This is THE best video on growing broccoli micro sprouts. It is concise, full of information😢 and accurate it is everything I want in an instructional video, it is perfect Thank you so much. ❤🇦🇺 Carol
Hands down the best video I've seen about broccoli sprouts !!! Thank you very much, very factual and scientific, no useless unnecessary things in this video !!!
I grow my micro greens in organic soil on paper towel. Place paper towel on soil, seeds on paper towel. This gives the seeds the soil benefit and me clean cuts. Love the shaker idea!
To be fair, grow both flats with fertilizer the soil has fertilizer mixed in & the paper towel substrate does not. A true comparison would both with fertilizer, the paper towel can have liquid organic fertilizer in a tray beneath it. The advantage of the paper towel method is lack of dirt, the whole micro green can be eaten, where as to do the same with dirt requires extra labor of washing the dirt out or harvest above it loosing some edible parts.
I was thinking the same thing. It is very encouraging non the less that the results were as good as they were on the paper towels without any nutrients added!
@@TechnophilicProductions yes, I think this experiment was flawed in that regard. Someone else pointed out that since the soil raises the plants about an inch, the soil plants were closer to the lights and that could make a difference as well. In either case its nice to know that you can grow on paper towels if you don't want to use soil, but perhaps raise the paper towel seeds closer to the lights and add nutrients to the water feeding them. Thanks for the comment!
@@TikkiOOO I saw a video where he grew flax microgreens placing paper towels on top of earth. That way it's clean and you have the nutrients from earth.
Thank you for all of the information you share. I'm new to gardening and have never grown microgreens. Now I will give it a try. Loved the spice shaker idea!
Nice work Tikki O. Great to you sharing your experience. It would be good to try the same experiment, but with liquid fertilizer for the paper towel sample.
Nicely done for the control and the experimental methods. Your results speak for themselves, and thank you! Please continue with more substrate experiments! How about foam, rockwool, coco coir, newsprint layers, hydro-only, sphagnum moss....
Nice comparison Video. -Great controls for the experiment -Salt shaker is genius (i'm stealing that) lol -Most of us that are new to this appreciate this info because, lets face it, most new comers are looking for the easiest/cleanest way to grow these. -I'm OK with having slightly smaller micro broccoli for an easier/cleaner harvest as a trade off Q1: I had trouble peeling the veg off of the paper towel (1st batch) They seem to have deeply woven between the paper towel. Any suggestions or tips to look out for? Q2: My next question is, is it even easier to grow them in jars & how do those stack up against the Paper Towel Method? *Next Video maybe??? Keep up the good work!
Hi Chris, thanks for the feedback, I appreciate it! I use a scissor to cut the microgreens just above the paper towel or soil level, I don't peel them off. Some people use a knife. Growing them in jars works very well up to the sprout level, but they don't grow nicely as microgreens in the jars, they need room to grow. But you should try different methods and experiment, and see what works for you. And thank you for the nice comment!
Hi Tikki: I think that if you had added some hydroponic nutrients to the broccoli grown on paper towels, the result would have been different. Of course, the prepared earth you used has nutrient elements in its composition.
@@TikkiOOO I'd be so curious to see this follow up experiment! Both paper towels one with nutrients :) I'll be doing this at home when I'm back from my vacation, but you set up a good experiment.
@@midnight121190 thanks Midnight1211. I did a side by side followup of water vs. nutrients using cheesecloth instead of paper towels. You might want to see that ua-cam.com/video/fNq7Rm9QVWk/v-deo.html the cheesecloth is better than the paper towels in my opinion. Thanks for the comment!
No doubt. It is one of the best video I have seen. The way you talk and all the details. Thanks you so much. Anyone can do it after watching this it is clear and the camera movements and close-up are good. I learn a lot. Continue to do this type of videos. God bless you
Thanks Anna...I'm doing a better experiment now....3 trays, all with paper towels, one with plain water, one with Grow Big Hydroponic solution, and one with Masterblend formula. Will there be a difference in the grow rates???? Thanks for the comment and thanks for watching!
Thank you for your research! I'm doing the same experiments with soil and then paper towels. For gifts to friends, they'd prefer the micro Greens on paper towels method as it's cleaner. If I give as gifts then I too prefer to give the paper towels method as I can keep the soil and recycle for more later.
This was awesome, exactly what I needed and was looking for! I’ve been sprouting in jars and needed an alternative because I’ve moved and my jars aren’t with me yet. Thanks so much!
What soil did you use? I see others discussing fertilizer vs not, but unclear if you used something like miracle grow potting soil. Trying my first paper towel flat crop vs mason jar crop right now. Day 2 starting and not much action in the paper towel group ust.
good video. Thanks. If you use hydropnic solution containing nutrients instead of pure water, the paper towel methind might produce comparable results. Just a thought.
I kind of do both. I have soil in my trays, then I put a paper towel over the soil. I use a spatula to tuck in the paper towel on all 4 sides. This helps the paper towel draw moisture from the soil. The seeds will send roots through the paper towel into the soil. Since I have worms in my trays, the paper towel will usually completely disappear before harvest. But the microgreens are then tall enough so they stay clean. This method seems to work well for brassica seeds that are round. For those who want to try the paper towel method, be advised that all paper towels are not the same. I tired Dollartree paper towels and had less success., even the worms did not like it. I went back to great value extra strength from Walmart which seems to work well for me.
I’m wondering if the difference could simply be depth? An inch of soil has more room for roots to establish than 3 layers of paper towel. Maybe a few paper towels elevated on a cooling rack would allow roots to go further and plants be larger like in soil.
I believe that if you placed a nutrient in the paper towel like hydroponic Epson salt chromium nitrate it may catch up and have batter quality. Only thinking out loud. Pls try do experiment like that . Thanks
I grow them on paper towels in hydroponic trays and nutrients. I have done both methods and this way they are pretty much equivalent -just takes a day or two longer. switch from water to nutrients when the roots penetrate the paper. the greens are much cleaner and easier to harvest.
An important distinction for anyone new to this…micro greens are different to sprouts. MGs grow like this, cut and eat only the stalks. Sprouting germinate without soil (like in a jar) and eat the whole plant and they generally take less time than MGs. Sprouts be careful not to have mold develop by following the rinsing guidance.
Love your Video's. I wonder if there would be the difference, if you water the paper towel seeds with a liquid fertilizer? Maybe that would be another good video.
What a terrific video! I’m new to sprouting and there are so many methods to choose from that I was t sure which way to go. Thank you! New subscriber 🙂
I LOVE YOUR. IDEOS. I DO HAVE QUESTIONS. WHERE DOES ONE BUY THE TRAYS. CAN ONE STORE IN GARAGE. In otherwords what temperature can they be grown in. I have a two car garage in Florida. The only natural light is a window with sun until 1.00. So do you grow these in a work shed or house?
Because of short turn-around for microgreens (less than 2 weeks) they don't require nutrients from soil because seed has enough to power the crop. If these crops were more than just two baby leaves (definition of microgreen) then you would need soil.
Hello, Tikki. I hope you are doing well. ❤️ As I watched your experiment and listened to your explanations I wondered if the lack of nutritions in the paper towel can be compensated if we water them with light mixture of hydrophilic nutrients. After all, as you said, the difference is probably in the fact that the soil has nutritions in it, but towel paper don’t. 🌷
You gave me a great idea....next experiment should be two paper towel trays, one gets watered only with plain water, the other with a hydroponic solution....and compare the two side by side....I will set it up when I get a chance, maybe next week. Thank you Briyah for that insight! I hope you are growing/creating as well!
Yeah, actually I just brought a lot of seeds from Lithuania, where I was visiting my mother and few of them even germinated in our Israeli hysterically hot weather 😂😂😂. Tikki, about the solutions in the paper towel system: if I understood it right, the young plants don’t bare strong nutritions, so when you are going to try it, make the solution really really light. So they won’t burn. 🌸🌷🌼
You have good advice, thank you! BTW I have been pruning my Kratky Basil more carefully as per your advice, and it has been growing bushier! Good luck with your planting, I would love to see a video of your garden. If you post it on UA-cam please share the link here.
Thank you, Tikki, for your interest. I will post here, of course. And I’m glad to hear about your basil. Myself straggling with my green basil. I have green, purple and African basils, the green is the European so it has a hard time to grow in hot climate. We have a lot of light but our light comes with a lot of direct (and dangerous) sun. It seems that there is not only “not enough light”, but “too much light” as well. And basil doesn’t like them both 😂😂😂.
Hello, in regards to the nutrients they have all they need for the first 20 days and by then they are harvested. Water just has to be PH balanced at around 6.0-6.2.
Thanks Shaman, I have heard that as well in therory, but practically I find that the nutrients make a difference. Still experimenting....thanks for the comment!
Hi Tikki O: thank you very much for this very interesting experiment. You have assisted me with my learning (very much an apprentice in this field right now) . may the force be with you. :)
three sheets of paper towel, a modest amount of soil, I wonder what the cost analysis looks like. Also is there a failure rate difference. That said this is an A plus video on every level. Solid science well documented and easily replicated. I look forward to future editions.
Hi Thomas, I did not do a cost analysis, I'm not doing this as a business but rather to have fresh produce that I grow for our family. Microgreens are pretty expensive in the supermarket, that much I know. I find the soil is much more forgiving as a growing medium, and does better than any of the other media I have tried. I will set up the microgreens with hydroponic solution, that will probably beat out the soil. Thank you so much for the nice comment, I appreciate it, and strive to do better in "future editions!" Thanks for watching!
Hi, will you please explain why you don't have to rinse and repeat when growing sprouts in soil or paper towel like you do in a mason jar? I am getting ready to do my very first sprouts and am opting to grow them in jars.
cool experiment. not to throw a hitch, but the soil tray is slightly higher in elevation, closer to the edge of the tray. that, may have some advantage in the eyes of the plant, to access more available light. one wouldn't think it's that much of a difference. but if they were the size of a broccoli seed, it might be the difference of a 10 story building and a 2 story.
Mylar emergency blanket, you can get it cheap from a camping store or amazon. The lights are different, I used to use T5 flurerescent 6500Kelvin, now I have added some Mars Hydro LED's as well.
Great experiment and video I enjoyed seeing the green foliage .something to maybe try would be to mix your own peat moss and perlite without nutrients and encase the bleach did hinder the paper towel lot to use non bleached paper towels and see if there's a difference .
Thanks you always make it easy and have so much information/tips. I like the triole towel; keeps more mpisture in than 1or 2. Also DO YOU REUSE THE SOIL?? CAN U RECOMMEND GROW LIGHTS? DO YOU DO ANYTHING TO HUMIDIFY ? THANK'S 😁
Awesome experiment. You got straight to it and explained everything thoroughly! I loved the closeups and I was REALLY hoping that that camera would back up just a bit, at least once, to get a good look at them side-by-side for just a moment. That would have been perfect! Thanks!
It seem like the paper towels don't provide enough structure for the roots to support the upper part of the plant, which explains the slower growth and the shorter stems. I think using an inorganic soil would get you faster growth and be cleaner. Shredded pine and vermiculite are both anti fungal so that would definitely be something to look at
I wonder about the stacking arrangement. Since the paper towel tray was covering the soil tray, it could challenge the experiment. But I enjoyed this video! Thanks.
Were you able to reuse the potting soil for a second planting/harvest? If not, one could still recycle both the paper towels and potting soil in your compost bin. This would be perfect recycling material for my worm farm.
Interesting video. I wonder what would happen if you either soaked the water in soil and put it back in the sprayer and used it as it grew or placed a very thin layer (1/8 in) of soil in between the paper towel layers. Thanks.
Hi logiclab1, I think any way it gets the nutrients is better than none. I have read that microgreens don't need nutrients, its all contained in the seed....but from this experiment its clear that is not quite true. Still, I was surprised they grew on the paper towels without any additional nutrients....your suggestions are interesting..I have grown these with paper towels on soil, and that works very well. Thanks for the suggestions!
Hi moeder, thanks for the comment! I have a variety of lights in different growing locations, but they are all daylight/bright lights and 6500 Kelvin if I can find. Some of my plants end up at a sunny window when I run out of growing space. The lights that I have are on 16 hours a day, and off 8 hours at night. The more light, and the closer the light is to the plant, the happier the plants are. Hope that helps!
The best way to reuse the soil is a worm bin if you have one. The soil after growing is going to be really matted with roots and the more you use soil the more likely the soil will get pests and such. Plus worm composting is fun and cheap if you build the bin yourself
Paper towel would not be my medium of choice for a soiless experiment. Mabey try a coco pad and feed it. Alot of people say you do not need a nutrient for micros but IMO this is not true. As soon as the roots pop they are feeding. I think it is safe to say that organic soil has more nutrients than paper towel. Still cool video. Your soul greens look amazing!
Thanks Bob, I agree that giving the microgreens nutrients helps them grow better, but I was surprised that they grew even on a paper towel with no nutrients....but with nutrients they grow much bigger and faster. The coco pads are a bit expensive....coco coir (coco peat) works well too, but has no nutrients. Thanks for the feedback and comment, I appreciate it!
EXCELLENT VIDEO!!! You would have had a different result IF you added fertilizer to the paper towel bottle that you used to spritz with (and plain water for the soiled). The Potting soil has many additives mixed into it (essentially, it has already the fertilizer in it). In a scientific experiment, your paper towel with only water would be considered your control group. Thus, you needed 3 setups for your experiment. The shaker and scale were EXCELLENT IDEAS!!! From the comments, you have many scientists (including me) following your channel. Good for us all. Keep up the good work.
Thanks for the encouragement David, I appreciate it...I know it was a flawed experiment, but we can learn from everything, even mistakes, right? Thanks for all the input and feedback...very thoughtful.
I hope you plant a few of them out into your veg garden and grow them to maturity too . They are such a beautiful nutritious vegetable however you grow them ! :)
For both questions it depends on what you are growing, fruits or leafy greens. Microgreens don't need so much light, and also less nutrients. If you want a faster grow then give them light and nutrients, your choice. They like something close to daylight, 6500 Kelvin is good. You will still get a harvest with less light and nutrients, but a smaller one. BTW the coco coir has no nutrients that I know of, so you might want to add nutrients there.
Thank you for this amazing video! I don't know much about microgreens and now I definitly want to grow them, a lot of it haha! I'll use the soil bcs i think it gives better result and less waste :)
Thanks Scott, it was pretty cool to see the roots growing into the paper towels! But the soil is better for production. Have fun growing and thank you for the comment!
Very nicely done video! I have been working on growing microgreen shots for sale in recycled K-Cups and they do look nice , and the idea is that folks can just take a nice "Bite" of live micro's and spray on a bit of balsamic vinegar. I just think that the soil is aesthetically less appetizing than say a paper towel. I will try this. Thanks so much
Stephen Block, what a neat idea! A microgreen shot!! You could also use coconut coir and let people know it is not soil, the coco coir is really clean looking. Good luck with that!
@@TikkiOOO Hi Tikki O. Thank you again for helping me, This is my results of the first experiment using paper towels for the microgreen shots. I did have some success and they are sooooo much easier to eat. twistingroots.com/2018/12/11/microgreen-shots-test-dec-7-2018/
Steven thanks for sharing that (and the mention on your blog!) Those K cups look very appetizing....I had a thought, how about growing the microgreens in muffin tins when you first mentioned this idea. They make decorative silicone ones as well and would make a nice display on a table. Food for thought?
@@TikkiOOO I think a display as well as a microgreen muffin sounds like a wonderful idea. Maybe the coconut coir in a paper muffin cup would make a nice walk around live salad as well.
I like the experiment. I would the paper towel box would dry out quicker than the soil box. This could explain the different grow rate. Microgreens absorb very little of anything from the soil. There root system is not mature enough. They live off of water the stuff stored in the seed.
Thanks Chris for the comment, I'm not sure about the nutrients, but you are correct, the paper towels dried out faster, the soil was easier to grow in. Thanks for watching!
Very nice experiment however I wonder what is in the "organic soil" that is used. Also I wonder if the bleached paper towel retarded the growth and how much more the growth would be with equal amounts of fertilizer.
Thanks Hapkijo, great questions...there are so many variables to think about, its amazing! I don't have answers, just more questions, which is why I love to keep learning and to experiment. Thanks for commenting!
Can I add a little chemical fertiliser (for "coco and soil" supstrats) in coconat supstrat before start growing microplants (than it grow much better),is it safe? 🙂
This is THE best video on growing broccoli micro sprouts. It is concise, full of information😢 and accurate it is everything I want in an instructional video, it is perfect Thank you so much. ❤🇦🇺 Carol
Yes I just found this creator too and am blown away by her content!
Hands down the best video I've seen about broccoli sprouts !!! Thank you very much, very factual and scientific, no useless unnecessary things in this video !!!
true. I don't care for videos that ramble or assume you want to know more than what the title was about. Though if they have time markers that helps.
I grow my micro greens in organic soil on paper towel.
Place paper towel on soil, seeds on paper towel. This gives the seeds the soil benefit and me clean cuts.
Love the shaker idea!
Thanks Wonderfully Made Lex, that is a great idea, I have done that as well! Coconut Coir is also a great option.
Really great idea.
do you need to change out the soil every time?
@@TwasNeverThus2 after you harvest the microgreens you can throw the soil in your compost pile until the roots breaks down, and then use it again.
What soil do you prefer for microgreens
I love this experiment. Simple, straightforward, and clear-cut. Great work.
Thank you Shay, I appreciate it!
To be fair, grow both flats with fertilizer the soil has fertilizer mixed in & the paper towel substrate does not. A true comparison would both with fertilizer, the paper towel can have liquid organic fertilizer in a tray beneath it. The advantage of the paper towel method is lack of dirt, the whole micro green can be eaten, where as to do the same with dirt requires extra labor of washing the dirt out or harvest above it loosing some edible parts.
Hi Dan, thanks for the suggestions!
I was thinking the same thing. It is very encouraging non the less that the results were as good as they were on the paper towels without any nutrients added!
@@TechnophilicProductions yes, I think this experiment was flawed in that regard. Someone else pointed out that since the soil raises the plants about an inch, the soil plants were closer to the lights and that could make a difference as well. In either case its nice to know that you can grow on paper towels if you don't want to use soil, but perhaps raise the paper towel seeds closer to the lights and add nutrients to the water feeding them. Thanks for the comment!
He is right
@@TikkiOOO I saw a video where he grew flax microgreens placing paper towels on top of earth. That way it's clean and you have the nutrients from earth.
I love how you experiment with different growing techniques
Thank you for all of the information you share. I'm new to gardening and have never grown microgreens. Now I will give it a try. Loved the spice shaker idea!
I am now growing broccoli microgreens. Thank you for your video. I love that you added some scientific data. 😁
Wish I discovered this channel earlier. Love watching this lady's content.
Nice work Tikki O. Great to you sharing your experience. It would be good to try the same experiment, but with liquid fertilizer for the paper towel sample.
Nicely done for the control and the experimental methods. Your results speak for themselves, and thank you! Please continue with more substrate experiments! How about foam, rockwool, coco coir, newsprint layers, hydro-only, sphagnum moss....
Great idea using the spice shaker! I will try that once one of mine is empty
Thanks Pandora Fox!
@@TikkiOOO This was one of my greatest oh my god why didnt I think of that moments..... thanks so much for that tip. And great video...... 🌹🌹
Dr. Rhonda Patrick has great info on nutrition of broc micro-greens (lotso anti-cancer info) Thanks so much for this video and how to grow them. 🎉
Nice comparison Video.
-Great controls for the experiment
-Salt shaker is genius (i'm stealing that) lol
-Most of us that are new to this appreciate this info because, lets face it, most new comers are looking for the easiest/cleanest way to grow these.
-I'm OK with having slightly smaller micro broccoli for an easier/cleaner harvest as a trade off
Q1: I had trouble peeling the veg off of the paper towel (1st batch) They seem to have deeply woven between the paper towel. Any suggestions or tips to look out for?
Q2: My next question is, is it even easier to grow them in jars & how do those stack up against the Paper Towel Method?
*Next Video maybe???
Keep up the good work!
Hi Chris, thanks for the feedback, I appreciate it! I use a scissor to cut the microgreens just above the paper towel or soil level, I don't peel them off. Some people use a knife. Growing them in jars works very well up to the sprout level, but they don't grow nicely as microgreens in the jars, they need room to grow. But you should try different methods and experiment, and see what works for you. And thank you for the nice comment!
simple,straight to the point. thanks.
Orlando Ramos, thank you!
I like the soil idea because I can use it in my compost and keep making soil for my raised beds like I already do with wheat grass.
I agree Bill, I just like experimenting :)
Hi Tikki: I think that if you had added some hydroponic nutrients to the broccoli grown on paper towels, the result would have been different. Of course, the prepared earth you used has nutrient elements in its composition.
That is correct, thanks for the comment and input, I appreciate it!
@@TikkiOOO I'd be so curious to see this follow up experiment! Both paper towels one with nutrients :) I'll be doing this at home when I'm back from my vacation, but you set up a good experiment.
@@midnight121190 thanks Midnight1211. I did a side by side followup of water vs. nutrients using cheesecloth instead of paper towels. You might want to see that ua-cam.com/video/fNq7Rm9QVWk/v-deo.html the cheesecloth is better than the paper towels in my opinion. Thanks for the comment!
Guillermo Landaeta I agree
No doubt. It is one of the best video I have seen. The way you talk and all the details. Thanks you so much. Anyone can do it after watching this it is clear and the camera movements and close-up are good. I learn a lot. Continue to do this type of videos. God bless you
Thanks Evelyn for such a nice comment, I appreciate it!
I appreciate you doing this experiment! Very thorough, I feel like I’m in science class.
Thanks Anna...I'm doing a better experiment now....3 trays, all with paper towels, one with plain water, one with Grow Big Hydroponic solution, and one with Masterblend formula. Will there be a difference in the grow rates???? Thanks for the comment and thanks for watching!
LoL
Tht would be a good science experiment.
Thank you for your research! I'm doing the same experiments with soil and then paper towels.
For gifts to friends, they'd prefer the micro Greens on paper towels method as it's cleaner. If I give as gifts then I too prefer to give the paper towels method as I can keep the soil and recycle for more later.
This was awesome, exactly what I needed and was looking for! I’ve been sprouting in jars and needed an alternative because I’ve moved and my jars aren’t with me yet. Thanks so much!
Thanks jahneen, good luck. BTW cheesecloth worked really well too.
What soil did you use? I see others discussing fertilizer vs not, but unclear if you used something like miracle grow potting soil. Trying my first paper towel flat crop vs mason jar crop right now. Day 2 starting and not much action in the paper towel group ust.
good video. Thanks. If you use hydropnic solution containing nutrients instead of pure water, the paper towel methind might produce comparable results. Just a thought.
I would have like for you to have done a 3rd try with coconut core. Very good and interesting experiment. Thanks
Perfectly done and presented thanks!
Glad it was helpful, thank you for the comment!
I kind of do both. I have soil in my trays, then I put a paper towel over the soil. I use a spatula to tuck in the paper towel on all 4 sides. This helps the paper towel draw moisture from the soil. The seeds will send roots through the paper towel into the soil. Since I have worms in my trays, the paper towel will usually completely disappear before harvest. But the microgreens are then tall enough so they stay clean. This method seems to work well for brassica seeds that are round. For those who want to try the paper towel method, be advised that all paper towels are not the same. I tired Dollartree paper towels and had less success., even the worms did not like it. I went back to great value extra strength from Walmart which seems to work well for me.
Thank you for sharing this with us. God bless ❤❤❤❤
I’m wondering if the difference could simply be depth? An inch of soil has more room for roots to establish than 3 layers of paper towel. Maybe a few paper towels elevated on a cooling rack would allow roots to go further and plants be larger like in soil.
I agree. Those roots had nowhere to go.
Hi. Great video! Thank you! Can I reuse the soil for another seeds? TIA
Lovely video on topic for me as I'm just starting to do this. Thank you so much.
Neat. Logic tells me a seed will develop better in soil than in the air or on top of a paper towel but it's nice to see it.
OMG, Great Idea using the Spice Shaker for seeds! Using that!
Thanks Blue Butterfly!
@@TikkiOOO Thank YOU! Already started growing lettuce! ❤
@@bluebutterflywellness2273 Great!
which ones taste better?
I believe that if you placed a nutrient in the paper towel like hydroponic Epson salt chromium nitrate it may catch up and have batter quality. Only thinking out loud. Pls try do experiment like that . Thanks
I grow them on paper towels in hydroponic trays and nutrients. I have done both methods and this way they are pretty much equivalent -just takes a day or two longer. switch from water to nutrients when the roots penetrate the paper. the greens are much cleaner and easier to harvest.
Thanks for the tips drew4021!
Thanks, Tikki! 😊
excellent video....great to see comparison
Glad you liked it, thanks for the comment!
An important distinction for anyone new to this…micro greens are different to sprouts. MGs grow like this, cut and eat only the stalks. Sprouting germinate without soil (like in a jar) and eat the whole plant and they generally take less time than MGs. Sprouts be careful not to have mold develop by following the rinsing guidance.
Love your Video's. I wonder if there would be the difference, if you water the paper towel seeds with a liquid fertilizer? Maybe that would be another good video.
What a terrific video! I’m new to sprouting and there are so many methods to choose from that I was t sure which way to go. Thank you! New subscriber 🙂
Glad it was helpful and welcome aboard!
Helpful information, thank you for sharing !
In using papertowel it needs to have something heavy above it for it to soar healthier,even and bigger in stalk
Thanks Jessica, yes it is a good idea to stack the trays with some weight to encourage a stronger stalk. Thanks for the comment!
I LOVE YOUR. IDEOS. I DO HAVE QUESTIONS. WHERE DOES ONE BUY THE TRAYS. CAN ONE STORE IN GARAGE. In otherwords what temperature can they be grown in. I have a two car garage in Florida. The only natural light is a window with sun until 1.00. So do you grow these in a work shed or house?
Thank you for sharing your video. Excellent editing both audio and video. Also your step-by-step script -- thumbs up.
Good experiment, try placing the paper towel above the soil to get the best of both
Good tip, I've done that and it is the best of both. Thanks for the comment!
How clever using the shaker bottle!
Thanks Clare Cao!
Because of short turn-around for microgreens (less than 2 weeks) they don't require nutrients from soil because seed has enough to power the crop. If these crops were more than just two baby leaves (definition of microgreen) then you would need soil.
Very interesting experiment and informative. Thank you.
Hello, Tikki. I hope you are doing well. ❤️ As I watched your experiment and listened to your explanations I wondered if the lack of nutritions in the paper towel can be compensated if we water them with light mixture of hydrophilic nutrients. After all, as you said, the difference is probably in the fact that the soil has nutritions in it, but towel paper don’t. 🌷
You gave me a great idea....next experiment should be two paper towel trays, one gets watered only with plain water, the other with a hydroponic solution....and compare the two side by side....I will set it up when I get a chance, maybe next week. Thank you Briyah for that insight! I hope you are growing/creating as well!
Yeah, actually I just brought a lot of seeds from Lithuania, where I was visiting my mother and few of them even germinated in our Israeli hysterically hot weather 😂😂😂. Tikki, about the solutions in the paper towel system: if I understood it right, the young plants don’t bare strong nutritions, so when you are going to try it, make the solution really really light. So they won’t burn. 🌸🌷🌼
You have good advice, thank you! BTW I have been pruning my Kratky Basil more carefully as per your advice, and it has been growing bushier! Good luck with your planting, I would love to see a video of your garden. If you post it on UA-cam please share the link here.
Thank you, Tikki, for your interest. I will post here, of course. And I’m glad to hear about your basil. Myself straggling with my green basil. I have green, purple and African basils, the green is the European so it has a hard time to grow in hot climate. We have a lot of light but our light comes with a lot of direct (and dangerous) sun. It seems that there is not only “not enough light”, but “too much light” as well. And basil doesn’t like them both 😂😂😂.
No air conditioning? We are spoiled here in the U.S.!
Hello, in regards to the nutrients they have all they need for the first 20 days and by then they are harvested. Water just has to be PH balanced at around 6.0-6.2.
Thanks Shaman, I have heard that as well in therory, but practically I find that the nutrients make a difference. Still experimenting....thanks for the comment!
Amazing tutorial. Thank you
Very smart idea to spread the seeds~
Hi Tikki O: thank you very much for this very interesting experiment. You have assisted me with my learning (very much an apprentice in this field right now) . may the force be with you. :)
Apprentices are we in the game of life, is that what Yoda would say?
I am LOVING your channel so far! Watching your videos is like therapy in the middle of Winter. Keep up the good work!
Thank you Jenny! Don't worry, winter will be over soon.....I hope....meanwhile, grow inside! Thanks for your comment, I appreciate it!
Thank you! Very interesting and informative.
I love your experimental approach to everything.
Thanks Rustie!
three sheets of paper towel, a modest amount of soil, I wonder what the cost analysis looks like. Also is there a failure rate difference. That said this is an A plus video on every level. Solid science well documented and easily replicated. I look forward to future editions.
Hi Thomas, I did not do a cost analysis, I'm not doing this as a business but rather to have fresh produce that I grow for our family. Microgreens are pretty expensive in the supermarket, that much I know. I find the soil is much more forgiving as a growing medium, and does better than any of the other media I have tried. I will set up the microgreens with hydroponic solution, that will probably beat out the soil. Thank you so much for the nice comment, I appreciate it, and strive to do better in "future editions!" Thanks for watching!
Hi, will you please explain why you don't have to rinse and repeat when growing sprouts in soil or paper towel like you do in a mason jar? I am getting ready to do my very first sprouts and am opting to grow them in jars.
Hey Terri! I am new to sprouting and I’m wondering how it’s going for you since it’s been a year since you asked this question
cool experiment. not to throw a hitch, but the soil tray is slightly higher in elevation, closer to the edge of the tray. that, may have some advantage in the eyes of the plant, to access more available light. one wouldn't think it's that much of a difference. but if they were the size of a broccoli seed, it might be the difference of a 10 story building and a 2 story.
Buck Wheat I think you are correct, in addition to the nutrient solution...light is also a food source for the plant. Thanks!
Good stuff! Thanks, you saved me some work.
Thank you i learn a lot..watching from Philippines..
Thank you. I am ready to do it!!🤗
Thanks for both of your micro broccoli growing vids
Awesome video! What happens if you use nutrient water? That would be an interesting comparison!
Very interesting, what light & reflective material is that please?
Mylar emergency blanket, you can get it cheap from a camping store or amazon. The lights are different, I used to use T5 flurerescent 6500Kelvin, now I have added some Mars Hydro LED's as well.
Great experiment and video I enjoyed seeing the green foliage .something to maybe try would be to mix your own peat moss and perlite without nutrients and encase the bleach did hinder the paper towel lot to use non bleached paper towels and see if there's a difference .
Thanks personality cat....that would be interesting to compare/experiment!
Will it keep growing more if you just cut harvest them? Do they have the same benefits harvested and not eaten whole?
Absolutely good presentation. Thank you. I used to eat alot of microgreens when I lived in Holland.
Thanks jeannette!
Thanks you always make it easy and have so much information/tips. I like the triole towel; keeps more mpisture in than 1or 2. Also DO YOU REUSE THE SOIL?? CAN U RECOMMEND GROW LIGHTS?
DO YOU DO ANYTHING TO HUMIDIFY ?
THANK'S 😁
Awesome experiment. You got straight to it and explained everything thoroughly! I loved the closeups and I was REALLY hoping that that camera would back up just a bit, at least once, to get a good look at them side-by-side for just a moment. That would have been perfect! Thanks!
I'm getting better and better every day with the camera.....thanks for the comment!
Good experiment thank you👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
It seem like the paper towels don't provide enough structure for the roots to support the upper part of the plant, which explains the slower growth and the shorter stems. I think using an inorganic soil would get you faster growth and be cleaner. Shredded pine and vermiculite are both anti fungal so that would definitely be something to look at
Also Coconut Coir, that works great...thanks for the comment kinilas!
thanks for sharing this experiment.
I wonder about the stacking arrangement. Since the paper towel tray was covering the soil tray, it could challenge the experiment. But I enjoyed this video! Thanks.
thanks joannne, there were many flaws in this "experiment" thats for sure, but I got some good eats from it either way! Thanks for the comment!
Were you able to reuse the potting soil for a second planting/harvest? If not, one could still recycle both the paper towels and potting soil in your compost bin. This would be perfect recycling material for my worm farm.
Yes, recompost the soil. The paper towel was bleached so I wouldn't compost that.
Interesting video. I wonder what would happen if you either soaked the water in soil and put it back in the sprayer and used it as it grew or placed a very thin layer (1/8 in) of soil in between the paper towel layers. Thanks.
Hi logiclab1, I think any way it gets the nutrients is better than none. I have read that microgreens don't need nutrients, its all contained in the seed....but from this experiment its clear that is not quite true. Still, I was surprised they grew on the paper towels without any additional nutrients....your suggestions are interesting..I have grown these with paper towels on soil, and that works very well. Thanks for the suggestions!
Very nice experiment, thanks so much! Can you please tell me more about the lighting regime?
Hi moeder, thanks for the comment! I have a variety of lights in different growing locations, but they are all daylight/bright lights and 6500 Kelvin if I can find. Some of my plants end up at a sunny window when I run out of growing space. The lights that I have are on 16 hours a day, and off 8 hours at night. The more light, and the closer the light is to the plant, the happier the plants are. Hope that helps!
Thank you for this at home experiment. Once I cut my micro greens, I’m think of removing the stems and reusing the soil. Has anyone else done this?
The best way to reuse the soil is a worm bin if you have one. The soil after growing is going to be really matted with roots and the more you use soil the more likely the soil will get pests and such. Plus worm composting is fun and cheap if you build the bin yourself
Paper towel would not be my medium of choice for a soiless experiment. Mabey try a coco pad and feed it. Alot of people say you do not need a nutrient for micros but IMO this is not true. As soon as the roots pop they are feeding. I think it is safe to say that organic soil has more nutrients than paper towel. Still cool video. Your soul greens look amazing!
Thanks Bob, I agree that giving the microgreens nutrients helps them grow better, but I was surprised that they grew even on a paper towel with no nutrients....but with nutrients they grow much bigger and faster. The coco pads are a bit expensive....coco coir (coco peat) works well too, but has no nutrients. Thanks for the feedback and comment, I appreciate it!
Great experiment! With awesome added info toward the end. Thank you!!
What a wonderful experiment- beautifully presented! You are inspiring me to try to grow microgreens!
EXCELLENT VIDEO!!! You would have had a different result IF you added fertilizer to the paper towel bottle that you used to spritz with (and plain water for the soiled). The Potting soil has many additives mixed into it (essentially, it has already the fertilizer in it). In a scientific experiment, your paper towel with only water would be considered your control group. Thus, you needed 3 setups for your experiment. The shaker and scale were EXCELLENT IDEAS!!! From the comments, you have many scientists (including me) following your channel. Good for us all. Keep up the good work.
Thanks for the encouragement David, I appreciate it...I know it was a flawed experiment, but we can learn from everything, even mistakes, right? Thanks for all the input and feedback...very thoughtful.
I love the spice shaker idea. I will use it. Thank you. I'm always looking for your videos.
Thanks Tiffany, I appreciate the comment!
To get to know the difference between both, would be great if you could measure quantitatively and run ANOVA, etc to look at a difference
I hope you plant a few of them out into your veg garden and grow them to maturity too . They are such a beautiful nutritious vegetable however you grow them ! :)
Yes...I can't wait, we had snow flurries yesterday, April 23! Our last frost date is April 22...still too cold to plant...thanks for the suggestion!
for trays, microgreen trays and planting cells...try Bootstrap Farmer.
The first leaves don't photosynthesize, do they? Only true leaves?
thank you, this makes sense why my mircogreens will not grow big
Thanks for this. Lockdown means time to grow. Can you tell me what growing with coconut husk is any good? Also what lights do you you use?
For both questions it depends on what you are growing, fruits or leafy greens. Microgreens don't need so much light, and also less nutrients. If you want a faster grow then give them light and nutrients, your choice. They like something close to daylight, 6500 Kelvin is good. You will still get a harvest with less light and nutrients, but a smaller one. BTW the coco coir has no nutrients that I know of, so you might want to add nutrients there.
Very interesting thank you so much
thumbs up for citing some research!
Glad it was helpful, thanks for the comment!
Thank you for this amazing video! I don't know much about microgreens and now I definitly want to grow them, a lot of it haha! I'll use the soil bcs i think it gives better result and less waste :)
Good luck Martine, and enjoy!
Thank you for sharing the experiment! Soil-less vs Miracle grow soil. Obviously paper towels are cheaper but less production. Very cool!
Thanks Scott, it was pretty cool to see the roots growing into the paper towels! But the soil is better for production. Have fun growing and thank you for the comment!
Very nicely done video! I have been working on growing microgreen shots for sale in recycled K-Cups and they do look nice , and the idea is that folks can just take a nice "Bite" of live micro's and spray on a bit of balsamic vinegar. I just think that the soil is aesthetically less appetizing than say a paper towel. I will try this. Thanks so much
Stephen Block, what a neat idea! A microgreen shot!! You could also use coconut coir and let people know it is not soil, the coco coir is really clean looking. Good luck with that!
@@TikkiOOO I thought about that as well. I will do that thanks again for an outstanding video.
@@TikkiOOO Hi Tikki O. Thank you again for helping me, This is my results of the first experiment using paper towels for the microgreen shots. I did have some success and they are sooooo much easier to eat.
twistingroots.com/2018/12/11/microgreen-shots-test-dec-7-2018/
Steven thanks for sharing that (and the mention on your blog!) Those K cups look very appetizing....I had a thought, how about growing the microgreens in muffin tins when you first mentioned this idea. They make decorative silicone ones as well and would make a nice display on a table. Food for thought?
@@TikkiOOO I think a display as well as a microgreen muffin sounds like a wonderful idea. Maybe the coconut coir in a paper muffin cup would make a nice walk around live salad as well.
is this a tray in tray with water on the bottom tray and holes in the upper tray ? thank you !
Yes, for the soil I use bottom watering, for the paper towel I spray on top as well, the paper dries out too quicklyy.
I like the experiment. I would the paper towel box would dry out quicker than the soil box. This could explain the different grow rate. Microgreens absorb very little of anything from the soil. There root system is not mature enough. They live off of water the stuff stored in the seed.
Thanks Chris for the comment, I'm not sure about the nutrients, but you are correct, the paper towels dried out faster, the soil was easier to grow in. Thanks for watching!
You are awesome..Thank You for sharing Your experiments.MUCH APPRECIATED!
Thank you Duhhh, I appreciate your comment!
Very nice experiment however I wonder what is in the "organic soil" that is used. Also I wonder if the bleached paper towel retarded the growth and how much more the growth would be with equal amounts of fertilizer.
Thanks Hapkijo, great questions...there are so many variables to think about, its amazing! I don't have answers, just more questions, which is why I love to keep learning and to experiment. Thanks for commenting!
Hello is micro greens seeds special seeds or every seeds can work?
Can I add a little chemical fertiliser (for "coco and soil" supstrats) in coconat supstrat before start growing microplants (than it grow much better),is it safe? 🙂