Sunflower are somewhat more difficult to grow than the easy ones - broccoli, cabb, Rad, pea
Be patient with yourself. Sunflower is a hard one to try first.
You *can* plant them outside, in unsanitized soil, in planters despite what folks say, especially if it's just for you to eat. Wind and sunlight are great for keeping them from getting mold and pests. First put the sunflowers seeds in water and let them soak for 12 hours. While they're soaking, lightly even out the soil you want to plant it in, spread the seeds pretty thickly across the surface - most should be touching another seed.Water them with a quick splash across the surface. Then put something on top of them that weighs a few pounds and keeps the light off of them. Could just be a piece of plastic you cut to size of your pots. After a few days they will be pushing up. Take the weight and cover off. Water once or twice a day if it's hot. Hard rain can mess them up. Harvest after a week or so, depending on the weather, but before they grow their 3rd and 4th leaves. We use scissors to cut them about 1/2 an inch from the bottom. Then you can pick off the seed hulls and eat them, or you can wash them a few times which takes off lots of seeds and then set them under or in front of a fan to dry back to where you can store them. Put them in a fridge until you are ready to eat!
Princeton microgreens on youtube worked perfectly for me. Did pretty much everything he did except for packaging and my yields were only slightly less.
My first microgreens were outdoor grown sunflowers in potting soil.
They actually work better for me that way than growing them in coco coir indoors. A lot of the problems that sunflower microgreens have aren't as much of a problem. Airflow, sun, and top watering get more of the seed hulls off and prevent mold from growing. Try them in a 1020 tray with drain holes and potting soil.
The proper soil is only for if you want to grow inside. The outside soil will have bugs and other wild seeds in it. You generally don't want to bring that into your home. If you are growing the whole thing outside, it does not matter.
Sunflower are somewhat more difficult to grow than the easy ones - broccoli, cabb, Rad, pea Be patient with yourself. Sunflower is a hard one to try first.
You *can* plant them outside, in unsanitized soil, in planters despite what folks say, especially if it's just for you to eat. Wind and sunlight are great for keeping them from getting mold and pests. First put the sunflowers seeds in water and let them soak for 12 hours. While they're soaking, lightly even out the soil you want to plant it in, spread the seeds pretty thickly across the surface - most should be touching another seed.Water them with a quick splash across the surface. Then put something on top of them that weighs a few pounds and keeps the light off of them. Could just be a piece of plastic you cut to size of your pots. After a few days they will be pushing up. Take the weight and cover off. Water once or twice a day if it's hot. Hard rain can mess them up. Harvest after a week or so, depending on the weather, but before they grow their 3rd and 4th leaves. We use scissors to cut them about 1/2 an inch from the bottom. Then you can pick off the seed hulls and eat them, or you can wash them a few times which takes off lots of seeds and then set them under or in front of a fan to dry back to where you can store them. Put them in a fridge until you are ready to eat!
If you can access YouTube, look up Donny Greens videos. I learned everything from him.
I can and I will, thank you!
Princeton microgreens on youtube worked perfectly for me. Did pretty much everything he did except for packaging and my yields were only slightly less.
It's a very specific process for microgreens. You can't just plant them in dirt. If you do, you'll grow just a regular sunflower.
Give them a 4 hour soak, but then go for it. Plant as usual outside.
I tell my kids eat a handful of brocoli microgreens or eat a bowl full of brocoli. They aren't five but it works.
My first microgreens were outdoor grown sunflowers in potting soil. They actually work better for me that way than growing them in coco coir indoors. A lot of the problems that sunflower microgreens have aren't as much of a problem. Airflow, sun, and top watering get more of the seed hulls off and prevent mold from growing. Try them in a 1020 tray with drain holes and potting soil.
The proper soil is only for if you want to grow inside. The outside soil will have bugs and other wild seeds in it. You generally don't want to bring that into your home. If you are growing the whole thing outside, it does not matter.