🌱Growing Microgreens in Dirt vs. Hydroponically - Why I Switched to Hydroponic
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 มิ.ย. 2024
- Thanks for watching! Today I am going over why I switched from growing my microgreens in dirt to hydroponically. I show you a behind the scenes of my harvest day and my process of packaging.
The company I ordered the silicone mesh grow medium from:
onthegrow.net/
Thanks for posting! Fully agree, I also started using food grade silicone mesh with hydroponics. Also here in Finland garden hose is useless (=frozen) most of the year. Just testing silicone food dehydrator sheets which are easily available.
Thank you! I've been wanting to do microgreen greens. The dirt and winter are absolutely big issues! I'm so excited that you posted subscribing 😊
It's been a game changer! I grew in dirt last winter and I kept questioning why I was even doing it 😆 Thanks for subscribing!
Same here. Just bought the homestead. So much to do. The thought of also figuring out how to be a content maker is a daunting task so bravo to you! Im doing it all alone as well. Just subscribed!
That's awesome! Just take it one project at a time. 😁
My wife was just talking about growing micro greens this morning thanks for a great video.
Your amazing. You answered every question along the way. Your honest and real. Tysm! Learned a ton ❤
Great video, thanks!
Thank you very much, You provide very important information
Thanks for posting. I have been considering the silicone mats. You convince me!!! Kudos to you!
I hope they work for you!
I've been watching so many of your videos lately and this is my first time commenting. You have such helpful information, thank you for sharing your experiences with growing in dirt and hydroponically. I am just starting (with dirt) but want to experiment now with the mesh grow mats! Thank you! Congrats on your business successes. New subscriber here!
Thanks for watching 😁
I would put all of the clean-offs at the end in my smoothie or cream soup. Good stuff!
I love the on the grow videos. I credit them for my success with my grows for personal use. Hubby doesn’t like dirt.
They are very informative! Thankful I found them and had the confidence to switch 😁
You rock! Thanks for the video.
Haha! Thanks for watching!
O i love on the grow. I have the. green trays and sprout jar. The silicone matts are great ❤ im a new subscriber to your channel.
Thanks for subscribing! 😁
Thank you!!!
YOu seem to have the hang of it! quick learner! I have just pressed the button I have started to use Coconut coir but I'm in Swirtzerland but the Coir comes from India of all places. watch this space 🙂
Thanks for the good video. On the grow great site to watch and see they gone from dirt or coco then the stainless steel and now the silicone works great. Question where you get your boxes you package with? Thanks 😊
I got them on webstaurantstore.com
Great Video TY can you do a video on using silicone mesh with hydroponics, explaining seeding and initial process please. Germination etc ty jimmy
I will put that on my filming list!
I also watch OnTheGrow, also on TH-cam, very good.
very good information!!! Question about the mesh mat: does it matter the type of material the mat is made of? Obviously you would want a material that is water resistant, can support the seeds and eventual greens, is easy to clean as you show in your video, and reusable.
I've seen a metal mesh that people use but have heard that it bends easily and might not bend back perfectly flat again. I haven't tried anything besides the silicone, so I'm not sure about the other methods. I've had really good luck with the silicone though!
You could try soaking the mats in lye solution to dissolve down the remaining fibers and clean any potenital mold or bacteria from them at the same time. The silicone shouldn't react with the lye.
I never thought of lye. Since this video I found out one of the recommended ways to sanitize was to boil them...That's been working well to remove the extra fibers!
@@woodstinyfarm Nice! I'll have to keep this in mind if I ever do microgreens this way in the future.
I love this thank you. I’m assuming that you are using well water as opposed to city water. Where in Montana are you? I’m in Montana too 😊
Yes we have well water. I'm in Hamilton (Bitterroot Valley) Where are you?
@@woodstinyfarm I’m on the east side of Glacier Park. Cut Bank.
And I guess also disposing of used compost is no longer an issue. Super :)
No more trips to the compost bin 😁
@@woodstinyfarm What do you do with the roots scraped off the grow mat? Compost, or throw in the pot with dinner?
Inspirational vid. I've been reading about how nutritious micro greens are, and here's how to grow them. Thank you!
I either compost or feed them to my chickens!
@@woodstinyfarm Yes gotta have chickens 😂
Do you find that your harvest amounts are about the same for soil trays compared to the non soil trays?
Thanks for all the great information...
Yes, they are. At the time of this video they weren't, but I figured out the trays I was using didn't allow enough water to reach all the roots. Now I'm using the black mesh trays from Bootstrap Farmer and my yields are higher again!
@@woodstinyfarm thank you
Thank you for share with us..Can you tell me about what kind silicon mat?
I buy them from On The Grow. Here is the link... onthegrow.net/products/1020-reusable-microgreen-grow-mediums-silicone-stainless-steel?variant=43825384358043
I just started my first Microgreen tray this week. I bought coco for $10, and it seems to be only enough for 3 harvests. And the seeds were $8 for 90g. I sow around 30g in my first time. That brings the total cost to around $6 per harvest, plus time and anergy. I hope that i can find a better and cheaper way. But I can’t really find cheap bulk seeds, probably I haven’t really searched deeply. But this mat is really amazing, that way it’s gonna be 0 cost for the plant beds.
Which ocean solution should be used?
I'm glad to hear more people are getting into growing microgreens! I order my seeds through True Leaf Market and they seem to have the best prices here in the US. You may want to check them out...not sure if they have certain regulations when shipping to Canada. Here is a link to the Ocean Solution I use: amzn.to/3HkM8eI
If you can't get your bulk seed at a price that works for you, do you have a bit of space to grow a few plants to maturity to save your own seed? Most plants produce astonishing amounts of seed for each plant grown out.
I do have the space, but not the patience for that. I think I'd rather just pay for the seeds instead of going to the trouble 😁 I'd have to grow a lot of plants to make up for what I'm using in a year.
While I understand why you made the switch in my experience (switched from mats >> coco coir >> soil) soil produces higher quality produce quicker with better shelf life.
I've heard a lot of conflicting information on this. I know the seeds use up stored nutrients for a set amount of time before they start pulling from their grow medium, but I don't know if there are any studies on how long. I use a nutrient solution in my water, so if they need nutrients they will pull them from the water. As far as shelf life goes....it seems to be the same as when I was growing them in dirt.
Interesting to hear different results. Sounds like you have to test all options for your context.
Great video. I'm just getting started with microgreens, but I have decades of experience with hydroponics. It seems like you might be doing too much work. Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't it be easier to have a water reservoir and use a fountain pump on a timer to water your seeds/sprouts?
That could possibly work, but the amount of water for each tray varies greatly per day. I water on an as needed basis. Sometimes, 24 hours after a watering, there is still plenty of water in the bottom tray and I will skip it for a day. Other times the tray is bone dry. If I had it on a timer I would run the risk of overwatering and drowning the seeds. It only takes me about 5 minutes per day to examine my trays and add water as needed.
Thanks for the great video! I too transitioned from dirt to hydroponics! Can you let me know your seeding amounts? I currently use 25 grams for Broccoli.
Thanks for the comment! Here are my seeding amounts:
25g purple radish
15g wasabi mustard
15g spicy salad mix
20g broccoli
125g sunflower
250g speckled pea
@@woodstinyfarm Thanks for the info!! Can you let me know how many times a day you’re watering? My current hydro setup is auto watering on biostrate, but it’s not dialed in yet for best results.
@@waterdog4433I only water once per day. Sometimes I get a day where the tray is still pretty wet from the day before. In that case I will skip a watering. It's hit or miss sometime, so I just check each tray individually once a day and go from there.
@@woodstinyfarm great video! Just curious, what type of yields do you get for each seeding amount above?Thank you for your time and information. Also, do the plants taste the same (not using soil)?
@redskins4550 Yes the plants taste the same as with dirt. Here are my approximate yields. I'm not very happy with some of these and need to see if I can improve in any way:
Broccoli - about 6 ounces a tray
Radish - about 7.5 - 8 ounces a tray
Spicy Salad Mix (finicky grower!)- about 4.5 ounces a tray
Wasabi Mustard - about 3 to 4.5 ounces a tray
Speckled Pea - about 15 ounces per tray
Black Oil Sunflower - about 12 ounce per tray
How do you make your label stickers from computer? Do you print them yourself too?
Yes, I print them from my laser printer. I use a program called maestro label designer from the label company I use (online labels)
Hello, I have a question if you don't mind, do you only use water or do you mix some nutrients in it before using it ?
I use this.... amzn.to/3xFYcpW
How did you go about forming a relationship with the grocery store to sell your greens?
I actually knew one of the store managers who introduced me to the produce manager. I brought him samples and we had a good chat! It pays to know people!
Which varieties are you able to grow with the silicon mats?
I replied on FB
do cotton gloves under your latex gloves for the temp
Good idea!
How many days from harvest to "sell by"?
Mine is 10 days.
Just wondering, why the heck do you scape the backside old roots into the pile of fresh microgreens/
Everything I scrape off the silicone mesh mats is excess. I either compost this or feed it to my chickens.
Geesh! How did I mess that up, I dont know. I just skipped through the video and saw that it was the excess on the one side, not the actual microgreens that you mixed with the backside roots. Sorry about that and well done by the way. Thanks for sharing, it inspires me to want to grow these hydroponically too, for our own consumption, Cheers . @@woodstinyfarm
I find that the benefits of using nutrients are not worth the cost.
I haven't tried growing without the nutrients, but maybe I need to do some research in that area. Right now I'm only using about $2 a week in nutrients so it's pretty cheap.
@@woodstinyfarm well if you're doing that cheap then keep going but the seed itself provides all the nutrients the plants need at that early stage of growth. I've grown one tray with nutrients and another without to compare and found little to no difference so I stopped. Maybe you can do the same and see what your results are like.