Grow Sweet Pea Microgreens
| GROWING DIFFICULTY | easy |
|---|---|
| GROW CYCLE DAYS | 7+ days using grow lights |
| GERMINATION CONDITIONS | stacked, with weight |
| GERMINATION DAYS | 4 days |
| SEED PREPARATION | soak 8-24 hours |
SUPPLIES
- 3 Bootstrap Farmer microgreen trays
- 2x trays without holes + 1x tray with holes
- Grow medium
- we recommend loose coco coir
- Water & sprayer
- in the absence of a water source with spray nozzle, we recommend a pressure sprayer
- SowYummy Sweet Pea seeds
- 1 portion per 1010 tray, or 2 portions per 1020 tray
- 10-15 lb weight
PREPARE SEED
A minimum of 6 hours and a recommended maximum of 24 hours before you intend to plant your Sweet Pea microgreens, soak the seeds in room temperature water to activate the seed.
GROW TIP Mesh nylon produce bags work well to contain the seeds.
In our experience, unlike some other seeds, Sweet Pea germinates perfectly well even with a minimum soak time. They will however sprout pretty quickly if left to soak for longer than 24 hours.
Before you’re ready to plant, drain the seeds, rinse them well, and allow excess water to run off them (“drip dry”). Sow your seeds while they are still wet.
PREPARE TRAYS
If using a medium other than loose coco coir, prepare it according to manufacturer’s instructions.
Nest the tray with holes inside one tray without holes.
Pack the tray with coco coir about 3/4 full. We use approximately 4 litres of loose coco coir per 1020 tray or 2 litre per 1010 tray.
Be sure to distribute the coco coir as evenly as possible throughout the tray, packing it into the sides and corners to ensure good water retention and to give the plants something to anchor to.
Gently press the second tray without holes over the top of the coco coir to even out the surface. You don’t need to press too hard, we are not compressing it just smoothing it out. Don’t worry about the minor channels created by the tray, these will smooth out during watering and don’t affect germination or growth.
CONDITION GROW MEDIUM
In a pinch you can use a spray bottle for this step, however, to ensure adequate saturation a spray bottle will be onerous.
Using your pressure sprayer set to medium/light intensity, spray over the grow medium in a zigzag pattern from edge to edge, starting at the top of the tray, slightly overlapping each stroke. We find that 2-3 passes over the tray are sufficient.
The medium needs to have enough water to sustain germination for about 3 days, but not be so wet that fungus will grow or that young shoots start to rot while in germination. Think damp not soggy.
To check if your medium is adequately saturated, make a small hole in a corner of the tray with your finger. The coco coir should be wet all the way through but not dripping into the bottom tray.
GROW TIP If you’re working indoors and are concerned about water on floors or other surfaces, place your tray inside an adequately sized storage bin to contain the overspray.
SOW SEEDS
Using your hand, spread seeds as evenly as possible all over the grow medium. We like to start with Sweet Pea at the centre , spreading it out to fill the rest of the tray.
On a 1010 tray the seed will be quite dense. Use your hand to spread the seed so that every pieces makes contact with the medium and the seed isn’t in piles.
Sweet Pea seeds do not need to be misted.
GERMINATION
Stack the second tray without holes in a nesting position over the sown seeds and place a weight on top. Between 10-15 lbs is ideal. We use 15 lb sandbags.
Place the tray in a cozy area where it can stay undisturbed for a few days. A temperature between 18 and 20 degrees Celsius (68 Fahrenheit) is needed for healthy and even germination.
GROW TIP If heating your space is not an option, you can use a seedling heat mat under your tray.
Sweet Pea needs 3-4 days to germinate. When calculating germination/grow cycle days, we consider the day you planted your seeds as day 0.
LET THERE BE LIGHT
On Day 4 your Sweet Pea shoots are ready for light.
At this point some growers will put Sweet Pea into blackout to force the shoots to grow taller. We find this unnecessary as Sweet Pea stretches up towards the light very well and leggy peas tend to become fibrous and unpleasant to eat.
GROW TIP The term “leggy” refers to very long stems.
Your Sweet Pea shoots will be very small and pale. On the first day under light give your microgreens a generous bottom watering, a full cup.
To bottom water, lift only the tray with holes and pour water into the bottom tray without holes, then lower the tray with holes. The grow medium and microgreens will absorb the water through capillary action.
HAPPY & HEALTHY GROWTH
You can grow your microgreens using other light sources but we recommend using complete spectrum LED grow lights.
Give your plants 16-18 hours of light every day. Over the first couple of days Sweet Pea microgreens will begin to photosynthesize, turning green and getting leafy.
GROW TIP Even plants need to sleep so if the space where you are growing your microgreens is exposed to sunlight, schedule the time your lights are off to coincide with nighttime.
Make sure you have adequate air circulation in the space where you are growing your microgreens as it is vital to the health of your crops.
Water your microgreens daily – a little goes a long way. It’s better to lightly water your microgreens twice a day then to overwater them once a day. Our recommended amount of water is 3/4-1 cup.
Remember, air circulation is vital to the health of your crops. Fungus and damping off disease are common in environments with poor air circulation and overwatering.
The edges of the tray will likely dry out fairly quickly because they are more exposed to air. We like to mist close to the grow medium around the perimeter where we find dry areas, avoiding the canopy.
HARVESTING & STORAGE
We prefer to harvest Sweet Pea microgreens before the tendrils develop, at about day 7 or 8. In our opinion Sweet Pea microgreens are most tender, sweet and flavourful at this stage, and not yet too fibrous.
If you intended to store the harvested microgreens, make sure the canopy and stems are dry. Microgreens stored when wet will start to decompose quickly.
The best way to harvest any microgreens is using a clean and sharp knife.
Scissors can work fine if you are harvesting to serve, however, if you intend to store harvested greens, scissors are not recommended. This is because scissors tear the stem rather than cut it, and torn stems bruise and start to decompose much quicker than stems cut cleanly with a disinfected knife.
We disinfect our knives using a solution composed of 1 part 3% food grade hydrogen peroxide mixed with 2 parts filtered water.
To harvest Sweet Pea microgreens, using one hand gently grab hold of a modest handful of the greens and slice the knife blade across the stems a little above the substrate to avoid picking up grow medium.
Store any microgreens in a clean airtight container in the fridge. If you are going to wash them, do so only when you intend to use them.
In our experience healthy, properly harvested and stored microgreens will keep in the fridge for at least 10 days.
Happy eating!