Reusable Grow Mediums for Microgreens!!!
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- Опубликовано: 8 сен 2024
- 🤔Are you curious about Reusable Grow Mediums for Microgreens?? We are too... that's why we did this Microgreens experiment on this topic! For this video we put 304 grade stainless steel mesh against a polypropylene mat to see which one performs better!
** Since making this video we now sell our own Reusable Grow Mediums that are food-safe grades, compared to the mediums seen in this video. The mediums in this video ARE NOT the same as the ones we sell on our website / linked below.
IN THIS VIDEO →
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#microgreens #Howtogrowmicrogreens #hydroponics
💥 We now have a blog on our Website where we talk more in depth about the Reusable Grow Medium, how to use it, how to clean + much more --> www.onthegrow.net/post/reusable-microgreen-grow-medium
I'm checking it now. My first 2 crops of radish and cabbage were very sparse, yet still got moldy, even though I lightly sprayed with h202. I think I need to get the mesh more evenly flat, too. It's pretty good, but I need to do it a bit better.
Try the Bootstrapfarmer mesh tray with only sunflower or peas. Make sure you put a ton of sunflower seeds, way more than you use with cococoir. I just grew one tray and had it for market. It was the thickest, cleanest sunflower grow I have ever done. I'd love to share a picture. What is best way to do that?
U got discord or whatsapp or even reddit? Id be interested to see ngl
You two have to be thee ~ most Honest, Down to Earth (no pun intended on the 'earth') Sweet, Kind, Generous of your time & info re: tests, mistakes, successes, tips, etc people on RUclips ! > Seriously : ) !!! Thank-you for all that you do : ) HAGN & Thank-you 4 Sharing !
Thank you so much for the kind words of encouragement Cindy!!! We put a lot of ourselves into these videos and it means a lot when we see comments like this!! It made our night, thank you again!! -CJ & Mandi
Cindy Glass~ Right? They are so awesome! The wealth of knowledge they share is invaluable! I’ve saved all ( or mostly all ) of their videos and have learned so much.
@@treasuretreereynolds1764 ... I couldn't agree more ! : ) & Thank-You for taking the time to share with me ! HAGN : )
@@OnTheGrow Aw, : ) rest assured, it was My Pleasure ~ I was glad to ! Thank-you both : ) HAGreatN & I wish you all Success & Happiness : )
It's a great product idea. Seems a rigid frame would help it a lot. Considering that the purpose of your mesh trays is to hold a loose growing medium, they may prove redundant of the concept you're developing. It would be a real selling point to me if we could keep it a two-piece system: bottom tray and medium frame that suspends the steel mesh, say, a few mm over the wet floor.
Looking at the rest of the comments, you really got our gears turning. Keep up the content!
I forgot I have 304 mesh sitting around I bought for the same purpose but was concerned about moisture retention. Maybe I'll give it a shot for the next grow.
So much gratitude for you both!! All your videos are so honest, informative, transparent, and I love how real you both are. Thank you for the quality content!!
thank you so much -may all you give to this community be returned to you 10 and more fold
Thank you so much for the support Johnny!! Your kind words really mean a lot to us!
Helpful Info: TYPICAL MESH SIZES
Here's a helpful size progression ive assembled, with examples.
1 mm = #18 mesh (note: 20 mesh is actually 0.85 mm, even though EVERYBODY, buyers & sellers alike, incorrectly assumes it's 1mm)
> Seems ok for many seeds ranging from small to medium, but tiny seeds tend to drop thru (ex: basil). Misting helps.
1.5 mm = #14 mesh (ex: I have some soft flexible white vinyl mesh for my dehydrator that are 1.5 mm, but I dont know the brand)
> This is the min size I suggest for larger seeds and small beans (ex: mung)
2 mm = #10 mesh (this seems fairly common for clear semi-rigid sheets for many dehydrators. Mine has 2x3mm rectangular mesh)
> seems ok for small beans
2.5 mm = #8 mesh (ex: The Green & white sprouting trays sold on amazon are 2.5 mm).
> seems ok for small beans
3.5 mm = #6 mesh (ex: standard 1020 mesh trays, ala Bootstrap Farmer)
> Ok for most beans (ex: pea shoots, sunflower)
UPDATE: So far, the seeds that seem to work best for me wiith the 1mm RGM are MUSTARD SEEDS, of which ive tried yellow so far. Their skinny radicals seem to work well with the mesh, without any signs of stress and once grown to the size you like you can either pinch out whole clusters with the roots intact, or just cut off the roots with a bench scraper, easy peasey.
I went with 25 gr for an 8.5 x 11.5 sprouting tray, and got a nice dense grow, without any laydowns. A little H2O2 is recommended until blackout is over.
I look forward to trying other varieties of mustard MG with the RGM.
Thank you!
I didn't know where to put this comment - but I love the editing where you have the French accent saying "10 minutes later"... cracks me up every time! I love your videos, I feel like I know you kids, I watch them so often!
you too are awesome, I'm learning a lot !!!!
For the plastic one, you can probably use a heat gun to get creases out.
Awesome 👍🏻
Thank you so much for the support Justin!!
Great video, I think Mandy has a crush on doctors, or maybe lab assistants...hahahahaha, but that jacket do make you look fly boss...
Great teaching!!!! Thx for all your teaching
Thank you so much Gerardo!! We really appreciate your support! 🤗🌱🌱
Great reusable grow medium project. Thanks for sharing the adventure with us.
How cool is this. Thanks for creating quality content. Nice dance moves at the end too
Could you share a Amazon link for 304 mesh?
Apologies, forgot to put that in the description! I've added it there now and here is a link to the one we used: www.amazon.com/dp/B086YSDNSR?ref=exp_onthegrowfarms_dp_vv_d
Thanks!
Thank you so much for the support! We are grateful that you're enjoying the content!
I just happen to have sheets of stainless steel mesh knocking around from a paper making project! I’m going to give this a go 😊
You can probably warm up that poly mesh in some hot water and make it totally flat. I will get some and try it. Dehydrator mesh flattens right out running inner hot water in a sink no problem.
That was a fantastic experiment, whole tray sales to restaurants would be ideal as no soil /potting mix/ organic grow medium. Love ya work.
Just planting a seed here... I'm using some non-metalic window screen material for broccoli sprouts and microgreens (but don't tell anybody!). 😎🍃🌱 Paradigm shift: I don't use a weight and let nature do it's thing so it doesn't grow sideways. I cover the tray to retain the moisture like a terrarium. The weight is good for soil and soil substitutes. Hope to meet you soon... I'm in Plano. If Zach is busy I could sanitize your trays this winter. 😎
Your video was so informative. Thank you so much!
😂you guys do a great job as everyone says. Fantastic really.. You are very funny which really has me coming back to see your stuff even more. You edits are very witty. You both shine. 😄
Very informative! Thank You!
This was so informative to a newbie like me! Thank you! I wish I had seen it before making a polyethylene purchase lol but, I also went ahead and bought some stainless. So, now I guess I can do my own comparisons, too. But Maaannn was that plastic expensive!!! Holy crap!! $80 for 8 sheets. Vs. $39 for a roll of stainless!! Neither of them have come in yet so, I may end up returning the plastic instead… we’ll see. I just did my very fist tray of Microgreens yesterday… basic salad mix, to start with something easy but I put them in soil because it was all I had. However, I did set it up on a self watering system with a little h2o2 in the mix. Now, I just need to add the bubbler to it so it’s not stagnant. Fingers crossed 🤞🏼 lol Thanks again for your guidance and inspiration. 🌱😊✨
Dr. CJ. LOL
Use an iron to get the creases out but put a shirt over it to reduce the direct heat and put the iron on a low temperature..
the poly will lie flat if you put it in an oven at 150 for 10 to 15 minutes
Great video! Can’t wait to read the ebook.
Thank you so much!! We packed as much as we could into that main eBook!! We appreciate your support! 🤗🌱🌱
Add a small bit of peroxide to your water sprays and no more mould.
Very informative, thank you! By the way, the plural for 'medium' is 'media'.
29:57 what was that bug? An ant? A spider? Do you get many insects and / or arachnids in there?
Gently heat the polyethylene mesh with a hairdryer. It should flatten right out.
Please provide a link for the mesh.
Amazon sells a 5 Pack of 30 x 20 cm Rigid Polyethylene Garden's Drainage Mesh made for germinating seeds that looks ideal for this purpose. The hole size is 2mm, which is ideal.
Great suggestion! We will take a look at this and order some to test out!! Thanks for sharing!
This is a good idea, I can see benefits from the stainless steel. Cleaning could be made easier if you were to heat the mesh and dry the greens so they breakaway more cleanly. Probably some kind of oven/grill or blow torch. I was thinking of trying an alternative media maybe with some sort of NFT.
Great suggestion! Honestly, it’s quite easy to clean with a spatula or similar flat scraping device. As soon as you scrape one side off, the other side just falls out, then all you have to do is a quick rinse and sanitize! Total time to scrape it is under 15 seconds per mat! I’ll make a video on it for next week hopefully! 🌱🌱
Yes, great idea for cleaning. If you heat it real high, like maybe over 500 degrees, it would turn anything on the screen to carbon.
Hint that might help: To "flatten" the plastic base material put a damp cloth over it and then run an iron over it. The same trick MIGHT work on alum. screen, but I am not sure of that.
Would not be a viable practice at any sort of scale. 1-10 trays maybe.
@@TPSDmike I agree that it might not scale. But there are a fair number of us for-home-use-only microgreen growers.
you may wanna use a roller of some kind like for vinyl tiles
That is a lot of work for $0.15 in savings. mix shaved hardwood with coco choir and peet moss cheap and works perfectly
photography break???? More like a 420 break /smile
Polyprop = Heat gun my Friend
Great suggestion! Going to bust out my heat gun and give it a shot!
I was going to say this too. Also maybe a rolling pin rolling sideways for the stainless steel?
One of my optimizations is how easy to clean. Can you discuss the removal of roots. I find true leaf trays really optimized for cleaning. I am worried of stainless steel mesh clean up.
Awesome will try some stainless steel
I’m filming more videos today trying it out against other grow mediums! Can’t wait to see the results!
CJ: I need to go back to speech therapy
Also CJ: I never went to speech therapy
😂! You were rocking that lab coat! But, in all seriousness, this was super interesting. We appreciate you and Mandi’s hard work. Can’t wait for the next vid. Y’all are so inspiring! Love you guys so much! 💜🌱💜
heat mats keep the moisture moving from the bottom to the top which then rains down and keeps the humidity high
They also fry the roots laboy
@@Grasscentral4705 use a thermostat and keep the temps around 70
So I know this is an old video but what would have happened if you used a copper mesh Being that it's anti fungal anti bacteria anti mold You think that would have alleviated any problems at all
I was going to say the same thing! I'm looking at A4 sheets of copper mesh at the moment and it's relatively cheap with a range of aperture options.
If the root/radical looks healthy, why would you not simply stick it in the available holes the correct way? Sure, it's 1-2 per tray, but every ounce counts. Have you tried without success?
For the molding issue, could you do an additional day of blackout to help them stand back up once you get it shedded of the debris?
Finally, could you get stainless and make it into mesh with laser cutting, so you're buying the grow media as 10x20xhowever many you need? Don't know that you could get the mesh that fine, but not sure if you need to either...
Just some thoughts. Great video!
Nice job,,,
Thank you for the support!!
FEEDBACK ON RGM (mesh too fine for pulses?): Hi, im a home hobbyist grower, and decided to give the 1mm Stainless Steel growing mesh a try ... and ran into a problem, because the first thing I tried was pea shoots, and I failed.
My setup was simple - I used one of those 9x13 green sprouting trays with the white mesh drip tray, cut a sheet of mesh to fit the latter, soaked 100 gr yellow peas for 12 hrs, then spread them on the RGM, added another green nesting tray, and a 5 lb weight, and then waited several days, watering lightly 1x/day.
So far, only about 1 seed in 4 seemed able get thru the RGM, then thru the plastic mesh tray, and into the water below, during the weighted phase. All the other radicles just seem to struggle to grow horizontaĺly, and rapidly die off or rot in place even before they reach blackout phase.
I admit i'm a total novice with microgreens, but my guess is that your "one size fits all" approach with the 1mm RGM mesh is ... problematic, not just because different seeds and pulses have very different sizes, but different diameter radicals. You may need to consider not one bur rather TWO and possibly even THREE different mesh sizes ... say fine mesh (1mm) for fine greens like radishes and broccoli sprouts, medium mesh (1.5 - 2.5 mm) for larger seeds and small pulses (ex: mung bean sprouts), and a larger mesh (3.5 mm) for med to large pulses (ex: pea shoots, soy bean sprouts, etc).
Would love to hear some feedback/advice.
Meanwhile, i'll try mung beans next ... the radicals on those should be a little smaller than peas. If that doesnt work, i'll just relegate the RGM to small seeds exclusively.
Why didn't you grow the peas directly on the mesh sprouting tray? The mesh is meant for smaller seeds that would fall through the plastic mesh. If your seeds don't fall through the plastic mesh, you don't need the metal mesh.
Yeah, we are going to have more sizes for smaller seeds, but larger seeds can grow directly on the plastic mesh without any need for the RGM.
Let me know if that makes sense.
@@OnTheGrow It makes perfect sense, and I was already half expecting that to be the case. My guess is that 1 mm will likely be good for small to med seeds (upto 3mm), but larger seeds and nearly all pulses wont work with the 1mm RGM - gotta do exactly what you just said (just the mesh tray, with or without a soil as medium).
I'm slowly cobbling together a long list of stuff id like to sprout, and what mediums (if any) are compatible with each.
In case anyone finds this interesting or useful, I just now checked the sizes of the seeds I have with digital calipers. I measured max cross section, as a sort of "drop-thru" stat. For example, on Wheatberry, i'd measure max width, not length, and give a range of berry sizes measured.
From my smallest to largest (milimeters)
Quinoa, white: 0.9 - 1.9 mm
Broccoli: (1.5 ish)
Mustard, yellow: 1.2 - 2
Wheat, kamut (diam): 1.6 - 2.5
Radish: 1.7 - 2.9
Mungbean: 2.5 - 4
Yellow Pea: 4.5 - 6.8
Soybean: 5 - 7
Chickpea: 5.5 - 7.8
@@OnTheGrow UPDATE: MUNG BEAN SPROUTS (aka Mung Gota) are borderline on the 1mm RGM, but the radical diameters are definitely near the limits of this mesh size, and tend to stress the roots a bit, causing light browning. Ive tested and confirmed that the min mesh opening needed to avoid root stress seems to be 1.5mm+, similar to soft white vinyl mats typical in some food dehydrators.
TIP (4" long mung sprouts): In order to get mung sprouts to grow long and straight, they need side support, which I manage by using a tall container and careful control of the amt of beans.
Setup:
> 1 Cambro 2L Polypro Cylindrical Tupperware -> Use a 1/8"drill bit to heavily perforate the bottom of the first cambro (which will serve as the mesh tray), with as many holes as you have the patience for ... the more, the better. Then cut a circle of the 1mm RGM to fit flush inside the bottom of the perforated cambro, and then nest the perforated cambro into the unperforated one, and you're good to go.
> 1 Cambro 2L PET Cylindrical Tupperware (or just use a 2nd polypro one). This is the bottom tray, and what you store the finished sprouts in (drain well, salad spin, then line bottom with dry paper towel ... sprouts will keep 5 days or so).
Method: Soak a scant 1/4 cup of Mung Gota (whole green mung beans, unhulled, unsplit) for 8-12 hrs, then rinse well and spread evenly over the RGM in the top cambro. Fill the bottom cambro with 1/2" or so of highly dilute liquid nutrient, so that the radicals dont need to reach far after stretching down thru the RGM. Cover the stack with a dark cloth, and give it 4-5 days of blackout (misting 2x/day with water, just until the radicals reach the nutrient). Sprouts are done when the tops begin pressing against the cloth, and the first 2 leaves begin appearing. Do not give these light, or they toughen and turn bitter - theyre ready to eat after blackout.
To harvest, cut off and discard the roots, then submerge sprouts in a LARGE bowl of cold water and agitate gently to dislodge the green hulls (discard). Done. ☺️
@@OnTheGrow FEEDBACK (UPDATE): BASIL. 2 tips ...
> Frst, use the RGM to pre-sieve your basil seeds, and reserve any seeds too small that drop thru (about 1/3 for me) for separate use on coco coir.
> Second: once the cotyledens are big enough (approx day 12+), I discovered that the 1mm RGM holes are just large enough to let you pick out individual basil sprouts FULLY INTACT with a pair of tweezers, for transplantation. The radicals are so skinny that they slip out easily, with all their feeder hairs intact. So far ive had 100% transplanting success with them.
Anyway, just sharing the result. Cheers.
Will you test which microgreens grow better on screens than others? Radish is very forgivable but I imagine some don’t do well on screens at all…thanks (enjoying your videos as always)
Can you try stainless and 2 cups of coco. The stainless is not doing well on the sides
You look like a professor with your glasses and lab coat. You could cultivate that image as you get older if it fits with your plan. Looking forward to your further experiments with reusable media. This one was most enjoyable.
Thank you so much for the continued support Virginia! Mandi bought me the lab coat and I looooove it! I can't wait for you to see my lab coat dance scene in Fridays Lighting Video! It's about halfway through the video and it was so much fun :) We have more videos on the Reusable Grow Mediums coming soon too!!
Kinda wanted to see you clean the roots off the mesh to see how the ss sheet stayed flat or bent in the cleaning process.
I’m making another video on Reusable Grow Mediums this week and I’ll be sure to include the full cleaning process! It’s quite easy, I use something similar to a spatula to scrap the roots off one side, then the other side just falls out... quick rinse of any extra debris, then a quick sanitize either in a sanitize tub or sanitizing spray... then you’re good to go! Super fast cleanup!
@@OnTheGrow You may think I'm kidding but I'm serious. Remove most of the roots and then soak the mat in liquid drain cleaner. The cleaner will dissolve every trace of organic matter and will absolutely sterilize the mat. You will be amazed at how effectively the cleaner works. Just be very, very careful not to get any on you. Use gloves and eye protection. You might test a small piece of the stainless mesh before applying it to the whole mat. The plastic mesh will be okay.
H2O2 why are you not spraying it with it to control mold
We actually ran out and we’re waiting on some more to arrive! We may make our own anti-fungal while we wait to get more... great question though! Would’ve helped a lot with that mold! 🌱🌱
Do they make a copper mesh? Copper has antimicrobial properties, although I wonder if it would screw with germination as well as keeping mold in check...
Great question! I am sure that it would definitely help as you have mentioned, however I wonder about the longevity of copper as a medium... It would make for some fun testing though!
After some reading, think it might hurt. Seems copper is a necessity nutrient, but excessive copper exposure can hurt germination. From what I read, it could hurt newly formed roots.
It WILL stop mold too, but if it hurts the seed formation too....not much point in using it.
I've used copper fungicide (organic fungicide) in gardening before too, think hydro is still cheaper though.
Put the poly between a layer of a towel and iron it with a hot clothes iron = an instantly flat plastic screen.
If only I had this comment a week ago!! I'll give that a shot and see how it goes!
Is it still safe to consume those microgreens raw even though they had mold? Also, loving that stainless still grow medium. Planning to use that for our next grow. We're trying to kick start our microgreens business in Indonesia! Very challenging due to the Humidity. RH can be as high as 90% here.
very interesting, i'd love to see a test of reusable vs paper towel vs coco or soil. also what effect would adding nutrient make?
Will you be providing sheets for the smaller sized trays? Just curious. Though these can be cut to size.
I did try on stainless steel didn't like it. For small seeds I been useing paper napkins
Just use a hair dryer to heat the mat, it will lay flat!
Hi. There is blue microgreens on the shelves on your right. Can you let use know what is the name and where to get it.
Another interesting approach but what's with the bubbling carboy?? With the poly mesh you could place it between some fabric and run a warm iron over it to flatten it. Also while seeding the trays, how about laying something 1/2" around the perimeter to deflect the seeds and remove after you've seeded?
Great idea on the deflector to push those seeds back into the middle! That gives me a reason to finally build my CNC and put it to use! We are growing Arthrospira Plantesis - Aka Spirulina, which is a blue-green extremophile cyanobacteria! It's super good for you and can be used for eating, creating nutrient solutions, biofuels and bioplastics! We have some videos on it coming soon hopefully!
@@OnTheGrow But what's with the bubbling carboy CJ? Some kinda secret? :-}
It’s blue-green algae! I’m going to start filming some of it today to share in the next week or so!
I have a question. People use in some instances hydrogen peroxide to prevent mold when seedling. Can you spray hp with the water?
Do we need to use a nutrient in the water since there is no soil?
What a great idea....could this steel mesh be used in the green sprouting trays...I've noticed that they have flat bottoms , not ridged like the Bootstrap trays. Thanks
When growing hydroponically, do you need to adjust the sow weight of any or all seeds???
What is the ratio and strength of the Hydrogen peroxide used in the water you spray on them during germination?
Are you supplementing the water and adding nutrients or is it just regular water?
What causes the roots to turn brown and do brown roots mean the tray is ruined? I'm on the second day of blackout.
Browning roots is generally due to lack of water, which causes them to dry out and turn brown. If your roots are turning brown, then you need more water. However, it can sometimes also be a sign of damping off. Though I'd guess in your case it's lack of water. Your tray will not be ruined! Just mist the roots some!. Hope this helps
Thanks so much. What size the stainless steel mesh holes?
how much water does the stainless steel medium require daily? / I notice at the end the roots are sitting in a decent amount of water.
how does the effeciency and quality compare to soil?
Are you guys using H2O2 in your mist? Is the solution being renewed each day? Most people don't understand that it has an effective life barely exceeding 24 hours once it's mixed with water.
For our regular watering, no we do not using H202 in our mist. If we are spot treating or feel like we might need it, then we will.... however, we generally run out and refresh it within 24 hours. It's also better if you have it in a dark bottle that doesn't allow light through.
@@OnTheGrow Thanks. And, good point about the dark bottle.
would a shamwow be a good grow medium?
If stainless is so great, why do you mostly use coco coir in your other videos?
Because the stainless steel videos are newer content and the coco coir videos are our older content. Soon we will be releasing more videos on the Stainless Steel. Regardless though, we will continue to use both since we really enjoy growing with both grow mediums. 😄😄
If you would like to learn more about the stainless steel, check out our two blogs. The case study blog we did was really quite interesting.
www.onthegrow.net/post/case-study-coco-coir-vs-reusable-microgreen-grow-medium-high-seeding-density
www.onthegrow.net/post/reusable-microgreen-grow-medium
I would like to know where to get trays like this I used black with holes and green trays?
Thanks,,,
Check out Bootstrap Farmer, they have the good stuff.
Yeah we get the majority of our trays from Bootstrap Farmer! They've been great to us since before we were even OTG :)
Link: www.bootstrapfarmer.com/?sscid=61k5_jdwtj
@@OnTheGrow
Unfortunately, they do not have a shipping to our country Oman😟😥
Yeah, that seems to be a common problem... shipping to other countries can be challenging.
I would suggest searching locally in all the agricultural markets... search things like germination trays or flats or anything for seed starting. Generally each country has their own options potentially... or if not, that is a business opportunity to start making and selling some! Hope that helps!
@@imadsaid5401 I don’t know if you can get Amazon there, but check out the On the Grow Storefront in the comments. The smaller green and white trays available are also pretty good for the money.
What kind of knife is that? The one you use to harvest...
So, what is that ambient temp in this grow trailer?
How do I order the Stainless mesh.
Will you be sticking with your current medium (can't recall what it was) or be switching to steel?
Great question! We are always experimenting so we will always be testing out different soils and mediums. For our main medium though... it will likely be between the 304 grade stainless steel and the Coco Coir since they are both easy to do experiments with!
Have you not heard of efficient grow systems reusable mesh grow screens
I have, but the company has been quite sketchy… We asked some questions and they never gave an answer so we don’t use or suggest them.
We’re big advocates of transparency.
Dr. Microgreen
Stainless steel vs silicone dehydrator mats please!!!
Also-love you both. Thanks for doing what you do! You inspired me to created a 12’ 168t tray NFT system that I’m building now
I’ll get a video going on comparing those two!! Glad to hear it man!! NFT’s make it soooo easy. You only need to have it run for a minute like twice a day and it should be sufficient depending on what grow medium your using! We’d love to see it when it’s completed 🤗🌱🌱
hey! any updates on the stainless steel... are you still using it?
i'm just starting out and like the thought of not much mess
We do still use them! We had a bunch of videos ready, but our camera has been having issues... We are finally getting back to making videos next week hopefully and we will be covering our mesh in as much detail as we can. We've sold thousands of our 316 grade stainless steel mesh screen and 99.9% of people love it!
I have a question. Where did you get your stainless steel 304 grade rolls from?I’m having a hard time locating the same mesh size.
We now sell it because 304 grade stainless isn't that good for hydroponics, so we got a 316 grade stainless cut to size that is much better at resisting the acids of hydroponics! Check out www.onthegrow.net
I would think the screen is inert in regards to microgreens. It makes me wonder if the hole size made a difference?
What size mesh is that? Number?
It’s 1mm Aperture with 0.4mm wire... We have a link to the mesh in the description for the video now so you can see it! 🌱🌱
I am not sure I heard it can you say it one more time.... "reasonable grow medium" lol just giving you a hard time brother love this vid. I was thinking of other mediums the other day. I might be a soil maximalist tho. IDK
Lol, yeah, my ability to speak sometimes is hit or miss 😂
I’m going to start a bunch of soil trials soon! I just love testing in general and can’t really stop 😆 What’s your favorite soil to use??
@@OnTheGrow just started growing again after 10year brake. I got a cubic yard of soil from the local nursery. my 1st grow of peas on the counter top went great. no fans no light. came out great! I hope to be setting up a grow room the the basement but summer max temp has only been 64F average is 61F so for now the kitchen counter top works. + its keeps me from growing more than I can eat. anyway look in you your nursery for the bulk soil it's alot cheaper than the plastic bagged stuff.
Serious question (just asked this on one of your other videos so forgive my persistance) Would fiberglass window mesh be a good reusable medium do you think?
That's a great question. I personally would not suggest anything that is fiberglass for growing edible produce, because there are just too many indicators that point to it being toxic, and I don't know how that would affect the body over time. That and if the fiberglass is porous, it can trap bacteria. What I would suggest is doing further research on this topic, since I'm just giving my opinion!
Hope this helps!
@@OnTheGrow thank you for getting back to me 🙂 yes I kinda thought that might be the case, was just looking at all permutations and trying a bit of out the box thinking.
Love your channel btw and thanks again!
Lisdexia is real. 😂🤣😂🤣
Any legitimacy to the claims that SS mesh will leach heavy metals and be soaked up by microgreens? Fanboys(paid reps?) For EFG plastic grow mesh mats really push back hard against anyone who says they grow on SS316 mesh screen.
No, some people have dropped random studies that involve 304 stainless steel leeching, but the study is using tomato sauce which is highly acidic, and they heat it up to high temperatures. Even with those studies, they said that the amount of metal leached, was still within safe range.
I've asked for anyone to submit anything they can find in an scientific article that says otherwise. 304 and 316 are commonly used in cooking/food prep/liquid storage, etc... so, again still haven't found any actual evidence of it leaching under normal temperatures just sitting in a mildly acidic solution or holding a midly acidic solution.
Nothing we've found in all the studies weve searched says it leaches. 316 was chosen for the extra corrosion resistance to acids, in case the used hydroponic solution is acidic.
We were trying to get NSF certificate for the mesh to clear up any concerns.
Also, as long as you properly care for the metal, it should work perfectly for years.
@@OnTheGrow thank you, I figured as much, as I couldn't find any studies to to contrary either.. I've used SS 316 for a few years now, sourced from a screen manufacturer in China had a few hundred shipped over. My only gripe is sharp edges, I may fold over or dip in liquid rubber.