I've been experimenting with the oats since I've got 50 lbs to use and the main huge difference is that very few seem to want to germinate if they're left open to dry out in the open air, but they almost all sprout when kept under a damp paper towel while gettimg established. Maybe too dry here?
That's a good point: Covering the oat seed with a damp cloth, i need to try that too. - But it would almost disqualify oats for being grown in the fodder-tower.
That's a good point: Covering the oat seed with a damp cloth, i need to try that too. - But it would almost disqualify oats for being grown in the fodder-tower.
It is a pain, definitely! I tried without and ut was a failure. I think my house is too dry. I then tried without the damp cloth and just addind more water and they started molding underneath. Will try to snap a few pics of that before tossing on the compost.
It is a pain, definitely! I tried without and ut was a failure. I think my house is too dry. I then tried without the damp cloth and just addind more water and they started molding underneath. Will try to snap a few pics of that before tossing on the compost.
Do yourself a favor and try Barley or Wheat! @gtaus and i found that they have the best germination rates. Rye isn't bad either, but my Ducks don't like the taste so much. They still eat it, but just like kids eat their brokkoli…
And i had the same mold failures, i am lucky that my garage is always around ~40F. My fodder grows slow, up to 19 days before feeding time, but ig rows mold free.
Do yourself a favor and try Barley or Wheat! @gtaus and i found that they have the best germination rates. Rye isn't bad either, but my Ducks don't like the taste so much. They still eat it, but just like kids eat their brokkoli…
And i had the same mold failures, i am lucky that my garage is always around ~40F. My fodder grows slow, up to 19 days before feeding time, but ig rows mold free.
I called around to the seed companies within an hour and wheat is expensive. I may seriously take a drive into KY to get some ...when these blasted oats run out. Hehehe
That's a good point: Covering the oat seed with a damp cloth, i need to try that too. - But it would almost disqualify oats for being grown in the fodder-tower.
I suppose anything is possible and you could certainly put a damp cloth on top of the seeds in the fodder bins in the fodder tower. But adding damp clothes just adds more work to a system that is designed to minimize the work. Having said that, if the damp cloth works for sprouting the oat seeds, then maybe it is worth it. I imagine a damp cloth could be put over the oat seeds for the first several days, until the oat seeds germinate, and then the cloth could be removed. I would think the cloth in the fodder bin for those first days could stay on top of the seeds and the fodder tower could be watered normally.
Before I would do that, I would want to know the germination rate of oats using a damp cloth versus not using the damp cloth. In other words, is the additional work in using the damp cloth really worth the effort? For example, I only had about a 25% germination rate for oat seeds. If using a damp cloth increased the germination rate to 40%, I still don't think I would bother with it as I have other options available to me. Also, whether or not the seeds germinate, the chickens will eat it all anyway.
One thing I can tell you is that my barley seeds in the fodder tower have about a 95% germination rate - without using any damp clothes - and my results are consistently good. Barley also just so happens to be the least expensive grain I can get locally for growing fodder. I just bought a 100 pound bag of barley seeds for $11.25. How can you beat that price?
I suppose anything is possible and you could certainly put a damp cloth on top of the seeds in the fodder bins in the fodder tower. But adding damp clothes just adds more work to a system that is designed to minimize the work. Having said that, if the damp cloth works for sprouting the oat seeds, then maybe it is worth it. I imagine a damp cloth could be put over the oat seeds for the first several days, until the oat seeds germinate, and then the cloth could be removed. I would think the cloth in the fodder bin for those first days could stay on top of the seeds and the fodder tower could be watered normally.
Before I would do that, I would want to know the germination rate of oats using a damp cloth versus not using the damp cloth. In other words, is the additional work in using the damp cloth really worth the effort? For example, I only had about a 25% germination rate for oat seeds. If using a damp cloth increased the germination rate to 40%, I still don't think I would bother with it as I have other options available to me. Also, whether or not the seeds germinate, the chickens will eat it all anyway.
One thing I can tell you is that my barley seeds in the fodder tower have about a 95% germination rate - without using any damp clothes - and my results are consistently good. Barley also just so happens to be the least expensive grain I can get locally for growing fodder. I just bought a 100 pound bag of barley seeds for $11.25. How can you beat that price?
That is what I hope to find next time! Youre right about the damp cloth only being helpful to get them started. Once they are going, i remove it so the sprouts can gain some height. I probably got a 95% germ rate doing so and 20% without so for me it's worth it, but i hope to not get stuck with oats after this bag is gone.
If you get a 95% germination rate for oats, please update this thread. That would be a fantastic result. And yes, if I could go from a germination rate on oats from 25% to 95%, then I would certainly use a damp cloth.
Whether or not you are able to get a high germination rate for your oat seeds, you don't have to be worried about getting "stuck" with oats because the chickens will gladly eat them up, whole grain, sprouted, or fodder. When I got such poor results from my oat seeds, I just mixed them up in my chicken scratch. BUT, if you do get a high germination rate, I might reconsider my option on oats and try it once again (with damp clothes) because it would be nice to offer my girls a variety of fodder to eat. They loved the oat fodder I did grow for them, but, like I said, it was only about a 25% germination rate and the rest was unsprouted oat seeds. So, compared to barley fodder results, I did not think oat fodder was worth any more effort. Your discovery might change my mind.
If you get a 95% germination rate for oats, please update this thread. That would be a fantastic result. And yes, if I could go from a germination rate on oats from 25% to 95%, then I would certainly use a damp cloth.
Whether or not you are able to get a high germination rate for your oat seeds, you don't have to be worried about getting "stuck" with oats because the chickens will gladly eat them up, whole grain, sprouted, or fodder. When I got such poor results from my oat seeds, I just mixed them up in my chicken scratch. BUT, if you do get a high germination rate, I might reconsider my option on oats and try it once again (with damp clothes) because it would be nice to offer my girls a variety of fodder to eat. They loved the oat fodder I did grow for them, but, like I said, it was only about a 25% germination rate and the rest was unsprouted oat seeds. So, compared to barley fodder results, I did not think oat fodder was worth any more effort. Your discovery might change my mind.
If barley is easily obtainable for you and yielding good results, I'd stick with it. My oats did germinate really well in recent pans. Even without any setup for growing fodder besides two pans withno drainage, nearly all but a few grains around the edges that were not under the towel sprouted and grew quite lush and green. I'm tossing these on the compost and will try again when I have more time to mess with it, but will be on the lookout for other grains when the time comes.
