I have nearly finished learning how to do this successfully and consistently without any grow medium, no soil. First time doing multiple trays of daikon radish at the same time. Not ideal germination, but I know what I did wrong. I soaked the seeds in two containers, started several hours apart, then mixed them. The speckled peas are doing very well at this point, almost all seem to have germinated, and I was very careful not to over stuff the tray to avoid rot from anaerobic conditions. The only inputs are polypropylene trays, seeds, hydrogen peroxide, light, water. The shelf is ~12" by ~22", the trays are ~13" by ~10" so it takes up minimal space while allowing for 8 trays, the bottom shelf and top shelf used for storing excess trays and hydrogen peroxide. Now that I know this method is actually feasible, I will be doing a better job of tracking exactly what I do and the weight and time with the tracking app I used AI to help make.
Any feedback is greatly appreciated, and I’m happy to discuss anything constructive regarding what I’m trying to achieve, thanks for reading! I hope to be able to grow for others doing this in the near future, I’ve already given some trays to family members who enjoyed them. My area in Chicago has many people interested in healthy fresh foods.
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That looks like a great system to consistently produce sprouts. How do you consume them? Are all eaten as sprouts, or do you grow them further? What are your favorite recipes with sprouts?
I noticed soaking/floating seeds in water for 48 hours in the dark, before putting the seeds on trays, improves germination rates, did you try that yet?
Great questions and thanks for asking. I grow them further to the microgreen stage, and yes I’ve moved to a complete separation of the initial complete blackout soak in water, and then the move to the tray about 48 hours later like you said. Soaking the radish seeds also enlarges them so they don’t fall through the tray holes. Here are some closer photos of the harvests.
The radish microgreens in this salad
My first harvest of green pea microgreens
Close up of the daikon radish
I’ve moved to a complete separation of the initial complete blackout soak in water, and then the move to the tray about 48 hours later like you said.
Nice! I learned the method for germinating cannabis seeds but it seems to apply to most seeds :)
Those pictures make me crave some fresh greens, looks delicious! I need to get a batch of radish sprouts going next week, and will try to be patient enough so they become microgreens, thank you for the healthy impulse :P
Answering some concerns:
The V2 I’m planning solves the bending issue, using a wider shelving unit with more shelves in less height with two of those lights per shelf directly above each tray. The mylar I’m going to place on each shelf to ensure absolutely no light from below penetrates through the bottom of the trays which I’ve noticed confuses the sprouts direction of growth.
I am using these which seemed really cheap for what I need, and allow for some automation. They are on the weaker side, but even a single one seems to be enough (although causing bending because not dispersed enough evenly). By using two per shelf, I’ll probably be able to dim them more, using only the exact energy I need from each one.
