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Experiments with Microgreens

13

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  • Ferdinand2000Ferdinand2000 Posts: 537
    edited January 2021
    @tuikowhai34

    I'm getting approx 15x the weight of seeds as the crop if I grow for that, or less if I grow eg parsley for an extended period of harvest.

    What about your sprouts?
    “Rivers know this ... we will get there in the end.”
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    @tuikowhai34

    I'm getting approx 15x the weight of seeds as the crop. What about your sprouts?
    how much is the ratio if you grow lettuce to full size from seed? Considerably more than "15x" I'd say
    Devon.
  • tui34tui34 Posts: 3,493
    Hi - I have never actually weighed them before they sprout but I would probably put a tablespoonful into a jar of each seed - only 2 jars going at a time otherwise there is waste.  Takes about 4-6 days. 
    A good hoeing is worth two waterings.

  • Ferdinand2000Ferdinand2000 Posts: 537
    edited January 2021
    Here are a few examples of things I am perhaps not going to have to buy any more. Presumably for much of the time these guys use similar amounts of seed.

    I am using about 30-40p worth of seeds to get 100g to 200g of produce, plus other costs detailed.

    Every day is a school day, and the jury is still out.





    “Rivers know this ... we will get there in the end.”
  • Ferdinand2000Ferdinand2000 Posts: 537
    edited January 2021
    Hostafan1 said:
    @tuikowhai34

    I'm getting approx 15x the weight of seeds as the crop. What about your sprouts?
    how much is the ratio if you grow lettuce to full size from seed? Considerably more than "15x" I'd say
    Agreed - there is a balance.

    I am quite interested in how seeds are mass-produced.
    “Rivers know this ... we will get there in the end.”
  • tui34tui34 Posts: 3,493
    Wow, that's flash!  I just use the lentils from the packet that I use for cooking - red or green.  Sometimes I splash out with a bag of mung or adzuki beans from the local "green" shop.
    A good hoeing is worth two waterings.

  • Ferdinand2000Ferdinand2000 Posts: 537
    edited January 2021
     I thought I had linked it, but it seems not.

    I bought myself one of these 12 variety seed selections for (early) Christmas, having played with a few trad seed packets last year.

    https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08FXLYS69/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

    £20 for 650g of seeds, which should give me approx 10-12k of microgreens, which at say £2.00 per 100g is £200 worth. Very ishly. And the exact numbers are not really that important.

    My 'notional aim' - just an informal check - is 100g per day plus herbs from 9-12 seed trays in 3-4 shelves. 

    Still playing.
    “Rivers know this ... we will get there in the end.”
  • Hi - I have never actually weighed them before they sprout but I would probably put a tablespoonful into a jar of each seed - only 2 jars going at a time otherwise there is waste.  Takes about 4-6 days. 
    I reckon I use less than that for a seed tray - around 9-15g. A covering at the bottom of an egg cup.
    “Rivers know this ... we will get there in the end.”
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    Here are a few examples of things I am perhaps not going to have to buy any more. Presumably for much of the time these guys use similar amounts of seed.

    I am using about 30-40p worth of seeds to get 100g to 200g of produce, plus other costs detailed.

    Every day is a school day, and the jury is still out.





    hardly a fair comparison with growing you own from seed to full size in the garden
    Devon.
  • Ferdinand2000Ferdinand2000 Posts: 537
    edited January 2021
    Hostafan1 said:
    Here are a few examples of things I am perhaps not going to have to buy any more. Presumably for much of the time these guys use similar amounts of seed.

    I am using about 30-40p worth of seeds to get 100g to 200g of produce, plus other costs detailed.

    Every day is a school day, and the jury is still out.





    hardly a fair comparison with growing you own from seed to full size in the garden
    I'll disagree sharply there, as it depends on the comparison - my comparison here is exactly right as "full grown in the garden" is not an option; my garden is currently under 75mm of snow.

    I had a cheese and green omelette for lunch, and my recipe involved 0.006 food miles for the microgreens (15 feet there and 15 feet back from the unheated conservatory). The alternative from Waitrose would have involved trucking them across the country, or possibly flying them from Timbuctoo or similar, all in a plastic container padded out with a lot of air.

    And some of it is a different crop if full grown.

    Yes, there's a debate about seasonality; but perhaps we also need to question freezers as well as 'excessive' quantities of seeds? ;)
    “Rivers know this ... we will get there in the end.”
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