![]() I’ll be doing more experimenting with growing mediums in the near future. I use a general purpose potting soil, it’s easy to source and gets the job done. This will give you wider times to maturity, so when your tray looks ready to harvest, you’ll have more seedlings that are younger, and some will probably still have their hulls on. If the growing medium isn’t even in size, with clumps and twigs and coarser texture, the seeds won’t have as even of contact. The next is that it provides physical support for the roots, and finally it provides a little bit of nutrients, although the majority will come from the seeds during early growth. The most important is that it keeps the seeds in contact with moisture. The growing medium does a few key things for microgreens. ![]() Leave a comment below if you’ve tried this! I’m curious to hear your results. But I haven’t had a change to do any good experiments to compare a hydrogen peroxide soak vs pure water soak. The hydrogen peroxide helps kill fungus and microorganisms on the seed hull, and is also supposed to break down the seed hull so it hydrates and sheds more easily. I soak in a mixture of 50mL (3% H202) food grade hydrogen peroxide, and 1L of water. By evenly soaking the seeds they should germinate and grow around the same speed. Seeds in soil will naturally come into contact with more or less moisture, so take different times to hydrate and sprout. The idea is that evenly soaking the seeds will even out the germination. If you cycle the plunger up and down a few times it gets all the seeds in contact with water and knocks most of the air bubbles out. For small quantities I use a French press (for coffee). Soak the seeds by rinsing them and submerging for 6 to 18 hours. They might just tell you what you want to hear and that all their seeds are fresh, but it doesn’t hurt! THREE: Soaking Seeds Tell them you’ve had problems with germination in the past and ask if it’s possible to get seeds from the freshest batch. Toasted seeds won’t germinate.Īnd finally, it’s worth having a quick conversation with your seed supplier. You also want to make sure they’re not toasted or salted. They need to be food grade (so no bird feed), but food grade isn’t enough. You want seeds specifically for sprouting and microgreens. ![]() But there are a lot of alternatives out there. Try switching seed suppliers, I’ve had great luck from (Mumm’s). High volume and turn-over is a good thing in this case. If a store has really low turnover, those seeds could be sitting on the shelf for a long time. Two brick and mortar stores could sell the same brand of seeds, even the same batch, and one might germinate great and the other poorly. Seeds need to be harvested, stored, shipped and sold on-time and without over-heating to grow vigorously. If you’re consistently having problems, you could have a bad batch of seeds. I’m going to buy some and do some testing so I can present first-hand data. I’ve heard mixed results with the pre-hulled seeds, but in general the reviews have been negative. Roasting and salting the seeds guarantees they won’t germinate, no microgreens for you! It’s important to be careful and make sure they’re not roasted or salted. Pre-hulled sunflower seeds are available. Provide the right environment: enough water, and bright light.
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