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Microgreens Grower
by Urban Micro
Just a few glitches
Well, after a few test runs, which are still running, the system seems to be holding up pretty well. But there are a few glitches still – mostly in process, but a few infrastructure problems as well. As I am preparing the batches I am noticing little sources of potential contamination. For example, the buckets…
Market Dates Established
I got my market dates confirmed yesterday and I will be doing at least 35 markets this year.ย I think I can! I think I can! I think I can!ย I had budgeted 40, but 35 is OK – and I will not have full production for all of them as I wil sometimes to…
More Success
Well, the past few 2weeks has been a wild ride! ย I shift between being elated and overwhelmed with anxiety. The sprouts have been selling well at the market. ย I do 2 markets each week – Wednesday and Saturday. ย The Wednesday market has been inconsistent so it is hard to determine production levels for that market.…
More Success
Well, the past few 2weeks has been a wild ride! ย I shift between being elated and overwhelmed with anxiety. The sprouts have been selling well at the market. ย I do 2 markets each week – Wednesday and Saturday. ย The Wednesday market has been inconsistent so it is hard to determine production levels for that market.…
Moving along
Well, things are moving along quite nicely now. I applied the synthetic mulch to the smaller area and now just have to play the waiting game. The videos below will provide a much better summary then I could ever hope to write at this time of night: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbKJyPg15h8] [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iApHoWFcvAs]
Moving Right Along
Well, one day you are growing sprouts and the next day you are measuring them in a laboratory! Day , Monday ended up being measurement day because the sprouts had been growing so well that they had already reached the size they would be outside. In fact, by day 9 they had already become tall…
Next Trials
Well, after a relatively successful first trial I am happy to say that I can now demonstrate how not to do a trial! It’s not that bad, but because I am so busy it is hard to be as precise with details. These trials are looking at different growing mediums – mixes of sand and…
Off to the Market…
I feel bad that I have not been keeping this blog too up to date, but here we are again! I have now done my first two markets. ย The first one was on Saturday and I sold out before the market was over. ย The second was on Wednesday and did not go as well. ย It…
On the lookout for land!
Well, after a very successful season I am pretty much fully wrapped up now. ย I should have my production manual finished within the next 2 months and will soon start doing seed trials for next season as I am considering trying to get my production Certified Organic. ย There may be a few challenges since I…
Onward and Upward
And on we go still. Just did the Saturday market today after doing the Friday harvest by myself for the first time. ย It took two of us six hours to do the harvest and it took me seven on my own. ย Go figure. ย However, I find it was easier to keep the harevst area cleaner…
Ready to go
Well, I have officially have one bench all ready to go. Now I just need to find someone to sell sprouts to. The first market is not until June 6 so I would like to do a few test runs before then. Perhaps to a few supermarkets or restaurants and SPUD. Here is a picture…
Reflections
I am currently running two personal projects at UBC Farm. The main one is developing a model for urban sunflower sprout production under the direction of Brent Skura; the other is the development of a permanent “no-till” field at the farm. It is the no-till project that is the focus of my CSL, which has…
Setting up for 2011
So I started prepping the sprout site for the season. ย I’ll have a few changes this year, but nothing too drastic. Today I rebuilt the prep table and built a permanent cover over it. ย This will make it easier to maintain and much easier to work in adverse weather. ย Additional cover will still need to…
Site Secure for Another Year
Well I have really neglected this blog! But I am happy to say that I have now secured my sunflower sprout site for another season which is a nice relief. And a bonus on top of that is even though I offered, I will not be charged any rent for the season. ย That makes me…
Some urine stuff
Ok, well, my yellow bucket has been sitting in my locker at school for about 5 weeks now. I have not been using it that much lately as I am quite busy and a bit disorganized these days. The bucket contains a mix of urine, of course, as well as saw dust and bokashi (selected…
Sprout trials begin
And off we go. I started sprout trials in the horticulture greenhouse at UBC yesterday. Last night I prepared trays of growing medium and soaked seeds to be planted this morning. Everything went according to plan! I have posted three videos and a picture below detailing some of the work I did yesterday and today.…
stressed out
Well, as much as I love this project and am dedicated to it, I am seriously considering putting it on hold until next season. even though I am already more than a hundred hours into planning this year, it may have to wait. I have a meeting with UBC Farm on Thursday and a meeting…
Success and Catastrophe!
Well, we are now rolling with the sprouts!ย I did my first harvest on Friday (May 22) and harvested much more than I expected.ย 12 trays gave me 78 bags!, which is 6.5 bags per tray – much more than the 4 I predicted.ย I sold 36 bags to local retailers and a few to…
The choice is made
So, I will be using the black oil seeds after all! Funny how things go. I was so reluctant to use them in the beginning, but they just performed too well! Their biomass/grams of seed was three times that of the confection variety and they were very consistent in all measurements related to the confection…
The dreaded manual
Well, now that production is mostly under control it is timeto start writing the production manual for small-scale and urban sunflower sprout production. ย This will be quite a project and wil include an annotated version of the Code of Practice for the Hygienic Production of Sprouts (CFIA document) and all documents referenced therein; a step-by-step…
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