Conquer Microgreen Farming Challenges Like A PRO!
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- Опубликовано: 19 мар 2017
- Want To Start YOUR In-Home Microgreen Farm?
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Whether you're an experienced farmer or just starting out, microgreen challenges can arise from time to time. Join Curtis Stone in this captivating video as he analyzes different crop varieties in his greenhouse and unveils their remarkable performance.
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About Curtis Stone:
Curtis is one of the world’s most highly sought-after small farming educators. His book, The Urban Farmer, offers a new way to think about farming𑁋 one where quality of life and profitability coexist. Today, Curtis spends most of his time building his 40-acre off-grid homestead in British Columbia. He leverages his relationships with other experts to bring diverse content into the homes of gardeners and aspiring small farmers from around the world. Learn more at FromTheField.TV.
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Хобби
Wish there was a “Love” button. Thank you Curtis for “teaching us to fish.” Much appreciated!
My God - you are the Master. I can't stop watching these vids.
Thanks Curtis for the details you share and the insight into your process for assessing quality and yields, really helpful for a novice like me. So generous and honest.
I talked with a nice lady at Johnny's Seeds about these same issues. she calls that falling over the Toy Solder effect. She said this is from top water feeding, that the stems are too fragile and the a build up of too much moisture at the base of the stem causes them to fall over, also the watering can push them over and not be able to stand up on their own.
She recommended using a tray under the slotted 1" tray and add the water to the bottom.
she also recommended the vermiculite to help keep the surface drier to prevent mold.
So I too are in trials to try and grow more variety than the holy trinity of peas, sunflower and radish.
I'm also trying to see if I can get a jump on the seasons by growing radishes indoors, as we ar still buried in snow and cold.
Best
Thank you for sharing. I am growing most of what you are , and every day is a new learning curve.
This is as real as it gets,
put you in your place.
We always see how everyones Microgreens are - perfectly - eye gouging - green,
this one is one of the best videos about microgreens that shows you everything is far from being perfect
Awesome that you do this for all of us
Amazing Video! Thanks for teaching me how to problem solve with microgreens farming!
your the man im a disabled gardener im fixing to start growing micro green for my family to eat. thanks for the inspiration
i'm excited for the update on this video
Hey Curtis, great video. I grow about 80% of the greens you are trying out. One thing I am sure others have mentioned is that you absolutely must under water most of those for good results. The arugula is a great microgreen and highly desired but you HAVE to water from the bottom and the density must be just right, I use about 3/4 of a tablespoon per 1020 flat, but I also only yield about 10 ounces per tray. The red rock cabbage is also an excellent choice, it also wants to be watered from the bottom and won't yield as much as radish but it grows well and responds well to being stacked for 3 days, just like radish. Pak Choi is a nice green also, it maintains that nice Asian cabbage flavor and can be grown well into its true leaf stage, another bottom watering green.
My suggestion to you would be to build a few flood tables, just a simple box lined with plastic large enough to hold as many trays as you want. When you need to water, about once a day you can manually flood the box until it has about a 1/4" of water in it and let the trays soak it up. This will help greatly on time with greens that need to be bottom watered. You can even automate the watering if you choose.
Good stuff. Thanks Corey.
CoreysCave, flood tables are the BEST, they make watering SO EASY. I only water my seedlings once or twice a week!
what is your watering cycle? once or twice a week? or does it depend on the plant?
Also, where are you buying your seeds? Im in missouri.
Thank you for your post.
Hi James, I water most things one per day and sometimes once every other day. It really does depend on the plant as well. Something like arugula might only get watered every other day while sunflower might need it every day. I get my seeds from Mountain Valley Seed co.
what do you do for lighting? should I stick with t5's or t8's, or could I use LEDs? or would LED's be overdoing it?
Great info, thank you! I've been doing the same trying to find what works for me.
Thanks for sharing this! The weight seed density information is especially helpful.
Great advice Curtis, I made tons of notes,. Now to go back and figure out some of my problem seeding.
Really liked the video micro greens is the next step for me, I like that you talked about how much seed you use. And you're right farming is about solving problems I am working out my lettuce process now, not yet happy with my results but once I have it down I want to try the micros. Thanks for the video
Thanks for this video!!
Hi Curtis !
i love your videos ! I'm really interested in doing some microgreen business on my little french village. I've just saw that there are vidéos where you explain more about your microgreen process, gona check it up !
Great info.
Thank you.
I couldn't keep up but I can watch it again. And again and again. I'm old and set in my ways and trying to figure out the gram thing.
Hi Curt,
Thanks for sharing those densities and range of varieties!
I reccommend bottom watering those two week true leaf micros using the second tray method. More labor but keeps them upright while the density is thinner in week 1. I even underwater my 1 week crops when their canopies are full.
I like CoreysCave suggestions on the flood table. And, second his underwatering techniques.
Also, will get a video on how we harvest sunflower with the greens harvester and stand fom FF. Also, works very well on Pea. Still exploring the possibility with other varieties.
Cheers!
Scott
Our Basil Yields 4oz on .4oz of seeds at a 4 week grow time.
I found by watering under the tray I don't damage the microgreens. I've just started so my harvest is not large. so time isn't a huge issue. I have learned a great deal about urban farming from your videos. right now we are testing different veg but already selling pea and sunflower sprouts. thank you for the information. it has been a great time saver and help.
How has your business been so far? I am considering microgreens too.
I notice the same with my sunflower seeds. The minute I opened the latest batch I got I saw the difference. the seeds were more long and thick. Sure enough when they grew they were beautiful. some varieties are better when bottom watered to prevent them from drooping down. I've also done experiments myself and found that some greens grow differently in various types of soil and light exposure.
Wow...and I was thinking this morning how great my Russian Kale and Basil were looking...thanks for sharing the process. My biggest take away in this video was to keep trying different things and don't be afraid to toss failures in the compost. Do you test different micro greens on your own accord to drive the market or do your customers ask you to test new varieties for them?..or both?...liked!
Curtis you're a star.
A prior video showed your leftover soil/biomatter after harvesting yourflats. My neighborhood garden has a slick vermiposting system for their microgreens: dump leftover flats and let sit for ~5 weeks, then use this soil for the next round of flats (with worms still in the soil). There are 5 containers in rotation, worms stay incorporated in the soil so it requires no time investment and no more buying soil.
No sure if that suits your context. Have a great spring!
And big thanks for uplods!
This is great!
We plant our Purple Cabbage at .7 oz. Our other brassicas we go .5oz. Arugula we plant at .3 oz. We always go 1oz on Cilantro.
Dowie Farm do you have a recommendation on Sorrel density? I need 4 oz delivered per week. Thanks!
Best upload ever Curtis. Thanks.
good info man, not what i do but thanks for sharing!
Hey Curtis, thanks for the vid! I realize i have a different seed density than yours while i kinda got inspired by your tutorials for elaborating my seeding patterns. For brassicas i'm always around 28gr for cotyledon and 20gr for trueleaf stage. Arugula will always go with 20gr since less and they are not worth it harvest wise and more than that and you will find cotton web molds on the stems. Cilantro i'm at 60gr as well as radishes. Chards and beets are being seeded at 120gr per tray. Are you downsizing the density for mold prevention or do you have root suffocation if you go higher ?
even though you have to compost some flats..the enzymes gained in the compost from the spouts will be beneficial anyway. like making corn sprout tea.
Curtis, you are amazing! This is great, I really like that you're trying out different varities; I find it SO INTERESTING to see how different varities measure up to the tried-and-true micros! Have you ever tried edamame?
I've been experimenting recently with soaking microgreen seeds in diluted h2o2:h2o solution (about 1:32 ratio) to help encourage quick growth, stronger sprouts, and greater drought tolerance! Have you ever tried it? I decided to after I read a research paper that found beneficial results, and it's all organic to boot!
Side note, my partner just bought me your book and I read it every day during lunch at my new plant nursery job. You are so inspiring. Keep being awesome!
Hi Curtis, thanks for all your great insights! I was wondering, have you ever considered Quinoa as a microgreen? I love the fact that they are easy to grow and you can harvest a lot of seeds of a few plants. So if you plant some outdoors and just let them grow, you would have enough seeds for a year of microgreening. But maybe the saponine is a problem?
Hey Curtis, I've had trouble with germinating chervil in the past as well, some people say it needs light to germinate. I've personally got no experience with that but worth adding into your trials if you persist with it.
Hi Curtis, thanks for the video it's really useful as usual! I might start micrograms this year but and don't have a greenhouse so i would do this in my house under lights. What light would you recommand for this ? thanks you
Curtis, great educational video.
Two questions: 1) Do you add these different varieties on your own initiative or do you get requests from your customers?
2) The process you showed was to identify sufficient density. Do you keep experimenting to the point of too much density so you know what is the most efficient density?
What seed suppliers and suppliers, in general, do you recommend? I am in Canada (Toronto) Thank you.
Great show Curtis, learned so much, so interesting, love listening & learning from you. Are you a Canuck? I ask as I sound like you & am one. : )
I had the same issue with sorrel. a very poor germination. I really had to kick the heat up to about 85 Fahrenheit. then still it always performed poorly. it only grew to about 3 centimeters tall
In my experience sorrel takes a long time to germinate. You'll see a few seeds pop early, but for the majority it's usually in the one to two week range. And it grows really slowly. Not a great performer as a microgreen. Well, the red veined variety anyway. Plus it's expensive seed.
When grown to the size of a small 4" or so plant, chefs around here will pay $5/plant. But it takes a good 8 weeks to get it there in an Aquaponics system.
I came up with a crop rating system for microgreens similar to what you do for your crops. I rank cost of seeds per tray, yield per tray, marketability/popularity, days to harvest, and difficulty.
Ya, I'm finding it difficult as well.
We have had some success with micro red veined sorrel. We find it germinates best under shaded light. To do this we place the tray under lights and cover the tray with translucent corrugated plastic sheets. We keep the sheet on the tray for a week and then give the tray an additional 3 weeks under the light.
Nice informative video --question,the trays that you are showing to the viewers,do they sit on a bit slanted shelf .
can you give a list of plants that can be grown for microgreens please?i assume it wont be different for us in england as it depends obviously on what people eat
Awesome content Curtis. Thanks again. Have you got a link for the supplier please? Also at the start (1.15) you mention 170g for the sunflowers I think. Then later you are talking about 20/30g. Are those the right weights?
What kind of bulk quantities do you buy seed in? For instance, sunflower vs. mustard vs. basil, to get an idea of differently sized seeds.
I'm just starting out a microgreens operation and I'm trying to get all my ducks in a row as far as supplies go.
In your video, regarding the last group of trays you show, which includes red sorrel, the medium appears to have dried out to the point it is cracking. Was it dry, and if so why did you not add water to it before it got in that condition? How many times or how often do you water your trays after germination has taken place? Does your ambient temperature vary widely due to the variances of sunlight reaching the trays on different heights and locations of racks. Thanks.
Another very interesting video.
You mentioned in your video that you sterilize and soak your sun flower seeds. Do you have a video on prepping different micro green seeds. I have no clue what sterilizing and soaking is but this topic has me super curious. Thanks for any feedback Curtis.
not sure on the red cabbage you're using. I was not getting great germination with red acre so I switched to red rock made a huge difference. that being said I'm only harvesting 8oz out of what I feel are pretty full trays. also have you tried wicking as apposed to overhead watering on your brassica? helps a lot during the warmer months here in California.
Quick question, I'm testing a few under lights but despite blackout and proper nutes, they always end up small and thin. What do you think is the primary factor that gets the plants tall and thick. Is it my lights? (3 x 39w T5-HO per shelf at 10 inches from blackout canopy)
Curtis Great video. I was wondering should I get trays with holes or the ones without holes? I see you use ones with holes. But I'm going to be doing it in my house and can't have water dripping on the floor. Will the ones with out holes work just as well?
So are you trying to get the best density for profitability or is there a difference in the taste if they are thinned out vice thicker? I'm also guessing that you want it thicker for the purpose of keeping them straight up, rather than falling flat when watering? Great informational videos by the way!
"Farming is all about solving problems. Every day." Yup. Pretty much.
This is why it is rapidly becoming an addiction. I love the challenge of growing.
so i watch your vids and checked out your micro greens spreadsheet and thanks for all the info and help you give us. so this is all retail sales (prices)? whats your ratio or help with wholesale prices? not asking for secrets and exacts but you have said its hard to calculate all the costs you have in production. thanks for whatever help you can give.
Shiso: We can't kill it! We are getting $10/oz for it, but we plant .4oz per flat and it is taking about 30 days to grow with a 4oz. yield. It holds on the shelf though.
I hope you're still here. I'd like to try shiso but don't understand what you're saying here. Are you letting it grow, cutting it and letting it grow back?
Sunflower shoots also start to yellow at the..um...that stage you mentioned, I don't know how to write it.
Do you not get better density when you grow them under close lights? My question has to do with leggy plants coming from having to reach to distant lights.
Hi Curtis, I just received my first batch of microgreen seeds and excited to start my own trial and error but I am curious to know if you have anything published that gives a general base line ratio that works for you on the different seed types when using a 10x20 flat?
How do you get the seed hulls off the Cilantro and Chard? They are stubborn SOBs.
please try fenugreek. it usually gives good yield and has a nicer taste profile, goes well with roasts.
hey, i see you have grass back there, is that barley grass? do you sell that? is there a market for it?
Great video, thank you so much for the info
cheers
Great video, would definitely love to see more microgreen stuff! I'm growing my first set of trays to sample to some chefs, but my sun shoots keep growing inconsistently. They're tall in the middle and short on the ends, any tips? Thanks!
+Icarus Arcturus water the edges of flats more than the middle.
Epic! Learned a lot from this one. I did ruby red chard once and maybe 3 of them germinated. Total fail. Haha
Looking for advice. I am thinking of adding my own compost to my micro green planting medium in order to keep 2 true leaves nice and green and healthy. Thoughts?
I have heard that you need to use specific seeds for micro greens. Is that correct or can I use any good quality regular garden seeds?
Thanks for all the info.
Hello, i need information about the water I could use...My water is little mineral with extra Iron and Carbonates.Is it ok to use for watering of greens? Thank you
have you made a spreadsheet that could be shared with seed weights and final yield ?
Hi Curtis, great job man....one question, please can you point out a reliable source for organic seeds in Canada? Thanks !!
Excellent video, I grow lots of mixed micro - unheated, basic poly tunnel, if I go too high it can encourage slime and mold but because its cooler they stand up better. How is it for seed cost though, my trays are about half the size of yours and 2.5 to 4 grams each costs 35 - 50 pence UK £ thats 83 cents canadian ? However your micro looks superb !! thanks again.
Curtis do you only stack the trays of sunflower and pea to germinate? Is it unwise to stay small seeded micros like basil, radish, and brassicas?
It looks like I'm not the only one having terrible luck germinating chervil. I think I'm going to try some vermiculite like you said. You mentioned sterilizing seeds, what's the process you're using for that? I've had spotty results with bleach solution, I suppose I should experiment with concentration and time to dial it in. I'm doing cells for transplant, not flats, but I've found that using good microbially active potting soil in the seed starting mix helps a lot, I've never had much success using sterile mix, there's always mold setting in somewhere.
Thanks for the great content as always , wondering if you have ever experimented with quinoa micro-greens?
Yes. I did some in these initial trials. Total failure. However, the seed was old.
Help! Have been growing sunflower shoots in our sunroom. 75degrees and ~80% humidity...bitter. Next time, temp was the same but humidity was ~ 60%...still bitter and we are only at 6 days from seeding. Watering every other day. Do you have trouble with bitterness? Any advice???
starting to grow microgreens in a outdoor greenhouse in southern California ,what percentage shade cloth would you recommend? temperature in the greenhouse worries me
Merci pour le partage l'ami ^_^
What is your opinion about growing in coconut coir with only water under close LED lights?
I am getting ready to buy a setup so that I can hydroponically grow microgreens in my house and I just saw a video about a person that uses or adds nutrients (calcium nitrate, epsom salts and master blend tomato formula 4-18-38) to his water and when compared to just water only, the microgreens that had the nutrients came out with way more yield and just looked totally awesome and hearty! I was wondering if adding nutrients to your grows would be more beneficial than just water? I'd like to grow as organically as possible but it is very impressive to see what adding some nutrients to the water can do for the grows. I wonder what the pros and cons are of adding additional nutrients if anyone has ever doe this?
I almost bought a bag of black oil sunflower seeds at the store to see if they would sprout but was worried about mold/contaminants. do you buy seeds from seed companies or can I try the ones sold as bird seed?
thanks for the video, I asked you a few moths ago to make a new micro green video and wow this one is sweet. I too am trying to find what I can get for good true leaf harvests without yellowing cotyledons. I only bottom water and never have standing upright problems. most of my harvests are at the cotyledon stage, I seed cilantro at 80grams, brassicas 14-20grams. I wish I could figure out how to get the shells of the cilantro. also what is your light schedule if any additional lighting this time of year?
+b tony all natural light at this point.
A cotyledon (/kɒtᵻˈliːdən/; "seed leaf" from Latin cotyledon,[1] from Greek: κοτυληδών kotylēdōn, gen.: κοτυληδόνος kotylēdonos, from κοτύλη kotýlē "cup, bowl") is a significant part of the embryo within the seed of a plant, and is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as "The primary leaf in the embryo of the higher plants (Phanerogams); the seed-leaf."[2] Upon germination, the cotyledon may become the embryonic first leaves of a seedling. The number of cotyledons present is one characteristic used by botanists to classify the flowering plants (angiosperms). Species with one cotyledon are called monocotyledonous ("monocots"). Plants with two embryonic leaves are termed dicotyledonous ("dicots") and placed in the class Magnoliopsida.
Daikon Radish gives me the biggest yield way more than Bok Choi or Pak Choi and chefs buy heaps of it at a time. I only started doing microgreens b/c of a video of yours I saw a few years ago... thanks
What are you getting per flat? I get 1 lb per flat with china rose radish. I'm looking for something I can grow to true leaf stage, that's why I'm trying the Choi's.
I have grown Pak Choi and Red Kale to true leaf with a lot of success. It takes about 17 days and I was planting about .2 to .3 oz of seeds per flat.
I am getting on average 400gms (sorry dunno the lbs) and that is using a 9x12 flat! I buy in bulk at $8kg and get $10 per flat. I gave up on the China Rose b/c of the cost and always grow Daikon to true leaf, the stem is super white which chef's like with a mild flavour.
Turnips are beautiful at true leaf stage, they do not turn yellow and are very nutrient dense. I don't know if there is a market for them where you are but they're worth a try.
I've manage to grow daikons and hong vit to the true leaf stage but you have to reduce seed density (45-55g) and thicken up the soil to 1.5 to 2" deep.
Very helpful video. Hope you can do more videos about microgreens. You
said that you sterilize the seeds. Can you tell us the process of
sterilize the microgreens seeds. Thanks in advance.
WItaj, masz jakieś dobre rady na początek z tym działem rolnictwa ? Od czego najlepiej zacząć ? Pozdrawiam
Curtis, can you link the new black oil sunflower seed you're getting? Im using Mumms but almost 2lbs a flat sounds awesome!!
Also, you sterilizing your sunflower seed in food grade hydrogen peroxide? Thanks
Really enjoyed this. Have you ever grown amaranth?
Hello from the Philippines, I just want to ask what's the temperature and humidity requirement for your microgreens. Do you need to water it every day once you exposed it to sunlight?
when you sell microgreens do you sell them separate or do you put several varieties in a bag
What if you water from the bottom? would that help with the falling over?
Washing and drying after harvest seems to be a lot of work, and not sure how much cleaner the harvest actually gets.. So, is washing a must?
very comprehensive
Morning Curtis I emailed you at Green City Acres with some photos & seeding densities keep in mind my trays measure 12" X 21" yields average 1/2 to 3/4 lb, I would be curious to know the yields in your passive solar greenhouse at those densities Hope it helps Your crushin it dude always a major motivation Cheers
Thanks Max.
do you ever go back once you have a general range and really dial it in? like 19, 20, 21 grams each or is that over thinking it...
Does anyone know where to get the shallow 1" deep trays in Europe? I'm really having a hard time finding a shop with reasonable prices.
It seems like everything about farming cost too much...
What variety of seeds do you grow and where do you buy them?
Hey so howd the Sorrel turn out after some trials?? Definitely one of the more difficult herb varieties I am tackling. Also, I discovered PaperPot trays dayumm they are fresh, have you used some of their trays? The size is great, Cheers bro
Hi Curtis, been watching your videos for a while now and got inspired to grow microgreens. I have also started my test runs just like yours but in smaller batches.. But lately I am having problems with fruit flies hanging around the germinating seeds and noticed that the tray with fruit flies did not germinate well and had a stinky smell. Any tips would be great. thanks
Put out dishes of water with some apple cider vinegar. This way they will be attracted to these bowls instead of your plants. For some reason, your soil is fermenting...maybe too much water...
great video.. try adding more compost to help keep plants upright during heavy watering. . of course compost per plant a whole new video lol
How do you package your microgreens for chefs?
This is what keeps most of us from farming. It has very steep learning curve!
what is that dewalt drill setup for?