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.
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.