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Old January 22, 2017   #46
oakley
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In the pic above i had some pea shoots and a mixed salad tray that got a bit over-grown. Even using them every day. Fantastic to have fresh greens.
Have not done the math much but maybe 10 cents soil, 10 cents seed as i have bulk.

(i have your address envelope on my desk and will send you a pack of my mix i just made)

Every seed has its own 'suitcase' of food and nourishment to get going. So these plants do not need ferts at all. We cut them before they would need help from garden soils.

-the same seed mix will grow in the garden as a salad mix. And would cut-and-come-again being outdoors.
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Old January 22, 2017   #47
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I have some customers that have chickens, so I give the already harvested trays to them at the market (I just roll up the root pad/soil like a jelly roll and put in a bag and keep the tray). The chickens love them! I also give the spent trays away for customers to use as compost. Everyone likes free compost. Plus, a bonus is all the mustards and brassicas that sprout up in the yard as volunteers.

Since I'm growing about 75 trays a week now, I've got more compost than I could ever need!

Lyn
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Old January 25, 2017   #48
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LDx4 View Post
I have some customers that have chickens, so I give the already harvested trays to them at the market (I just roll up the root pad/soil like a jelly roll and put in a bag and keep the tray). The chickens love them! I also give the spent trays away for customers to use as compost. Everyone likes free compost. Plus, a bonus is all the mustards and brassicas that sprout up in the yard as volunteers.

Since I'm growing about 75 trays a week now, I've got more compost than I could ever need!

Lyn
Fantastic. 75 trays is impressive. I find once the numbers are figured into cost, even for the home use, it is very reasonable since i no longer, or rarely, buy salad. I did recently buy red leaf and boston for hand rolls but the filling was all my home grown micros.

Big handfuls of fresh cut greens on every meal. priceless.
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Old January 25, 2017   #49
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Not impressive for a market grower with experience but i'm testing what i have to make
a better weekly salad mix for my home kitchen...
Next is testing the varieties of peas i have side-by-side....
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Old January 25, 2017   #50
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Impressive! What are you going to do with the sunflowers, they are getting big?

For something else to try, garlic! I never thought of this as microgreens. But we used to grow garlic in pots during the winter. Split the cloves and stick them closely in the soil. The green shoots can get quite tall, maybe 8". Cut the tops off and use them for seasoning, such as in pot sticker filling, never raw. Some people also grow them in the dark to get tender shoots.



QUOTE=oakley;613545]Not impressive for a market grower with experience but i'm testing what i have to make
a better weekly salad mix for my home kitchen...
Next is testing the varieties of peas i have side-by-side....[/QUOTE]
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Old January 25, 2017   #51
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Nice Oakley.
I think I'm just doing a micro green salad for dinner tonight. I'm burned out on everything else.
I need to make a custom mix this week and order seeds. I wanna get some cress and arugula in there for the nutrients and bite.
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Old January 25, 2017   #52
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The sunflowers are micros, well, actually dwarfs but i culled and grew the smallest.
Started 2 and a half months ago. Was hoping for sunflowers during the holidays but
was/is really just an experiment for next year. Keeping them in small containers helps keep the size small. Might have a bloom soon.

My broccoli seed is from HighMowing. Hmm. I have no idea where i picked that up. Just visited their site. I've never ordered. Good seed though.
https://www.highmowingseeds.com

So, adding the broccoli and kale to my mix. Maybe the arugula. The mustard tested good germination but a bit slow growing. Chard and beet too slow but i'll make a slow mix, haha. (actually not a bad idea).
Frustrating that one of the purchased 'mixes' had a slow grower just getting going when i harvested.
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Old January 25, 2017   #53
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Quote:
For something else to try, garlic! I never thought of this as microgreens. But we used to grow garlic in pots during the winter. Split the cloves and stick them closely in the soil. The green shoots can get quite tall, maybe 8". Cut the tops off and use them for seasoning, such as in pot sticker filling, never raw. Some people also grow them in the dark to get tender shoots.
You mean all those tiny pain-in-the-butt inner cloves

I've got them in a bowl in the pantry to forget about. Then poke them into one of my deck herb containers come Spring.
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Old January 25, 2017   #54
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My peas molded. I soaked them a few hours and then drained and rinsed another day until I saw tiny shoots appear. I then "planted" these in a plastic food tray that had holes drilled for drainage. I put down a coffee filter, about 1/4 inch of Promix potting soil, the presprouted peas, then covered them with light layer of vermiculite and used a clear plastic lid to hold in the humidity. I placed the tray in a sunny window and put a wimpy led grow light overtop because it has been so bleak and overcast here. About 1/3 of the peas grew to about an inch tall. The others never grew and white mold covered everything. What happened? Should I not presoak the peas? Should I not use a humidity dome? Or do I just not have enough light? Or all of the above?
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Old January 26, 2017   #55
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Too humid me thinks. Dome comes off once you get germination. Just like most seed starting for the garden. I don't use a dome much at all. I've been stacking mine on a lower shelf out of any light and check in the mornings for germination. Mostly just cover with another tray or board for darkness.

Peas will grow quite large in total darkness. A few inches anyway. Look almost bleached like white asparagus. They grow fast and hate too wet and humid. It's the same early Spring pea that likes it a bit cool in the garden. If i plant my early peas and we get a few days of rain,
they can rot in the ground. Why it is best to do succession plantings over a few weeks time. (and to have a longer harvest season).

I've helped two friends recently and the same happened. One gave up right away.
The other is planning on doing trials with a row of clamshells to find what works at his place. He seems determined having bought a lb of broccoli seed from his Coop.

It has been a dreadfully dreary overcast Winter. Seems 4 hours of sun a week since Thanksgiving. So it is not the light.

Like many things plant...learning curve. And many ways to get the same outcome.
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Old January 26, 2017   #56
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MuddyToes,

You might have done too much to the peas. I soak my peas for 5-6 hours and then immediately plant on top of a tray of moistened potting soil. I don't cover with vermiculite or additional soil. Just leave on top of the soil. Cover with a dark humidity dome (another tray of the same size) and mist once a day for 4 or 5 days. When the pale yellow shoots have reached the rim of the tray, take the dome off and put under lights. Then water once a day. Ready to harvest in another 4-5 days. Sometimes I find a bad pea that's causing a spot of mold and I pull it out of the tray. Definitely give them darkness in order to germinate though.

Lyn
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Old January 26, 2017   #57
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Quote:
Originally Posted by oakley View Post
I've helped two friends recently and the same happened. One gave up right away.
The other is planning on doing trials with a row of clamshells to find what works at his place. He seems determined having bought a lb of broccoli seed from his Coop.

It has been a dreadfully dreary overcast Winter. Seems 4 hours of sun a week since Thanksgiving. So it is not the light.

Like many things plant...learning curve. And many ways to get the same outcome.
Thanks for the advice, Oakley. I don't know if I am stubborn or persistent, but I am not ready to give up.
I didn't know peas like the dark. I will look at some of the videos that have been posted.

I've gotten pretty good at germinating lettuce. Talk about temperamental...needs light and has a fairly narrow temperature range which is not easy to achieve here in the summer without a serious AC bill.

I think the tomatoes I started from seed last year must have been beginner's luck. I had no trouble at all with trays of those. Had more tomato plants than I knew what to do with.
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Old January 26, 2017   #58
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LDx4 View Post
MuddyToes,

You might have done too much to the peas. I soak my peas for 5-6 hours and then immediately plant on top of a tray of moistened potting soil. I don't cover with vermiculite or additional soil. Just leave on top of the soil. Cover with a dark humidity dome (another tray of the same size) and mist once a day for 4 or 5 days. When the pale yellow shoots have reached the rim of the tray, take the dome off and put under lights. Then water once a day. Ready to harvest in another 4-5 days. Sometimes I find a bad pea that's causing a spot of mold and I pull it out of the tray. Definitely give them darkness in order to germinate though.

Lyn
Thanks, Lyn. I will try fussing over them less. How closely do you space the peas? Mine were single layer but touching.
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Old January 26, 2017   #59
oakley
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Here is a quick video dealing with minor mold issues. I've not had problems but nice
to have a quick solution at hand.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEvqngpDJqo
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Old January 26, 2017   #60
oakley
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Quote:
How closely do you space the peas? Mine were single layer but touching.
Might be too dense a planting. Peas and beans can sometimes triple in size during germination.

Just remembered another interesting blend from the SproutPeople.
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