If you're scrolling through the comments to see if this works, it does! I've tried a few times growing sunflower microgreens without any success. My crop would be patchy and sparse and the sunflower microgreens were growing at different rates with some not even really germinating. I thought it was my seeds until I tried this method. After the 4 hour soak, planting, watering, then leaving for 4 days with a weight on top, I finally got a dense, even crop of microgreens! Thanks so for must for this, fabulous tutorial!
I appreciate the transparency of the content in this video. Very clear and easy to understanding, definitely a lot of information but thank you for making the operation a lot more clear to see for step to step being safe and being clean where to start and how to do it was on point. Again. Thank you.
@@DonnyGreens I will be starting growing micros here in the bay area soon, I've just been doing a lot of research and thanks to content creators like you I'm bringing it all into fruition.
Best vid I've seen on sunflower microgreens. I've been using the big 40 lb pounds of black oil seed that I get from my feed store. I use them to feed my poultry which absolutely love them. Jack Spirko suggested sprinkling moldy sprouts with diluted chamomile tea and that worked like a charm for me but perhaps it would have been just as well to do as you said about the mold disappearing after unpacking and lighting them. Perhaps being in ultra humid Texas, the chamomile might be a better solution. Really great info - appreciate it very much!!
Love the video Donny this style content is some of the most helpful for new and seasoned growers alike! I would love to see your full process for Pea's!
very good content. I soaked mine for 10 hours / 4 days under weight / 2 days blackout and 2 days under the light. The results are not bad. They grown big and healty, the taste is good aswell. The only problem I had is not brushing the seeds in time and the leaves got damaged.
@@DonnyGreens I'm trying both but I need a good and consistent product to be able to sell. Last tray was 30 grams of seeds and I got 400 grams productions. It was tall, green and tasty :p
I am just waiting for my first order of bootstrap trays already purchased my first 5 varieties. So excited to start growing . Really want to join the challenge just low on the funds. I really appreciate everything you do. You are an amazing human. Thank you for all the information you provide for free.
I just seeded a new tray, I’m trying again. Mind you I’ve only tried a handful of times but my issues were inconsistent germination, poor germination along with some weak rooting. We’ll see how this next one comes out 💫
Donny, I have been following "On The grow", and I did my first sunflower tray, but low germination, hulls didn't come off easily, and low yield. I am going to try your way, it makes lots of sense: stacking, no blackout, fewer days to get the product!!!! BTW , I order your book. Thank you.
Thanks so much for commenting! I'm sorry you aren't having good luck with your sunflowers :( Hopefully my methods work better for you 👍🏼Thanks also for buying the book! If you still have issues, try some seeds from my website donnygreens.com. My students have been having great results with my seeds compared to others. I have a whole video on sunflower microgreen seeds coming out today at 2pm 🌱💚
@@DonnyGreens any time. The sunflowers are growing well but the hulls are not coming off easily, I guess a have to wait a few more days. I spray the with some water to lose them up. I planted the on Thursday and they are about 2inches tall. The peas about 3 inches tall, the radish 3 inches, and the arugula 2 inches tall. I will be harvesting the radish and arugula to take some samples out on Friday. I have a meeting today with a chef, I am very excited about all this man.
Jay Valencia you are probably overwatering then. I see people watering throughout germination which i strongly advise against. If you follow my exact instructions, you should see some good results
Thank you Donny, you have answered my questions here in this video. Wow. I will need to try this method with the top watering for the 2-3 days after introducing to light.
I have messed up sprouting sunflower seeds about six times now. I just started your method and I’m excited to see if I finally succeed. I will post an update! Thanks for your thorough walk-through. Update: this also did not work for me.
thanks so much Donnie - this was so helpful! My biggest issue was mould, but since following your instructions that seems to have cleared up. After watching this I now need to get my yields up :)
@@DonnyGreens I'm only getting between 380g - 440g (sowing 125g dry weight and pre -soaked 4-6hrs). Typically I'm seeing uneven growth and my germination is patchy. I just tried your method, so I'll let you know my results next week!
I am having problem with mould...what do you do differently now then before? I soaked for 7-8hours I will try 4hrs soak and less water at the beginning of germination...my seeds should be ok they are organic from good seller I discussed ths with them and they have no complains from other growers...I use coco coir grow medium...or shall I just ignore tiny spots of mould as Donny is advising? I use hydrogen peroxide solution to solve this occasional small mould spots and it goes away but I would rather have no mould issues at all...does airflow make any difference in germination stage if trays are stacked and covered anyway? thanks
@@tomaskocis6614 I use organic soil, so not familiar with growing on coco coir. I do have consistent air flow, however the main difference now is that I top water out of germination as Donny suggested in his mould video, which kills the spores. It's worth a try! good luck!
Hey Donny. I've been looking through some PRO sunflower growers to figure out what is going on with my crops. Long story short, some time ago I used to use the 10x20 tays of a similar brand like yours, but have decided to use smaller trays as we could not finish all the sprouts on time and I hate wasting food. So I switched to the cheaper version of trays (white has holes, green is no holes) sold in Amazon etc. So I am using 100 grams of Black Oil with a pre-soaking period of 6 hours where the only additive I use is the cheap Hydrogen Peroxide (3% and not the 30% one) of 1tbsp. So I use a similar quality soil which I press around 1.5cm deepness and spread the 100grams of seeds evenly. For weight I use 4-5 pounds pave laying around. So 2-3 days of blackout, 2-3 days of top watering and 2-3 days of bottom watering under light (I use some generic LED light fixture that fits the tray but have been repurposed from an Open Aquarium project, so nothing too fancy). At the harvesting time, I cut the sprouts/microgreens close to the stem but not taking roots or soil with and after weighting I am having over 2 pounds (956g of my todays crop). So I am wondering, how come you use 145 grams of seeds where I use 100, you use 10x20 trays where mine are probably 6x8 or similar, you use a PRO growing lights where I don't but at the end I end up growing almost double? I am pretty aware of the sprouts stages and I am 100% sure there are no True leaves (or less than 1-2% for some stronger and impatient to grow crops). What am I doing so that my cultivation is double as my goal is to grow not only quantity but also quality in terms of nutrition, taste etc. So far there is no stinginess or bitter taste which is an indicator of over/not enough watering etc. Thanks for your feedback and keep up the flawless work and sharing your venture :)
I’m starting my micro green frowning. And my biggest questions atm, is how do I germinate all my seeds. Spread them on the dirt and shower them all? How is it done with broccoli due to possible overwatering in later grow stages? (I have all the same as you, radish, pea, sunflower, and broccoli) I have watched your videos for a little while now and they have been super helpful! Keep it up!
I am inspired. Planning to start growing microgreens in a small space of 900 cubic feet. Please advise how to maintain temperature and humidity in the growing space and what will be the ideal equipment.
Hi D We soaked our black oil sunflower seeds for 4hrs but 90% of the tray did not grow after germinating. It took over 5 days for the seeds to get to a stage to be put under the light. We are using a compost (we are in London, uk) which may have may been more absorbent. The temp we kept were 60 F. For any of the sunflowers to grow it took 11 days in total and only 5% grew 😔. Now we are testing sunflower seeds soaked at 8hrs and now they are pushing up the trays in germination stage. The difference will obviously be our compost and seed differences here in the UK.
@@DonnyGreens many thanks for your reply. We’re actually had to soak for nearly 3 days snd the yield is only 30% 🥲 the seeds are large. But will keep trying. Other varieties are much easier - wheatgrass, pea, frilly pea, radish
I’ve been killing my stems and am so frustrated. Just found you today. If I didn’t survive on my sunflower trade I’d pack them in. I’m soaking right NOW. Timer set and back to the video. I need this😬.
Hey Donny thank you so much - I've just started and you are my 'GoTo' and I feel like my head is exploding with all your awesome info. Thanks so much - glad I take notes as you share so much!! Mandy - Western Australia :)
Haha thanks so much for your feedback! I'm glad my content is providing you with valuable information and i look forward to keep helping! Where do you grow?
@@DonnyGreens I have a little 2 bedroom unit that I've knocked out all the walls (like a studio apartment now) - so in the spare room I have a set of shelves and also a lot of space outside! I can keep the temperature around 20 degrees (Celcius) all the time and they seem to be doing pretty well. I would love to know more about lights though please if you could do a video on that? Thank you Donny woohoo :)
Thanks for this vídeo! I recently started to grow my first tray of sunflower microgreen, todas was the 3rd dar of germinación and I could tell there were not to many roots germinated... I Will wait for tomorrow and check them🤞🏻
Great Channel and priceless information! Quick question, I use a solution of white vinegar and water for my first and sometimes second top water to prevent/control mold. Do you see any issues with this practice? Is there a downside to using vinegar/water in the long run? Thanks
Ive grown mine from the start exactly like i grow peas, mesh tray with pro mix, and i cover the top with soil too, never had mold or a single issue, other than seed hulls, which is what brought me here, unfortunately im not in a great situation to top water my sunflowers though.
I had to soak my seeds for 2days and they sprouted 1 day later after sowing and instead of dirt I use coconut coir pad so there's no dirt mess 🙃 I can reuse them and I can pull the roots out and get the whole green instead of cutting just the top to eat 😊
I’m growing beet, broccoli, pea, and sunflower. Would you recommend stacking all of these seeds, or only for sunflower? My concern is that broccoli might not be strong enough to push up against the stack like sunflowers.
Great tips! I had been doing all bottom watering after germination. Love being able to top water for a few more days! Thank you for sharing your experience!
Love your videos! (You hvave no idea how much value I've gotten from them!) My biggest pain is the hulls sticking on and I spend waaaaaayy too long de-shelling before packaging
Thank you for this information. I appreciate your content and the way you present it. I purchased a tiny micro-green growing kit - those gift ones- to learn the process and play with it culinarily (ex-pro cook). I followed the directions, and it looked like way too much water, but I thought, Let's see what happens. I put it on top of the fridge and actually forgot about it (oops), anyway a few days later when i looked, some seeds were sprouted, and there was some mold on top, but also a lot of water. I was careful to measure according to the kit's instructions. I instinctively drained off some water and cleaned them, and put the tray back on the fridge (I should not have, but I did). Anyway, what you're saying about weighting the tray makes sense, and explains why my little sprouties looked defeated. :( I also did not spread and press the coir before adding seeds. When I get back home, I will see what I can do to correct things. I'll take the loss as a learning experience, but I am a little sad about it. Thanks for your info.
would be fun IF YOU HAD TIME to talk about small scale like my house and how things work am trying those 4 x 4 containers and various grow media - soil too messy and expensive for in house
Sunflowers 😑 mine have been floating everytime while "soaking". Didn't seem to matter for a while, then all of a sudden, Trash germination. Also only use about 4 ounces of dry seed. Thought germination was lacking from lower temps(winter) however I am inside and the thermometer usually is between 69-74. I do use the same exact soil. Your awesome Donnie, I really hope I can get a hold of these suns! Thank you
Also use black oil suns from true leaf. Thought it was a bad batch, I've gone through three 5 pound bags. This is my third and I'm struggling, had no issue before, but like I said, different season and the seeds are never fully submerged while soaking.
Great video. I've just started growing sunflowers again after a couple of customers requested them. I too wouldn't grows them either as they're needy microgreens! I have to say I like them as well however. I've been battling with mold and I never have like this before. Going to try your methods and see how it goes. Cheers 🤠
Thanks for the comment and sorry about your mold. Try soaking for only 4 hours, that may help. Otherwise it could be the seeds. Are you getting mold just on sunflower or other varieties too?
@@DonnyGreens just these sunflowers. They're good quality seeds as I've bought the same variety from them before. I think the 4 hours might be the trick. Will plant later today. Cheers
@@easthillfarmer7216 Did this work for you? Been battling mould for months and can't figure it out. Tried 12 hour, 8 hour, and 6 hour with similar results.
I am trying my first tray of sunflower (alongside 7 other trays of 6 other varieties) and I am convinced that 4 hours is not a long enough soak for True Leaf Black Oil. Everything is doing great except the sunflowers, which have about a 2% germination rate 3 days in, and they are barely pushed out of the seed hulls. The peas I started the same night were soaked for 9 hours, have 99% germination and the radicals are an inch long. My room is averaging low 70's, humidity is a bit high in the low 70's as well with a recent wave of late October 80F weather and lots of rain. This obviously doesnt work with True Leaf seeds, so I am throwing them out and starting over tomorrow with an 8 hour soak (since literally everyone else says 8-12 hours). Will edit later with results.
Got my first tray of true leaf black oil seeds going too, no pre-soak, and it looks like 90% germination 4 days. Couldn't tell you the humidity but low 70s temperature. Also doing it in a single tray with no holes FWIW. I feel like the 4 hours would have been perfect.
What's the update? I'm also using TL sunflower seeds. They seem to be very problematic and the germination rate is all over the place. The 5lb bag I got states 68% germ rate, but it's honestly less than 50%. Any info you have is greatly appreciated. Ty.
I have having trouble with the hulls not coming off. I am going to switch to top watering for the first few days after blackout. Any additional advice would be much appreciated.
@@DonnyGreens Donny I love your videos and would really like to hear more about your perspective on hydroponic vs soil. I haven’t started growing yet as I am in’s the information collecting phase.
I just started playing around with them a month ago, bought the green and white trays and dirt. After my first salad mix tray with soil, decided to try with no media, the big seeds I sow right in the tray, the smaller seeds, I cut nylon window screen and sow on it, had success with salad mix, Kale, peas, flax and just sowed my sunflowers 2 days ago. So far I am liking hydroponics, very clean, just go down and pick what I want and eat roots and all!!!!
What type of lights are you using? Can you recommend a brand/type. I’m currently using LED and they work fine, but wondering if there a is better option. Thanks for making these videos. Great content!
Thanks so much for your ind words, I love helping out! You can find links to all the supplies and equipment I use (including lights) below the video in the description 🌱💚
Hi Donny, great video. I grew sunflowers for the first time this week on coco coir matting. I have had trouble with cobweb mold . I followed the procedure in the video with a few differences. Although I soaked for 4 hrs I sowed them straight away and I also started to bottom water from when I uncovered to the light. Would these 2 things have made a difference or would it be something else? I wish I had viewed your video first!
Such great info! I tried my first batch and failed miserably. I have coconut coir that I mix with worm castings. I grow on my kitchen counter, no fancy grow lights. Can’t wait to try! Thank you!
Dear Donny. I have a question re the taste. I have noticed that sometimes my sunflower microgreens have beautiful buttery taste and it seems you are eating sunflower seeds, but recently the taste has become bitter even in smaller shoots where there are no true leaves appearing. Have you had issues with bitterness and how do you fight it in sunflower microgreens? I also noted, that after true leaves appeared the taste changes drastically and the cotyledons become thinner, flatter and less juicy. I have just started working commercially on them and i have to pick mine after three full days in light, as after that true leaves change taste. How do you keep them going for 7-8 days without taste issues? Thank you!
Mold. I always have mold. It’s my building. I bought your seeds too but I’ve ruled out everything else and it’s just my environment. I sanitize and wash trays well, bake soil in the oven, have tried soaking and not soaking seeds, soaking with hydrogen peroxide, spray seeds with hydrogen peroxide during germination..I’ve discovered I need heat mats during germination when my grow room is cooler to speed up germination to keep mold down. It’s such a headache but I love having them. So you skip blackout phase entirely??
Yes i never do any blackout. Baking your soil?? hmm ive never done that lol. Try getting your space super clean and maybe even consider using an air purifier
Hi Donny, thanks for the great tips! I purchased your book and have found it very useful. Also, I've had good success with your 4h germination method. One question: do you wash your sunflower microgreens at harvest? Thanks for your time!
Thanks so much for this comment, I'm glad my videos are helping! I do not wash any microgreens at harvest. You can see me working live on Instagram TV (IGTV)
@@DonnyGreens thanks for following up! I think I actually remember reading in your book that washing your microgreens before selling them changed their legal status (or tax category) or something along those lines... but it seems like many people are washing their sunflower shoots as a tool to get rid of the hulls. I just need to continue refining the process to try and get rid of as many hulls as possible without having to wash them! Cheers.
Hi Donny, I have learned so much about growing sprouts from your videos. Great job on your business and your videos. I was wondering if you have a link or source page for where you purchase your supplies, lights, trays, soaking bags, etc. I specifically am looking for a tray source at the moment. I want to grow greens for our family, then maybe sell if we end up with our own "health testimony" to share. Thank you!
I just started growing, and I started with sunflower microgreens. I had bought a small batch of seeds to test out and everything went perfect so I went ahead and bought a large bag of seeds from the same place (true leaf ) and I'm having trouble with all the batches I've tried with these seeds. Germination rate is great, but I will have some seeds that will grow maybe 1/2" and the stems turn brown before they even get completely stretched out. In some trays it's over half of the seeds this is happening to.
You put the soil in a slotted tray. I have seen many other videos where the individual will put water anywhere from 2 to 4 cups of water in the trays and then put soil in. They then put the seeds on top and pretty much follow what you are doing except they water from the top. What is your opinion on this. I am getting ready to start growing microgreens for my family (to learn and hopefully one day go into business for myself) and I want to make sure before I buy supplies. Thank you for your help.
I recommend using the exact methods I talk about in this video and other videos I have posted. I have really dialed in my processes and have beautiful crops and efficient grows because of this.
Great video. Watched cause my sunflower shoots went from what you have there to a sparatic and very poor germination rate. Ordered new seeds, think these ones got destroyed somehow. Heat, moisture. I'm at a loss.
@@DonnyGreens Sorry dude, thought i seriously replied to this on my phone. I've attempted this on a couple soaks. Initially when it worked it was 4 hours. Then it stopped working. So i soaked them for 12-16 hours. Then 36 hours. This last batch is at 2 hours. Every time they come out looking like 2 days germination and they stop growing.
Thanks so much for this video! I am on approximately my 10th 10X10 tray ... still figuring it out. Using coir, my 2 issues are mold during germination, but adding H2O2 to my spray has helped a ton, I pick out any seed that looks funky. So you don’t lift and spray during blackout? I will give this a try. 2 other issues, but I think related, seeds that germinate, but kinda stop there and then a few of the sprouts dampen off. Everything tells me it’s too much water, but I have really been leaning towards drier coir, so I don’t know. Growing in our main living area which is about 67-69 during winter/spring. I have not used a heating mat because I thought that would increase the likelihood of mold. I will try the next batch in a seedling mix. I have been getting my seeds from True Leaf. Again, thanks so much! 🌱😉🌱~L
So the mold that was on the soil is actually a beneficial fungi that works with the roots, it’s just the mycorrhizae, that’s added to pro mix, colonizing to ensure a healthy rhizosphere!
I planted a 10 X 20 tray of sunflower seeds four days ago per your instructions here. I just lifted up the tray to check on them. A few were germinating but not too many and there were small, light patches of mold here and there. Should I just leave them uncovered now? Is all lost? I've never had moldy sunflowers yet, in about 6 different grows. Could it be poor seed, or what?
Did your trays ever succeed, or did you have to do something different to get them going? I am trying my first tray of sunflower (alongside 7 other trays of 6 other varieties) and I am convinced that 4 hours is not a long enough soak. Everything is doing great except the sunflowers, which have about a 2% germination rate 3 days in, and they are barely pushed out of the seed hulls. The peas I started the same night were soaked for 9 hours, have 95% germination and the radicals are are an inch long. My room is averaging low 70's, humidity is a bit high in the low 70's as well. I see a bit of fuzz on my mustard mix, but I think that is just root hairs. I see no mold on the sunflowers (yet) but h2o2 made them foam like crazy and I am throwing them out and starting over tomorrow with an 8 hour soak.
I always heard that I should water them every day (even when they're in the dark with the weight on top). This is the first time I heard about just watering them once, and then start again once they're in the light. My question is, is there enough moisture if I only water them once those first few days in the dark? I live in Arizona, by the way. It's dryer here, so maybe they would need more water at first?
Thank you, as always, for your clear and concise videos! I've just harvested my first tray of sunflowers- I weighed the tray down for 3 days, blackout for 1 day then exposed them to natural light. They grew well and have a sweet, nutty flavour but were short and with rigid, thick stems and cotyledons, whereas yours look longer and much lighter. Any suggestions?
Hi Donny, do you blackout any of your microgreens? If not, do you put them directly under light after germination or something else? Thanks. Great info. thanks for sharing
Hi thanks for all of the information. Do you ph balance the water. Also do you sanitize the sunflower seeds. If so how and with what? I am having a hard time with the sunflowers.
Awesome content! Thank you! Your sunflower microgreens appear to be HUGE, maybe 6 inches tall? At about 3-4", mine tend to grow their first set of true leaves, at which point the flavor goes from sweet and nutty, to more in the bitter range. Yours appear to still be at the cotyledon stage. Any thoughts on this? I am using an organic Black Oil seed from handypantry. Also, you didn't specify as to why the 4 hour soak is critical. Does this help avoid mold? I have been soaking 8-10 hours. Thanks again!
Thank you for the help! Do you by chance ever soak/spritz your sunflowers with food grade hydrogen peroxide? Some other growers use it and say it helps prevent mold growth. Just wanted your opinion on it.
Hi as a home hobbyist grower that does this in my spare room, should the lights stay on the entire time or cycle them? I know with seedlings like tomatoes its common to do something like 12 on 12 off. Thanks!
Most difficult has been low germination rate with high mold. Soak times have been six and eight hours. What is the PH of your water? Do you think water PH has any significant effect on germination and overall health and flavor of microgreens?
Hey great video. I've been doing sunflowers for a few months now reasonably successfully. A couple questions for you.. A) after a few days of germination (weighted) do you do another day or two of black out (no weight just an upside down bottom tray)? I see most doing this, but wouldn't mind skipping this step lol. B) my true leaves are popping out but my sprouts look almost a full inch shorter than yours.. as I am typing this I think this may be because I only weighted down for like 2 days because the hulls were all mouldy so I had to use my h2o2 to get that remedied. I also attested the mouldy hulls to the stacking method as they had no room to breathe.. OR I didn't tamp the seeds down into the soil after sowing them but I figured the weighted tray would have pressed them down naturally... B2) may be because I'm doing the weighting process too short but... When I try to get the hulls off everyday they are really delicate and Bend all over the place if I do it as vigorously as you brush them.. but it's very effective.. Oh last one... C) during the germination, you said you left them for a few days until you expose to light.. however I have to unstack and h2o2 spray them everyday to keep the hull mould at bay until ready to expose to light then by then the mould is pretty much gone.. Thanks for the tips, subbed.
Thanks for the sub and your kind words! I never use blackout ever. Try to follow my procedure EXACTLY how I mention in the video. Idk why you are spraying them, I mentioned not to. Pay CLOSE attention to the details in my videos and procedures and be sure to watch all four videos I've made on sunflower microgreens
@@DonnyGreens Came here just for this...just got my first shipment of black oil sunflower seeds and wanted to clarify NO BLACKOUT for these. Thank you for sharing all of your wonderful knowledge!
Oh my goodness! I am new to your channel, thanks for all the information I can absorb! I will soak in all your videos!😆🤔🤗🤗 . I am starting with 6 inch trays😆.
You haven't mentioned anything about covering the seeds during sowing? Do you have to cover them with soil and if yes then how much soil or mix is needed over the seeds. Kindly please answer
Hey Donny! I'm currently using deeper trays beneath the shallower trays w/ holes. There's a lot of water leftover (24 hours later) from the first bottom-watering. Should I be replacing the leftover water every day? How high should I be filling the water in the first place? thanks man!
The water that you gave the greens should be close to the exact amount that they actually need. With this being said there really shouldn’t be any excess water sitting in those trays. If you use too much water then it can build up and suffocate the roots. I don’t think this has anything to do with the deeper and shallower trays, I recommend just watering less in general so this excess doesn’t happen 🌱 does this make sense?
@@DonnyGreens I guess the deeper tray is the problem. If the bottom tray is too deep you will have to fill in more water for the roots to reach the water surface.
Donny - finally did sunflowers for the first time. I noticed a few days after germination the seedlings were pulling up all of my soil. Is this because I didn't tamp hard enough after spreading the seeds and they may not be rooting deeply enough?
You can use sunlight. Some normal lights will work if theyre strong enough but i always recommend high quality grow lights. Check out my video about all the supplies you need!
This is a fantastic step-by-step video. Going to try this method on our next grow. Quick question though - when you say your Germination Period is typically 3-4 days (usually 3 because the treats to over on day 4), do you count your seeding day as day 1 of your Germination? Example: Seed (day 1), Germination (days 2-4), Under Lights (days 5-7), Harvest (day 8) OR Seed (day 0), Germination (days 1-3), Under Lights (days 4-6), Harvest (day 7)? Thanks for the great tutorial!
Ha ha now we’re getting real technical! Because I make my trays in the morning I consider my seeding day as day one. Thanks so much for your kind words, I’m glad my videos are helping you! I hope this response helped too!
Hi, thank you for your videos. I would like to. ask how much light do you use for your micro greens. I have been running mine 24 7. I want to know if I should cut back time or continue with 24 7. thanks again Regards Brad
Hi Donny.. about how many trays can you get with the large Pro mix soil bale? where do you purchase from? Thank you for the Awesome Sunflower information:)
About 60 trays! I get mine from a local greenhouse supply company. Thats really the only way to do it because they are heavy and VERY expensive to ship.
The seeds, the seeds, the seeds
That what I told my lesbians 😏
lol
You can knock the remaining the seeds off in a bath after they are cut.
@@thenewyorkredneck4735 what does that even mean?
@@jc6226 its an inside joke
If you're scrolling through the comments to see if this works, it does! I've tried a few times growing sunflower microgreens without any success. My crop would be patchy and sparse and the sunflower microgreens were growing at different rates with some not even really germinating. I thought it was my seeds until I tried this method. After the 4 hour soak, planting, watering, then leaving for 4 days with a weight on top, I finally got a dense, even crop of microgreens! Thanks so for must for this, fabulous tutorial!
Thanks so much for this comment! So glad my videos are helping you to get real results!
Good to hear I’m going to try this today
If you can’t keep the temp high enough in the room, will seed mats work instead?
Hoooooohhhh yeahhhhhhh😻
I appreciate the transparency of the content in this video. Very clear and easy to understanding, definitely a lot of information but thank you for making the operation a lot more clear to see for step to step being safe and being clean where to start and how to do it was on point. Again. Thank you.
Thanks so much for watching and this comment! I always try to be as transparent as possible. I'm glad it helped, where are you growing?
@@DonnyGreens I will be starting growing micros here in the bay area soon, I've just been doing a lot of research and thanks to content creators like you I'm bringing it all into fruition.
These videos are very well made, clean meaning not chaotic, easy to understand and helpful.
Thanks so much for that feedback, that is definitely my style haha!
Best vid I've seen on sunflower microgreens. I've been using the big 40 lb pounds of black oil seed that I get from my feed store. I use them to feed my poultry which absolutely love them. Jack Spirko suggested sprinkling moldy sprouts with diluted chamomile tea and that worked like a charm for me but perhaps it would have been just as well to do as you said about the mold disappearing after unpacking and lighting them. Perhaps being in ultra humid Texas, the chamomile might be a better solution. Really great info - appreciate it very much!!
I shared this with my son. He’s just starting a micro green business. He’s learning the ropes right now
Love it, feel free to show him this: onetrayaway.com/
Watched this before even attempting. Thank you
they are the only microgreen i hunger for, thanks for helping me figure out growing my own
no problem!
Love the video Donny this style content is some of the most helpful for new and seasoned growers alike!
I would love to see your full process for Pea's!
Yes me too please Donny!
Thanks so much! I will have to make a video on growing peas for sure!
very good content. I soaked mine for 10 hours / 4 days under weight / 2 days blackout and 2 days under the light. The results are not bad. They grown big and healty, the taste is good aswell. The only problem I had is not brushing the seeds in time and the leaves got damaged.
Thanks a lot! Definitely try soaking for only FOUR hours. You may be pleasantly surprised 🌱😊 Do you grow for personal use or as a business?
@@DonnyGreens I'm trying both but I need a good and consistent product to be able to sell. Last tray was 30 grams of seeds and I got 400 grams productions. It was tall, green and tasty :p
You're the best
Thanks for much Ray, I think you're the best! 😆🌱💚
I am just waiting for my first order of bootstrap trays already purchased my first 5 varieties. So excited to start growing . Really want to join the challenge just low on the funds. I really appreciate everything you do. You are an amazing human. Thank you for all the information you provide for free.
much love shawna, i hope to see you in the challenge sooon!!!
Thank you for creating this video. My sunflowers have not being coming out well. Excited to do this method.
Thanks for watching! I hope these methods will help you. DO you grow for personal use or as a business?
I just seeded a new tray, I’m trying again. Mind you I’ve only tried a handful of times but my issues were inconsistent germination, poor germination along with some weak rooting. We’ll see how this next one comes out 💫
Trial, error, and improvement. You got this!!! Definitely join the MIcrogreens Support Group on Facebook for further assistance! 🌱💚
Donny, I have been following "On The grow", and I did my first sunflower tray, but low germination, hulls didn't come off easily, and low yield. I am going to try your way, it makes lots of sense: stacking, no blackout, fewer days to get the product!!!! BTW , I order your book. Thank you.
Thanks so much for commenting! I'm sorry you aren't having good luck with your sunflowers :( Hopefully my methods work better for you 👍🏼Thanks also for buying the book! If you still have issues, try some seeds from my website donnygreens.com. My students have been having great results with my seeds compared to others. I have a whole video on sunflower microgreen seeds coming out today at 2pm 🌱💚
@@DonnyGreens any time. The sunflowers are growing well but the hulls are not coming off easily, I guess a have to wait a few more days. I spray the with some water to lose them up. I planted the on Thursday and they are about 2inches tall. The peas about 3 inches tall, the radish 3 inches, and the arugula 2 inches tall. I will be harvesting the radish and arugula to take some samples out on Friday. I have a meeting today with a chef, I am very excited about all this man.
Jay Valencia you are probably overwatering then. I see people watering throughout germination which i strongly advise against. If you follow my exact instructions, you should see some good results
How could anyone dislike this video?? Great job, Donny! Best content around.
Thanks so much, Much love 🌱🌱🌱💚💚💚
Thank you Donny, you have answered my questions here in this video. Wow. I will need to try this method with the top watering for the 2-3 days after introducing to light.
There you go! You are very welcome, keep me posted with your progress!! 🌱💚
I have messed up sprouting sunflower seeds about six times now. I just started your method and I’m excited to see if I finally succeed. I will post an update! Thanks for your thorough walk-through. Update: this also did not work for me.
Best of luck!!!
thanks so much Donnie - this was so helpful! My biggest issue was mould, but since following your instructions that seems to have cleared up. After watching this I now need to get my yields up :)
Awesome! I'm so glad I was able to help you solve that problem 🌱💚 What are you currently yielding?
@@DonnyGreens I'm only getting between 380g - 440g (sowing 125g dry weight and pre -soaked 4-6hrs). Typically I'm seeing uneven growth and my germination is patchy. I just tried your method, so I'll let you know my results next week!
I am having problem with mould...what do you do differently now then before? I soaked for 7-8hours I will try 4hrs soak and less water at the beginning of germination...my seeds should be ok they are organic from good seller I discussed ths with them and they have no complains from other growers...I use coco coir grow medium...or shall I just ignore tiny spots of mould as Donny is advising? I use hydrogen peroxide solution to solve this occasional small mould spots and it goes away but I would rather have no mould issues at all...does airflow make any difference in germination stage if trays are stacked and covered anyway? thanks
@@tomaskocis6614 I use organic soil, so not familiar with growing on coco coir. I do have consistent air flow, however the main difference now is that I top water out of germination as Donny suggested in his mould video, which kills the spores. It's worth a try! good luck!
is it absolutely necessary to have grow lights when growing microgreens?
Hey Donny. I've been looking through some PRO sunflower growers to figure out what is going on with my crops. Long story short, some time ago I used to use the 10x20 tays of a similar brand like yours, but have decided to use smaller trays as we could not finish all the sprouts on time and I hate wasting food. So I switched to the cheaper version of trays (white has holes, green is no holes) sold in Amazon etc. So I am using 100 grams of Black Oil with a pre-soaking period of 6 hours where the only additive I use is the cheap Hydrogen Peroxide (3% and not the 30% one) of 1tbsp. So I use a similar quality soil which I press around 1.5cm deepness and spread the 100grams of seeds evenly. For weight I use 4-5 pounds pave laying around. So 2-3 days of blackout, 2-3 days of top watering and 2-3 days of bottom watering under light (I use some generic LED light fixture that fits the tray but have been repurposed from an Open Aquarium project, so nothing too fancy).
At the harvesting time, I cut the sprouts/microgreens close to the stem but not taking roots or soil with and after weighting I am having over 2 pounds (956g of my todays crop). So I am wondering, how come you use 145 grams of seeds where I use 100, you use 10x20 trays where mine are probably 6x8 or similar, you use a PRO growing lights where I don't but at the end I end up growing almost double? I am pretty aware of the sprouts stages and I am 100% sure there are no True leaves (or less than 1-2% for some stronger and impatient to grow crops). What am I doing so that my cultivation is double as my goal is to grow not only quantity but also quality in terms of nutrition, taste etc. So far there is no stinginess or bitter taste which is an indicator of over/not enough watering etc.
Thanks for your feedback and keep up the flawless work and sharing your venture :)
I’m starting my micro green frowning. And my biggest questions atm, is how do I germinate all my seeds. Spread them on the dirt and shower them all? How is it done with broccoli due to possible overwatering in later grow stages? (I have all the same as you, radish, pea, sunflower, and broccoli)
I have watched your videos for a little while now and they have been super helpful! Keep it up!
Thanks a lot! Yes, spread them and then water before stacking for germination. Same method but without soaking first
I want to start the microgreens cultivation.. your videos are very helpful to me
Awesome, thanks for that feedback, im glad they are helping!
I am inspired. Planning to start growing microgreens in a small space of 900 cubic feet. Please advise how to maintain temperature and humidity in the growing space and what will be the ideal equipment.
Thank you! Great video. Mine turned out perfectly. God bless
Thank you for the vid! Really appreciate the details and how to get the hulls off.
Hi D
We soaked our black oil sunflower seeds for 4hrs but 90% of the tray did not grow after germinating. It took over 5 days for the seeds to get to a stage to be put under the light. We are using a compost (we are in London, uk) which may have may been more absorbent. The temp we kept were 60 F. For any of the sunflowers to grow it took 11 days in total and only 5% grew 😔. Now we are testing sunflower seeds soaked at 8hrs and now they are pushing up the trays in germination stage. The difference will obviously be our compost and seed differences here in the UK.
Soak time can vary by seed. I've noticed sometimes the larger seeds can soak longer. Raising your temperature should help 🌱👍🏼 Bring it up to 70
@@DonnyGreens many thanks for your reply. We’re actually had to soak for nearly 3 days snd the yield is only 30% 🥲 the seeds are large. But will keep trying. Other varieties are much easier - wheatgrass, pea, frilly pea, radish
Awesome video, I will follow your directions to the letter since you explained them so well. I appreciate you taking the time to post this video!
Much love, thanks for the comment!! Don't forget to join the challenge too!!! OneTrayAway.com
I’ve been killing my stems and am so frustrated. Just found you today. If I didn’t survive on my sunflower trade I’d pack them in. I’m soaking right NOW. Timer set and back to the video. I need this😬.
Hey Donny thank you so much - I've just started and you are my 'GoTo' and I feel like my head is exploding with all your awesome info. Thanks so much - glad I take notes as you share so much!! Mandy - Western Australia :)
Haha thanks so much for your feedback! I'm glad my content is providing you with valuable information and i look forward to keep helping! Where do you grow?
@@DonnyGreens I have a little 2 bedroom unit that I've knocked out all the walls (like a studio apartment now) - so in the spare room I have a set of shelves and also a lot of space outside! I can keep the temperature around 20 degrees (Celcius) all the time and they seem to be doing pretty well. I would love to know more about lights though please if you could do a video on that? Thank you Donny woohoo :)
Thanks for this vídeo!
I recently started to grow my first tray of sunflower microgreen, todas was the 3rd dar of germinación and I could tell there were not to many roots germinated... I Will wait for tomorrow and check them🤞🏻
They can be tricky. Make sure you have high quality seeds and soak for only four hours. They take some time to master so keep on experimenting!
@@DonnyGreens thanks Donny!!!
Great Channel and priceless information! Quick question, I use a solution of white vinegar and water for my first and sometimes second top water to prevent/control mold. Do you see any issues with this practice? Is there a downside to using vinegar/water in the long run? Thanks
try not to use anything and still get no mold!! i dont see anything wrong with your methods though
Still have a problem with uneven growth and the dang shells sticking. Thanks for the vid!
No problem, keep working at it, theyre a pain in the ass but once you have them down its a great crop!
Ive grown mine from the start exactly like i grow peas, mesh tray with pro mix, and i cover the top with soil too, never had mold or a single issue, other than seed hulls, which is what brought me here, unfortunately im not in a great situation to top water my sunflowers though.
over time you will make it work .glad you found my channel!
Love your energy became a subscriber within 0.22
I had to soak my seeds for 2days and they sprouted 1 day later after sowing and instead of dirt I use coconut coir pad so there's no dirt mess 🙃 I can reuse them and I can pull the roots out and get the whole green instead of cutting just the top to eat 😊
Donny.... My Sunflower Microgreens are not pushing their roots down and through but rather their roots just stay on the soil...
are you stacking with weight for a few days until they root?
@@DonnyGreens now I do! Much better!
I’m growing beet, broccoli, pea, and sunflower. Would you recommend stacking all of these seeds, or only for sunflower? My concern is that broccoli might not be strong enough to push up against the stack like sunflowers.
Great tips! I had been doing all bottom watering after germination. Love being able to top water for a few more days! Thank you for sharing your experience!
Much love Eric, thanks for commenting, I'm so glad my videos are helping!
Perfect timing...just had my order of black oil seeds show up
Woop woop! Sunflower microgreen videos this whole month!
Love your videos! (You hvave no idea how much value I've gotten from them!) My biggest pain is the hulls sticking on and I spend waaaaaayy too long de-shelling before packaging
Thank you for this information. I appreciate your content and the way you present it.
I purchased a tiny micro-green growing kit - those gift ones- to learn the process and play with it culinarily (ex-pro cook). I followed the directions, and it looked like way too much water, but I thought, Let's see what happens. I put it on top of the fridge and actually forgot about it (oops), anyway a few days later when i looked, some seeds were sprouted, and there was some mold on top, but also a lot of water. I was careful to measure according to the kit's instructions. I instinctively drained off some water and cleaned them, and put the tray back on the fridge (I should not have, but I did). Anyway, what you're saying about weighting the tray makes sense, and explains why my little sprouties looked defeated. :( I also did not spread and press the coir before adding seeds. When I get back home, I will see what I can do to correct things. I'll take the loss as a learning experience, but I am a little sad about it.
Thanks for your info.
would be fun IF YOU HAD TIME to talk about small scale like my house and how things work
am trying those 4 x 4 containers
and various grow media - soil too messy and expensive for in house
Sunflowers 😑 mine have been floating everytime while "soaking". Didn't seem to matter for a while, then all of a sudden, Trash germination. Also only use about 4 ounces of dry seed. Thought germination was lacking from lower temps(winter) however I am inside and the thermometer usually is between 69-74. I do use the same exact soil. Your awesome Donnie, I really hope I can get a hold of these suns! Thank you
Also use black oil suns from true leaf. Thought it was a bad batch, I've gone through three 5 pound bags. This is my third and I'm struggling, had no issue before, but like I said, different season and the seeds are never fully submerged while soaking.
Great video. I've just started growing sunflowers again after a couple of customers requested them. I too wouldn't grows them either as they're needy microgreens! I have to say I like them as well however. I've been battling with mold and I never have like this before. Going to try your methods and see how it goes. Cheers 🤠
Thanks for the comment and sorry about your mold. Try soaking for only 4 hours, that may help. Otherwise it could be the seeds. Are you getting mold just on sunflower or other varieties too?
@@DonnyGreens just these sunflowers. They're good quality seeds as I've bought the same variety from them before. I think the 4 hours might be the trick. Will plant later today. Cheers
@@easthillfarmer7216 Did this work for you? Been battling mould for months and can't figure it out. Tried 12 hour, 8 hour, and 6 hour with similar results.
I am trying my first tray of sunflower (alongside 7 other trays of 6 other varieties) and I am convinced that 4 hours is not a long enough soak for True Leaf Black Oil. Everything is doing great except the sunflowers, which have about a 2% germination rate 3 days in, and they are barely pushed out of the seed hulls. The peas I started the same night were soaked for 9 hours, have 99% germination and the radicals are an inch long. My room is averaging low 70's, humidity is a bit high in the low 70's as well with a recent wave of late October 80F weather and lots of rain. This obviously doesnt work with True Leaf seeds, so I am throwing them out and starting over tomorrow with an 8 hour soak (since literally everyone else says 8-12 hours). Will edit later with results.
Got my first tray of true leaf black oil seeds going too, no pre-soak, and it looks like 90% germination 4 days. Couldn't tell you the humidity but low 70s temperature. Also doing it in a single tray with no holes FWIW. I feel like the 4 hours would have been perfect.
What's the update? I'm also using TL sunflower seeds. They seem to be very problematic and the germination rate is all over the place. The 5lb bag I got states 68% germ rate, but it's honestly less than 50%. Any info you have is greatly appreciated. Ty.
love your energy and your enthusiasm!!
Thanks alot!
Excellent presentation! 🤓
I have having trouble with the hulls not coming off. I am going to switch to top watering for the first few days after blackout. Any additional advice would be much appreciated.
Good idea, that should help. Swipe them off every day as well!
Any suggestions about how to efficiently cut the sunflowers?
sharp knife!
I do this for my zebra finches and they love the sprouts.
haha love that! maybe a new market !
I wonder if you can vacuum up the hulls with a shop-vac?
Growing hydroponically keeps them from molding and are much cleaner. Thank you for the info/vid.
I one thousand percent disagree with this but i still love ya and appreciate your perspective and experience 🌱💚
@@DonnyGreens Donny I love your videos and would really like to hear more about your perspective on hydroponic vs soil. I haven’t started growing yet as I am in’s the information collecting phase.
I just started playing around with them a month ago, bought the green and white trays and dirt.
After my first salad mix tray with soil, decided to try with no media, the big seeds I sow right in the tray, the smaller seeds, I cut nylon window screen and sow on it, had success with salad mix, Kale, peas, flax and just sowed my sunflowers 2 days ago. So far I am liking hydroponics, very clean, just go down and pick what I want and eat roots and all!!!!
What type of lights are you using? Can you recommend a brand/type. I’m currently using LED and they work fine, but wondering if there a is better option. Thanks for making these videos. Great content!
Thanks so much for your ind words, I love helping out! You can find links to all the supplies and equipment I use (including lights) below the video in the description 🌱💚
Hi Donny, great video. I grew sunflowers for the first time this week on coco coir matting. I have had trouble with cobweb mold . I followed the procedure in the video with a few differences. Although I soaked for 4 hrs I sowed them straight away and I also started to bottom water from when I uncovered to the light. Would these 2 things have made a difference or would it be something else? I wish I had viewed your video first!
Thank you! I'm not exactly sure, I would test both ways and compare so you can see if it does truly make a difference for ya
Coco coir is prone to mold
@@patrickstrasser3221 what do you use ?
Such great info! I tried my first batch and failed miserably. I have coconut coir that I mix with worm castings. I grow on my kitchen counter, no fancy grow lights. Can’t wait to try! Thank you!
Very cool, no problem! Glad you like my videos 🌱💚
Dear Donny. I have a question re the taste. I have noticed that sometimes my sunflower microgreens have beautiful buttery taste and it seems you are eating sunflower seeds, but recently the taste has become bitter even in smaller shoots where there are no true leaves appearing.
Have you had issues with bitterness and how do you fight it in sunflower microgreens?
I also noted, that after true leaves appeared the taste changes drastically and the cotyledons become thinner, flatter and less juicy. I have just started working commercially on them and i have to pick mine after three full days in light, as after that true leaves change taste. How do you keep them going for 7-8 days without taste issues?
Thank you!
I haven't really noticed them being bitter, nor have my customers complained. Each seed lot is different. Thats just how mine grow in my environment
Mold. I always have mold. It’s my building. I bought your seeds too but I’ve ruled out everything else and it’s just my environment. I sanitize and wash trays well, bake soil in the oven, have tried soaking and not soaking seeds, soaking with hydrogen peroxide, spray seeds with hydrogen peroxide during germination..I’ve discovered I need heat mats during germination when my grow room is cooler to speed up germination to keep mold down. It’s such a headache but I love having them. So you skip blackout phase entirely??
Yes i never do any blackout. Baking your soil?? hmm ive never done that lol. Try getting your space super clean and maybe even consider using an air purifier
Hi Donny, thanks for the great tips! I purchased your book and have found it very useful. Also, I've had good success with your 4h germination method. One question: do you wash your sunflower microgreens at harvest? Thanks for your time!
Thanks so much for this comment, I'm glad my videos are helping! I do not wash any microgreens at harvest. You can see me working live on Instagram TV (IGTV)
@@DonnyGreens thanks for following up! I think I actually remember reading in your book that washing your microgreens before selling them changed their legal status (or tax category) or something along those lines... but it seems like many people are washing their sunflower shoots as a tool to get rid of the hulls. I just need to continue refining the process to try and get rid of as many hulls as possible without having to wash them! Cheers.
Hey Donny Thanks for all the info. Curious what you run your PH at when sprouting. Thanks in advance
Hi Donny, I have learned so much about growing sprouts from your videos. Great job on your business and your videos. I was wondering if you have a link or source page for where you purchase your supplies, lights, trays, soaking bags, etc. I specifically am looking for a tray source at the moment. I want to grow greens for our family, then maybe sell if we end up with our own "health testimony" to share. Thank you!
Thanks so much, and yes, you can find links to all the seeds, supplies and equipment I use in the descriptions of my UA-cam videos!
I just started growing, and I started with sunflower microgreens. I had bought a small batch of seeds to test out and everything went perfect so I went ahead and bought a large bag of seeds from the same place (true leaf ) and I'm having trouble with all the batches I've tried with these seeds.
Germination rate is great, but I will have some seeds that will grow maybe 1/2" and the stems turn brown before they even get completely stretched out. In some trays it's over half of the seeds this is happening to.
You put the soil in a slotted tray. I have seen many other videos where the individual will put water anywhere from 2 to 4 cups of water in the trays and then put soil in. They then put the seeds on top and pretty much follow what you are doing except they water from the top. What is your opinion on this. I am getting ready to start growing microgreens for my family (to learn and hopefully one day go into business for myself) and I want to make sure before I buy supplies. Thank you for your help.
I recommend using the exact methods I talk about in this video and other videos I have posted. I have really dialed in my processes and have beautiful crops and efficient grows because of this.
Are you top watering to aid with removing the seed hulls?
I love this video. I was so stressed out about mold showing up in germination, but I see it will be OK!
Thanks so much for your feedback. Im so glad this video was able to help you 🌱💚 No worries!
Where did you get that press for compacting the soil? When I try to look it up, I get results for soil block makers instead
I have trouble getting all the seed hulls off. Do you have to pick them off one by one when the brushing technique doesn’t work?
Great video. Watched cause my sunflower shoots went from what you have there to a sparatic and very poor germination rate. Ordered new seeds, think these ones got destroyed somehow. Heat, moisture. I'm at a loss.
How long are you soaking for?
@@DonnyGreens Sorry dude, thought i seriously replied to this on my phone. I've attempted this on a couple soaks. Initially when it worked it was 4 hours. Then it stopped working. So i soaked them for 12-16 hours. Then 36 hours. This last batch is at 2 hours. Every time they come out looking like 2 days germination and they stop growing.
great information. how many hours a day do i keep the sunflower seeds under the lihgt?
Thanks so much for this video! I am on approximately my 10th 10X10 tray ... still figuring it out. Using coir, my 2 issues are mold during germination, but adding H2O2 to my spray has helped a ton, I pick out any seed that looks funky. So you don’t lift and spray during blackout? I will give this a try. 2 other issues, but I think related, seeds that germinate, but kinda stop there and then a few of the sprouts dampen off. Everything tells me it’s too much water, but I have really been leaning towards drier coir, so I don’t know. Growing in our main living area which is about 67-69 during winter/spring. I have not used a heating mat because I thought that would increase the likelihood of mold. I will try the next batch in a seedling mix. I have been getting my seeds from True Leaf. Again, thanks so much! 🌱😉🌱~L
keep getting brown parts on some of the sunflowers?
not sure whats going on
So the mold that was on the soil is actually a beneficial fungi that works with the roots, it’s just the mycorrhizae, that’s added to pro mix, colonizing to ensure a healthy rhizosphere!
🌱💚
I planted a 10 X 20 tray of sunflower seeds four days ago per your instructions here. I just lifted up the tray to check on them. A few were germinating but not too many and there were small, light patches of mold here and there. Should I just leave them uncovered now? Is all lost? I've never had moldy sunflowers yet, in about 6 different grows. Could it be poor seed, or what?
i have a few videos on mold you should watch. Check out my channel!
Did your trays ever succeed, or did you have to do something different to get them going? I am trying my first tray of sunflower (alongside 7 other trays of 6 other varieties) and I am convinced that 4 hours is not a long enough soak. Everything is doing great except the sunflowers, which have about a 2% germination rate 3 days in, and they are barely pushed out of the seed hulls. The peas I started the same night were soaked for 9 hours, have 95% germination and the radicals are are an inch long. My room is averaging low 70's, humidity is a bit high in the low 70's as well. I see a bit of fuzz on my mustard mix, but I think that is just root hairs. I see no mold on the sunflowers (yet) but h2o2 made them foam like crazy and I am throwing them out and starting over tomorrow with an 8 hour soak.
I always heard that I should water them every day (even when they're in the dark with the weight on top). This is the first time I heard about just watering them once, and then start again once they're in the light. My question is, is there enough moisture if I only water them once those first few days in the dark? I live in Arizona, by the way. It's dryer here, so maybe they would need more water at first?
I never water during the germination process
Thank you, as always, for your clear and concise videos!
I've just harvested my first tray of sunflowers- I weighed the tray down for 3 days, blackout for 1 day then exposed them to natural light. They grew well and have a sweet, nutty flavour but were short and with rigid, thick stems and cotyledons, whereas yours look longer and much lighter. Any suggestions?
Hi Donny, do you blackout any of your microgreens? If not, do you put them directly under light after germination or something else? Thanks. Great info. thanks for sharing
Thanks!! I never do blackout on anything. I just do the weight and then straight under lights!
Hi thanks for all of the information. Do you ph balance the water. Also do you sanitize the sunflower seeds. If so how and with what? I am having a hard time with the sunflowers.
No problem! I do not pH balance anything. I use soil. No, I do not sanitize ANY of my seeds which is why it wasn't mentioned in the video.
Awesome content! Thank you! Your sunflower microgreens appear to be HUGE, maybe 6 inches tall? At about 3-4", mine tend to grow their first set of true leaves, at which point the flavor goes from sweet and nutty, to more in the bitter range. Yours appear to still be at the cotyledon stage. Any thoughts on this? I am using an organic Black Oil seed from handypantry. Also, you didn't specify as to why the 4 hour soak is critical. Does this help avoid mold? I have been soaking 8-10 hours. Thanks again!
Follow my procedures exactly and see if that helps. Sunflowers are sensitive to water
Thank you for the help! Do you by chance ever soak/spritz your sunflowers with food grade hydrogen peroxide? Some other growers use it and say it helps prevent mold growth. Just wanted your opinion on it.
A mixture of the peroxide and water. Not straight peroxide
Nope, i dont have mold in the first place
Hi as a home hobbyist grower that does this in my spare room, should the lights stay on the entire time or cycle them? I know with seedlings like tomatoes its common to do something like 12 on 12 off. Thanks!
Awesome thanks man. Biggest issue? The seed carcass sticking to germinating sprout
yeah thats the tricky part. Be sure to brush them every day you can!
Most difficult has been low germination rate with high mold. Soak times have been six and eight hours. What is the PH of your water? Do you think water PH has any significant effect on germination and overall health and flavor of microgreens?
Hey great video. I've been doing sunflowers for a few months now reasonably successfully. A couple questions for you..
A) after a few days of germination (weighted) do you do another day or two of black out (no weight just an upside down bottom tray)? I see most doing this, but wouldn't mind skipping this step lol.
B) my true leaves are popping out but my sprouts look almost a full inch shorter than yours.. as I am typing this I think this may be because I only weighted down for like 2 days because the hulls were all mouldy so I had to use my h2o2 to get that remedied. I also attested the mouldy hulls to the stacking method as they had no room to breathe.. OR I didn't tamp the seeds down into the soil after sowing them but I figured the weighted tray would have pressed them down naturally...
B2) may be because I'm doing the weighting process too short but... When I try to get the hulls off everyday they are really delicate and Bend all over the place if I do it as vigorously as you brush them.. but it's very effective..
Oh last one...
C) during the germination, you said you left them for a few days until you expose to light.. however I have to unstack and h2o2 spray them everyday to keep the hull mould at bay until ready to expose to light then by then the mould is pretty much gone..
Thanks for the tips, subbed.
Thanks for the sub and your kind words! I never use blackout ever. Try to follow my procedure EXACTLY how I mention in the video. Idk why you are spraying them, I mentioned not to. Pay CLOSE attention to the details in my videos and procedures and be sure to watch all four videos I've made on sunflower microgreens
@@DonnyGreens Came here just for this...just got my first shipment of black oil sunflower seeds and wanted to clarify NO BLACKOUT for these. Thank you for sharing all of your wonderful knowledge!
Is it the same way you do for all seeds?
hi Donny , what lights do you use ?
You can find links to all the seeds, supplies and equipment I use in the descriptions of my UA-cam videos!
Another great video! Thank you Donny for the tips!
Thanks so much for watching!
This is AMAZING - thank you so much 🧚🏽🙏🏽🧚🏽🙏🏽🧚🏽🙏🏽🧚🏽. Would LOVE a “how to” video on Wheatgrass!!!!!
Much love!!! 🌱💚💚 definitely coming in the future
@@DonnyGreens 🙌🌱🙌🌱🙌🌱
Can you use the mason jar method?
Oh my goodness! I am new to your channel, thanks for all the information I can absorb! I will soak in all your videos!😆🤔🤗🤗 . I am starting with 6 inch trays😆.
You haven't mentioned anything about covering the seeds during sowing? Do you have to cover them with soil and if yes then how much soil or mix is needed over the seeds. Kindly please answer
i dont cover them
Hey Donny! I'm currently using deeper trays beneath the shallower trays w/ holes. There's a lot of water leftover (24 hours later) from the first bottom-watering. Should I be replacing the leftover water every day? How high should I be filling the water in the first place?
thanks man!
The water that you gave the greens should be close to the exact amount that they actually need. With this being said there really shouldn’t be any excess water sitting in those trays. If you use too much water then it can build up and suffocate the roots. I don’t think this has anything to do with the deeper and shallower trays, I recommend just watering less in general so this excess doesn’t happen 🌱 does this make sense?
@@DonnyGreens I guess the deeper tray is the problem. If the bottom tray is too deep you will have to fill in more water for the roots to reach the water surface.
So cool Donald.
Thank you!!!
Donny - finally did sunflowers for the first time. I noticed a few days after germination the seedlings were pulling up all of my soil. Is this because I didn't tamp hard enough after spreading the seeds and they may not be rooting deeply enough?
You are the best, thanks for sharing Donny.
Thanks so much for commenting this, much love! 🌱💚
NIce! do they REQUIRE lights, or can it be done with just regular room lights?
You can use sunlight. Some normal lights will work if theyre strong enough but i always recommend high quality grow lights. Check out my video about all the supplies you need!
How long do I keep the lights on them after germination?
This is a fantastic step-by-step video. Going to try this method on our next grow. Quick question though - when you say your Germination Period is typically 3-4 days (usually 3 because the treats to over on day 4), do you count your seeding day as day 1 of your Germination?
Example: Seed (day 1), Germination (days 2-4), Under Lights (days 5-7), Harvest (day 8) OR
Seed (day 0), Germination (days 1-3), Under Lights (days 4-6), Harvest (day 7)?
Thanks for the great tutorial!
Ha ha now we’re getting real technical! Because I make my trays in the morning I consider my seeding day as day one. Thanks so much for your kind words, I’m glad my videos are helping you! I hope this response helped too!
As always, such helpful advice. Thanks so much!
You are very welcome!
Hi, thank you for your videos. I would like to. ask how much light do you use for your micro greens. I have been running mine 24 7. I want to know if I should cut back time or continue with 24 7. thanks again
Regards
Brad
Thanks brad! I run my lights for 15 hours/day
Hi Donny.. about how many trays can you get with the large Pro mix soil bale? where do you purchase from? Thank you for the Awesome Sunflower information:)
About 60 trays! I get mine from a local greenhouse supply company. Thats really the only way to do it because they are heavy and VERY expensive to ship.
Perfect. But without Blackout? Directly under the lights? Thx
Yes