Microgreens for emergency preparedness

[Just AnotherPerson]

I have posted about this before, but I truly believe that indoor farming could be one of the most vital parts of of emergency preparedness. We can stock up on beans and rice, but it is vital to have fresh nutrients as I learned the hard way during the initial covid lock downs. If you go a while without fresh nutrients you really feel it.


So I have decided to turn my thoughts into actions and started my own indoor garden. I had to stop for a bit due to health reasons, but I had a good go at it, and learned quite a bit. It does take a bit of trial and error best to get that out of the way early on. It does help to watch lots of Youtube vids and listen to what works best so you can avoid certain mistakes.

I decided to grow things that I actually like to eat, like green onion sprouts, cilantro, lettuce, and salad mix. So far I am in love with growing microgreens. I think I will also grow full size lettuce, and green onions.

In the beginning I was undecided on shelf size, and I must say I had regretted not buying the bigger shelving rack once I got going with it. It all depends on what kind of space you have. The only draw back is that it is very expensive to get started.

I do like that you can buy coco coir in condensed dehydrated bricks and even store them inside, that is a huge bonus for prepping. Microgreens are a good option because they don't need nutrients added since they get all the nutrients they need from the seed. But I bought worm castings and you can use them as natural fertilizer. I read that you can make them into a tea by soaking a small amount overnight and water your plants with it in the morning, it has to be used within 12 or 24 hours I believe. I really think that is a good method. You can also just sprinkle it on the dirt and water.

I also really like the grow lights, maybe because I live in the Pacific Northwest and it's cloudy most of the year, but I really like seeing the light. I even put a tension rod in my kitchen window and zip tied a grow light to it and put plants in the windowsill, that was awesome, and the light that it brings to the kitchen is great.


I should also say these are good for so much more than emergency preparedness they contain more nutrients than the full grown plants, and if you grow them carefully it is possible that you can eat them without washing them and get natural B12. They are a wonderful addition to most any meal, especially on salad or tacos. : )

This was my initial set up
microgreens2.jpg

This was early stages of growing

Microgreens1.jpg

microgreens3.jpg

This was after I got going a bit more, eventually all the shelves were full.

microgreens5.jpg

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[Just AnotherPerson]

microgreens8.jpg


This is the window set up : )

microgreens4.jpg

[jigglepete]

What a great looking set up! Out of curiosity, what wattage (or wattage equivalent) are your LED strips?

[Just AnotherPerson]

What a great looking set up! Out of curiosity, what wattage (or wattage equivalent) are your LED strips?

Thank you Pete. I purchased a set of 8 that were 10 watts each and said they were an equivalent of 500W. I got these ones. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...e?ie=UTF8&th=1

I think you are supposed to use stronger ones, but these seem to work well. I liked them so much I bought a second set when they were on sale.

[jigglepete]

For micro greens (and not too many) full sized lettuce/spinach plants, that's actually a very reasonable amount of light, now, if you decide to grow production plants (tomatoes, peppers, cukes, etc) you'll want to bump up the wattage...plus, if you suffer from seasonal depression, you should find it relieved by the full spectrum...oh, and don't forget to talk/sing to them it helps stimulate growth

[Just AnotherPerson]

For micro greens (and not too many) full sized lettuce/spinach plants, that's actually a very reasonable amount of light, now, if you decide to grow production plants (tomatoes, peppers, cukes, etc) you'll want to bump up the wattage...plus, if you suffer from seasonal depression, you should find it relieved by the full spectrum...oh, and don't forget to talk/sing to them it helps stimulate growth

Thank you for the great advice, once again. : ) I found just having these lights helped me to sleep. I used to have to use one of those light lamps to help stimulate serotonin for sleep, but once I put these lights up I started sleeping better.

[donttread]

I have posted about this before, but I truly believe that indoor farming could be one of the most vital parts of of emergency preparedness. We can stock up on beans and rice, but it is vital to have fresh nutrients as I learned the hard way during the initial covid lock downs. If you go a while without fresh nutrients you really feel it.


So I have decided to turn my thoughts into actions and started my own indoor garden. I had to stop for a bit due to health reasons, but I had a good go at it, and learned quite a bit. It does take a bit of trial and error best to get that out of the way early on. It does help to watch lots of Youtube vids and listen to what works best so you can avoid certain mistakes.

I decided to grow things that I actually like to eat, like green onion sprouts, cilantro, lettuce, and salad mix. So far I am in love with growing microgreens. I think I will also grow full size lettuce, and green onions.

In the beginning I was undecided on shelf size, and I must say I had regretted not buying the bigger shelving rack once I got going with it. It all depends on what kind of space you have. The only draw back is that it is very expensive to get started.

I do like that you can buy coco coir in condensed dehydrated bricks and even store them inside, that is a huge bonus for prepping. Microgreens are a good option because they don't need nutrients added since they get all the nutrients they need from the seed. But I bought worm castings and you can use them as natural fertilizer. I read that you can make them into a tea by soaking a small amount overnight and water your plants with it in the morning, it has to be used within 12 or 24 hours I believe. I really think that is a good method. You can also just sprinkle it on the dirt and water.

I also really like the grow lights, maybe because I live in the Pacific Northwest and it's cloudy most of the year, but I really like seeing the light. I even put a tension rod in my kitchen window and zip tied a grow light to it and put plants in the windowsill, that was awesome, and the light that it brings to the kitchen is great.


I should also say these are good for so much more than emergency preparedness they contain more nutrients than the full grown plants, and if you grow them carefully it is possible that you can eat them without washing them and get natural B12. They are a wonderful addition to most any meal, especially on salad or tacos. : )

This was my initial set up
Attachment 50266

This was early stages of growing

Attachment 50267

Attachment 50268

This was after I got going a bit more, eventually all the shelves were full.

Attachment 50269

Attachment 50270

My cousin does hydroponics and transplants a lot of it to his garden

[Just AnotherPerson]

My cousin does hydroponics and transplants a lot of it to his garden

I did that too I replanted some of the cilantro in pots, so it could grow to full size and put it out on the deck. : )


cilantro.jpg

[Abby08]

How industrious some people are!

That's a good idea but, I've never been able to grow things, for that kind of a setup, I wouldn't know where/how to begin, much less grow anything to maturity.

My thumb definitely is not green, neither of them, I can't even grow tomatoes and, those are some of the easiest vegetables to grow! (Well, fruits, actually).

I've always wished I could grow a nice, big garden but, it's never happened.

[Just AnotherPerson]

How industrious some people are!

That's a good idea but, I've never been able to grow things, for that kind of a setup, I wouldn't know where/how to begin, much less grow anything to maturity.

My thumb definitely is not green, neither of them, I can't even grow tomatoes and, those are some of the easiest vegetables to grow! (Well, fruits, actually).

I've always wished I could grow a nice, big garden but, it's never happened.

I know what you mean, I had to watch tons of videos in order to know what to do. I still have a lot to learn. In the end it's kind of like a recipe if you put the right ingredients in you will get something good. Same for growing it just takes a specific set of conditions and if you follow it, it will most likely work.

In Arizona you might not even need grow lights, you guys have tons of light you could probably just grow them in a window sill. Microgreens are a bit easier to grow that full size plants since you are only growing them a bit past the seedling stage. For trying it out you don't need any special equipment, you can even use containers from stuff you buy in the store. On places like Amazon they sell little starter kits sometimes for under 20 bucks just so you can test seeds out.

If you ever do try it, it's a lot of fun even if it ends in a fail. : )

Here's a cool vid that shows how you can grow them on the countertop.