Consultation
Grow your Own - includes Microgreen Growing Kit and Class - $70
Starting Your Own Hydroponic Farming Business, Personalized 13 hours of instruction and on-going support for 1 year - $700
Joint Ventures
You fund the project and we build the garden or build the hydroponic system and teach, help grow and sell the product for you during your start-up phase $7,000
Education
DIY - Do it Yourself Classes - $20 per week
Next Series Starts November 2018 - Athens, Alabama
Call for enrollment - (256) 840-7040
Next Series Starts November 2018 - Athens, Alabama
Call for enrollment - (256) 840-7040
TOPICS DISCUSSED -
The most common challenges/problems with growing microgreens.
Mold and mildew – Mold and mildew starts during the germination process (because of the high humidity) but does not reveal itself until four or five days into the grow cycle. There is a big difference between mold and root hairs, which are concentrated around the main root of the seed and are very beneficial for a plant at the beginning of its life.You will find that white mold looks like a spiderweb crawling across the surface of the growing media. It starts out in one area in a small, wispy ball and then expands quickly over the growing media. If you don’t take care of it, pretty soon it will climb up the stems of your plants and your entire crop is ruined.
The Solution
Too many varieties to choose from – It not easy choosing which varieties of microgreens to grow. We have had great success growing the following: Sunflowers, Pea Shoots, Red Rambo Radish, Hong Vit Radish, Kale, and Broccoli. Each is easy to germinate, and turns in less than 10 days. Also by mixing everything listed above, you can create a great tasting rainbow mix. Trying to grow anything more than six or seven varieties at time will be a nightmare for your crop planning and lead to disappointed customers.
Uneven germination – Uneven germination is caused by either human error or lack of moisture. We can’t solve the human part, but here are a few tricks we learned along the way.
The Solution:
Slow Germination
Most microgreen seeds germinate within 2-4 days, but some take a bit longer. If you’re seeing much longer germination times, something is wrong.
The Solution:
Yellowish Microgreens
This isn’t a very common problem, but it can happen from time to time. All of your seedlings will be yellow. This is because they have not been able to take in light and start the process of photosynthesis.
The Solution:
Costly fiber-based media mats – Fiber-based media mats, like hemp, can be very costly growing media, and can significantly reduce or wipe out your profits. Any media that costs more than 10% of your revenue per tray is too expensive and your goal should be to achieve a 5% ratio.
The Solution
High lighting costs - While lighting and electricity costs for indoor crops are relatively high, microgreens typically need less than 4 DLI a day -- equivalent to 8 hours a day at 125 PAR.
The Solution
The Solution
The Solution
- Make sure your trays, loose medium and/or coco coir pads are STERILIZED before you plant
- Decrease humidity by increasing air circulation and purifying the air (hard in the blackout period but you can partially uncover the trays)
- Decrease the seed density of your future trays, especially for mucilaginous seeds
- Try using Grapefruit Seed Extract or Neem oil mixed with water as an organic solution. (In our class we teach you what secret solutions we use)
- Reducing this problem starts with air-flow, Add small mini fans or an inline blower with carbon filter and intake booster fan for fresh air. (In our class we teach you what secret solutions we use)
- Spray your plants with Terereplenish during the germination process which naturally decreases mold due to the presence of beneficial, free living microbes. For a 20% discount on Terereplenish products use code NGTI10 when ordering. (Terereplenish is fantastic for personal production but to costly for commercial production. In our commercial class we teach you what secret solutions we use)
Too many varieties to choose from – It not easy choosing which varieties of microgreens to grow. We have had great success growing the following: Sunflowers, Pea Shoots, Red Rambo Radish, Hong Vit Radish, Kale, and Broccoli. Each is easy to germinate, and turns in less than 10 days. Also by mixing everything listed above, you can create a great tasting rainbow mix. Trying to grow anything more than six or seven varieties at time will be a nightmare for your crop planning and lead to disappointed customers.
Uneven germination – Uneven germination is caused by either human error or lack of moisture. We can’t solve the human part, but here are a few tricks we learned along the way.
The Solution:
- Build or buy a tent to house your black 10X20 trays for the first few days of growth. Make sure to spray trays at least once a day and reclose the tent if you are not using a bottom up watering system. Depending on the variety, remove trays after two to three days You are seeking 90% humidity and might need to experiment with the location of your tent several times. Alternatively, you can use a humidity dome with a black 10X20 over the dome for your higher end varieties such as Shiso or Borage.
Slow Germination
Most microgreen seeds germinate within 2-4 days, but some take a bit longer. If you’re seeing much longer germination times, something is wrong.
The Solution:
- Increase moisture in the tray by spraying more / more often
- Do a germination test with some of your seed in a wet paper towel
Yellowish Microgreens
This isn’t a very common problem, but it can happen from time to time. All of your seedlings will be yellow. This is because they have not been able to take in light and start the process of photosynthesis.
The Solution:
- Take the blackout dome off of the trays earlier
- Place trays near a stronger light source
Costly fiber-based media mats – Fiber-based media mats, like hemp, can be very costly growing media, and can significantly reduce or wipe out your profits. Any media that costs more than 10% of your revenue per tray is too expensive and your goal should be to achieve a 5% ratio.
The Solution
- We found the most efficient and profitable mats are burlap. You can buy good quality, safe burlap from Crop King, or you can partner with a local roaster and reuse coffee bags which are more sustainable and generally free. In either case, you need to cut mats in advance, and then soak with 3 ppm of H202 for half an hour before seeding. Burlap doesn’t produce as much yield as soil, but it grows faster and is less expensive. If you are contemplating large production, you will want to grow on burlap or some other fibrous mat. The downside of burlap is that it dries up quickly and requires equipment with a timer and automatic feeding system. Some good systems can be found at Crop-king NFT, or you can build your own home-made racks with botanicaire flood trays.
High lighting costs - While lighting and electricity costs for indoor crops are relatively high, microgreens typically need less than 4 DLI a day -- equivalent to 8 hours a day at 125 PAR.
The Solution
- We found using a combination of LED and fluorescent is the best.
The Solution
- Use a decent pair of shears (we use the Fiskars titanium shears with the black and gray handles) or a very sharp knife and make sure you have a high stainless steel table to cut on. Ideally one that rolls and has a shelf underneath. (Anything smaller will cause ergonomic issues) Line your food grade containers with paper towels (to absorb moisture) and refrigerate within 30 minutes of harvesting.
WHAT CAN GO WRONG
Clumpy Microgreens
When you’re spreading your seed out in trays, it can be difficult to get an even spread. Sometimes if you plant seeds too densely they will clump together, especially if they’re mucilaginous. When they sprout, a few of the seedlings will “push” the rest of them up into the air, suspending the roots and possibly bringing dirt along with them. This makes it very hard to harvest.
The Solution:
This is an all encompassing condition that covers the rest of the problems that you’ll have. It’s hard to troubleshoot exactly why a particular microgreen crop is doing poorly if you’ve already made sure you don’t have any of the conditions above.
Weakness can be due to a lack of moisture control – either too dry or too wet. In some cases seeds are not properly prepared before planting, and in others the blackout dome was taken off too earlier or too late.
The Solution:
When you’re spreading your seed out in trays, it can be difficult to get an even spread. Sometimes if you plant seeds too densely they will clump together, especially if they’re mucilaginous. When they sprout, a few of the seedlings will “push” the rest of them up into the air, suspending the roots and possibly bringing dirt along with them. This makes it very hard to harvest.
The Solution:
- Decrease total seed volume planted per tray
- Spread seeds more evenly throughout the tray
This is an all encompassing condition that covers the rest of the problems that you’ll have. It’s hard to troubleshoot exactly why a particular microgreen crop is doing poorly if you’ve already made sure you don’t have any of the conditions above.
Weakness can be due to a lack of moisture control – either too dry or too wet. In some cases seeds are not properly prepared before planting, and in others the blackout dome was taken off too earlier or too late.
The Solution:
- Be very sure to read the seed instructions very carefully to see what you need to do for each type of microgreen
- Stick to a normal watering and misting schedule
- Different crops need the blackout dome taken off at different times – be sure to be crop-specific
- Some crops need the blackout dome flipped upside down on top of them to make them “struggle” to thrive
