedule. It is a great idea, and it will help us organize better the subsequent crops that we want to grow. The whole point of the planning is that given the delivery date, we can calculate back how many days we need for each stage of the growth, from soaking, sowing, blackout, light, and harvesting.
Microgreens update
The weekly giveaway is Arugula!
Two weeks ago, we started four trays of arugula microgreens. We are happy to say that we have started giving them away already for our weekly giveaway. We harvested 387g of Arugula from four trays for an average of 96.75g per tray. We think we can do better, and we will try a couple of different techniques next time.
Broccoli Calabrese
We recently exposed the Broccoli Calabrese we started last week to the light, and we were delighted with the germination rate. We are eager to see how it will grow in the next few days under the light.
Red Cabbage
We started a new stack of four trays with Red Cabbage, and it is the first time that we have done the stacking technique with it, so we are pretty curious about the results!
Peas and Basil
Since we gain more confidence with the trays and the microgreens schedule, we want to try to give a different experimental variety on our weekly giveaways. This time, we are trying with Peas and Basil, both with their difficulties and challenges.
Thank you for your time, and until next week!
Daniel Osorio