Notes, Part 2 – Classes at Fall Workshops, Organic Growers School – Sept. 10, 2016
Notes Part 2 are from workshops“Growing Microgreens with Meredith Alphin, from a southeastern VA nonprofit, and “Planting Before First Frost,” with Randall Pfleger, Grass to Greens/Bountiful Cities.
Notes Part 1 was from workshops, “Easy Soil Amending” with Mike Weeks, owner of Fifth Season, and “Fermentation Q&A” with Sandor Katz.
Microgreens, Meredith Alphin, southeastern VA nonprofit
Not sprouts, but short seedlings grown in soil in shallow flats indoors or in greenhouses. Need high light, low humidity, good air circulation. They grow for from 1 to 4 weeks after planting. They can be harvested after seed leaves (dicotyledons) appear, or after those plus first true leaves. Harvested with sharp scissors just above soil.
They’re used by resturants and sold in farmers’ markets. Used in salads, sauces, and as toppings for vegetables, meat, and fish. Or added green drinks and smoothies to add powerful flavor and nutrition.
Microgreens have 40 times more nutrition than the mature plants! Because they’re filled with phytonutrients which (1) protect the plant from environmental stresses as it grow sup, and (2) is thus very nutritious for we who eat them. They’re probably more nutritious than sprouts because they’ve got the minerals from the soil, not just water.
They have intense flavor for such a tiny plant – concentrated flavor of the whole adult plant packed into the tiny seedling.
The flats need to be the kind with holes in the bottoms. Meredith uses 10x20s. (10” by 20”) One can also use plastic “clamshell” containers like greens come in from the store (make holes in the bottom). Water them as seeds in the flats with a spray bottle until they come up. Then water from the bottom (1/2”? 1”? of water in the flatwith awatering can with a tiny spout to make it easy.
Used aged potting mix in the lower 2/3rds of the flat. Use cheaper, lighter seed mix in the top 1/3rd. This way they seeds can sprout easily in the lighter, fluffier (and cheaper) mix, and their roots get the nutrition from the potting mix below.
Don’t use topsoil (which can become too hard for the seeds) or garden soil (which can have fungi which hurt the seed or seedling). Use sterilized potting soil.
After harvest, compost the potting soil (which is like a mat because it’s filled with roots), and use fresh new potting soil. OR make your own potting soil but sterilize it in the oven first.
Best if Fox Farm organic potting mix. Or non-organic.
Pre-wet the soil.
You usually don’t use or need additional fertilizer. But if so, only a “seed fertilizer” like seaweed mixture.
Use organic seeds. Microgreens can be made production-style for restaurants and farmers’ markets. They’re especially in demand in fall, winter and early spring.
You want 85% germination rate, because seeds that don’t germinate rot in the ground (as the rest are watered) and can spread the rot to the other seeds and seedlings. The seeds are good for up to 5 years if they’re kept in an airtight container. Store airtight containers in the fridge. Buy seeds in bulk if you’re doing production for restaurants, farmers’ markets. Johnny’s seeds, Eden Bro’s seed. “The Sprout People” sell them but prices are too high.
Don’t buy seeds advertised as “microgreen seeds.” Prices are much higher for these but they’re the same seeds as plain old veg seeds. Just buy plain veg seeds.
Most seeds, but not all, are soaked for 8-12 hours before planting, which increases germination rate. Seeds that are not soaked include really tiny seeds, and those that are gelatinous like chia, flax, basil, and arugula.
When planting, make sure soil is flat, not hilly or swirly, in planting flat. Use cardboard the same size as flat to press it down. Makes it easier to sow and to harvest. Sow about ¼” apart or so – don’t let them touch each other. (One can try mixing tiny seeds with sand so you can see them.) One way to sow – put in a spoon and tap the spoon to spill little bits of seed out into tray as you move spoon just above the surface to distribute seeds over the surface.
If you soaked the seeds, put a tiny later of soil on top (the “seed soil.”) If you didn’t soak, then press them into the soil a bit and do the same.
Use a spray bottle to mist the soil until the plants come up. Then water from the bottom as noted above. Check soil w/ finger to see if it needs watering again. Don’t let the soil sit in water. The idea is the soil will suck the water upwards to where it is dryer until the soil is saturated enough but not too much.
Either use regular fluorescent (daylight) lights 12-18” above flats, or put in shelves in window with good light. If in window, turn flats regularly so plants don’t only lean towards light.
If natural light, 10 hours of natural light, 6 hours of darkness.
If artificial light, 14-16 hours of light, the rest darkness.
Sunflowers are ready in a week, and at the seed leaf (dicotylydon) stage. Meredith described many different seeds to use – common vegetables – and the benefits of each. Didn’t take notes on the different microgreens species to grow but this info is available online/google.
Mustards – mizuma, radishes, etc. – are ready at the seed leaf stage but WAIT until the true leaves so it’s less intensely hot to the taste. Vegetables get milder the larger they are, so tiny seedlings at seed leaf state are most intense.
Mizuna has two harvests. After cutting the first harvest, more leaves will come up. 2nd growth leaves are not as thick and it takes longer.
Red garnet amaranth has beautiful magenta stems and is extremely nutritious, but has a mild nothing-much flavor. Grow it anyway for beauty & nutrition.
Seeds need to be warm enough to germinate.
Ways to be warm enough in house or basement in winter: heating pad underneath on low. Heated propagation mat underneath. Put flats on top of refrigerator – higher in room plus heat from fridge inner coils, etc. itself. Aquarium tank with light bulb on side.Metal cabinet with light bulb on side. One workshop participant put Christmas tree lights under sand in a tray, underneath the seedling tray.
Store cut seedlings/microgreens in glass jars in fridge; will keep up to 2 weeks. They last longer if not washed, so wash only just before using.
Planting Before First Frost, RandallPfleger, Grass to Greens/Bountiful Cities
For late fall gardens and food into winter, ideally plant near August 1st to 10th-15th. But he believes it can’t hurt to plant some things now, planting in relays once a week,
to see what happens, given that weather and temperatures are variable. So somethings planted now could create cover crop and/or food. Probably some will yield food you can use in late fall and through winter and others won’t, but why not try? Plants will grow best from now til Thanksgiving. Limited to no growth (usually) between Dec. 15 and Feb 15 because the sun is so low in the sky that there’s limited light. Unless an unusual January thaw, in which case some plants might bolt.
Two things to consider: Number of days till a plant sprouts. And number of days from sprouting to harvest.
In fall don’t plant things that will make fruits, like tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, squash, okra, etc., but plants to eat leaves or roots. Leaf plants to try: Arugula, bokchoi, cilantro, collards (hardy till late), dill, lettuce, mache, mustards, spinach (maybe), swiss chard, tatsoi, winter kale, dinosaur kale. Root plants to try: beets, radishes, turnips. Fruiting plants to try as experiments: fava beans, peas.
Plant garlic after the first frost.
Use a garden marker pen to write plant name on plastic thing, not a sharpie. Ink from sharpies will fade away after a few months. Garden marker is $4-$5 from Reems Creek Nursery, 5th Season.
Soil temperatures. Plant on east side of house for early morning sun and low heat, shade in hotter afternoon for plants that need that. For keeping hardy plants going in Dec/Jan/Feb., plant in full sun with thermal mass nearby – stones, landscape bricks/blocks, wall ‘o water things, etc. It’s for soil temperature, not air temperature.
Another trick: Cut out flat place in a slope. Fill 55-gal barrel with water, put lid on (tight-fitting), turn on side. Lay glass or plastic storm door over it to create slanted cold frame (strawbales on sides to seal it up and for insulation?)
Check weather forecast daily: plant before it’s going to rain.
Spring Planting. In Asheville area consider last frost date May 10. By March 15 have a plan. By April 15 start seeding.
[Re my kale seedlings I planted a month ago that immediately got full of holes and skeletal leaf ribs (flea beetles?), another workshop participant suggested I spray them with Neem Oil exract. ]
Voles - suggestions from Randall and class participants.
* Mouse traps baited with peanut butter under clay plant pots turned upside down (to protect cats, etc.) Check every few days and re-bait with more peanut butter – ants will eat it. One man got 7 voles this way.
* Dig 6-8” trench around each garden bed and fill with sharp gravel, even above soil line.
* Buy concentrated spray bottle of castor oil mixed with water from Lowes. Attach to a hose and spray the ground where the voles are every two months. Another man did this for his terrible vole problem and it worked immediately.
Cover crops. Buy inoculant (liquid?) to inoculate seeds of winter legumes (like Austrian snow peas?) Randall likes Dutch white clover because it’s a perennial.
Cut grasses as soon as they start to flower. If grasses as cover crops planted today, they’ll be 18” high in 30 days. Allelopathic roots – will prevent other things growing there.
One of best, most useful garden tools: a broadfork.
For greenhouses, cold frames, etc. use greenhouse-style UV-resistant plastic, not regular plastic. Can order online from Farm Tech. Also perhaps from Reems Creek Nursery, Fifth Season.
Floating row covers like remay: the more frost protection, the less light. More light, less frost protection.
For making low tunnels / caterpillar tunnels, 2’ or 4’ rebar and schedule 40 PVC pipes for hoops. (Man in class suggests making these more cheaply by buying 50’ of the wire used for chain link feces from fencing dept. at Lowes. Randall’s concerned it might be too rough and snag the remay/row cover. Man said it didn’t.)
Put row cover material over the hoops and weights on edges of row cover, as well as ropes attached to ground (stakes, weights?) to keep wind from blowing it off.
To deter animals from garden (deer, raccoons?) use product Animal Be Gone from Lowes. Or make your own –clove oil & garlic oil/extract. Apply every 2-3 weeks