Sunflower Greens

[NarnianGarden]

After watching several videos and reading many articles on growing sunflower (micro) greens, I decided to follow a method on one of the videos: Covering the soil with a paper towel, so it helps the sunflowe sprouts to stay clean of the soil. The sprouts will find their way down to the nutrients, though, through the wet paper.
My container is full of life now, and I can see the roots inside the soil through the plastic.
Very yummy, and I will definitely grow these again. Magnesium, Vit C and Vit A.. what is not to love?

[Barb_FL]

Thanks for the tip. I'm growing a lot of SunFlower MicroGreens now. I'm guessing you don't cover the seeds with mix then?

[NarnianGarden]

No, in this method the idea is just to let them find their roots down to soil, but the seeds aren't covered with it.
The tray / container should however be kept in the dark / covered with a lid, brown paper etc. in order to encourage the stems to grow long and reach for light. When the cover is removed after a few days, the sprouts / shoots are long enough. They'll get their green color in a few hours in a sun, or in a few days the most.

[Barb_FL]

Thanks - I'm going to try it both ways this weekend. I will still soak the seeds for about 6 hours, then I do the colander thing and rinse a few times throughout the day. I will post pictures both ways. I like the idea of using less mix.

[TexasTomat0]

I've seen where they actual place some sort of weighted cover on top of the germinating sunflower seeds and when they start to push the cover up they're ready to be uncovered. It helps with even germination and making sure the seeds don't push themselves out of the dirt since your spreading them on top of the soil in the seed flat. They also soaked before they put them into the tray.


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[oakley]

I grow year round for a couple years now. About 30 varieties including one mix is
black oil and grey stripe sunflower, 35% each, 15% buckwheat, 15% mung bean. They grow
well together.
They get a soak for an hour in peroxide/vinegar/h2O...20/20/60%
(only sunflower really needs that for the seed coat)

My sunflower mix, pea mix, and radish mix gets a weight for 3-4 days...depends on temp.
Peas on the bottom, then sunflower, then radish..other salad mixes like mustards get a cover
for 2-3 days but no pressure. Just lids. (I use a one pound rock as a weight)

I have 12-18 small trays always in succession. 4-6 are ready to harvest, 4-6 are close, and 4-6
are soaking or sprouting. 12-14 days before an event like DerbyDay/5th of May, I plant
extra trays and will do the same for Memorial Day. The 16th for a BBQ.

P-towel tests did not work at all for me. But finding what works for some may not work for
others.
I have so much salad right now I could make 20 salads tonight. Most all from the Taco party last
Saturday. We have a salad every night, not just once or twice a week. Very little effort
once a good system is in place.
All my study came from commercial growers.

[TexasTomat0]

Oakley - looks like you've got the micro greens down! What media are you using? I like the idea of the smaller tubs so you can have a variety. As always, your salads look amazing.

[NarnianGarden]

Way to go, oakley! If I had more space in my kitchen, I'd grow more micro greens...
Mustard is my favorite, such a sharp and sweet flavor.

[oakley]

My kitchen is small but it just takes up 5x7inches stacked. Far end of the counter
run where we prep coffee. I can easily check them and give a spritz of water. After
the 2-5 days I move them outside or under a light bank.

Clean coir is what I'm using now. Any clean soil works fine. I barely use an inch deep.
In the Winter months I had a hanging shelf in the South window but sun is high in the
sky now so I took that down. I have an LED on a pantry shelf so I can move them just
steps away. Or downstairs in the seeding room.

I do have some seaweed and worm casings I sometimes use if I grow a bit taller or I
get ahead of myself and need to keep a few trays going longer than a couple weeks.

[NarnianGarden]

Having read many articles about different veggies as microgreens, I am glad I got all those kohlrabi and kale seeds that I am not able to grow as large vegetables: I will just use them as micros!

This site has suggestions on many varieties, some I never imagined to be suitable for microgreens. Yay!

https://www.healwithfood.org/grow-in...reens-baby.php