Oat Fodder not thick

[urbanquackjc]

I bought oat grains and am trying to grow fodder. Some of it germinated and is growing but I am not getting a mat of grass like I see with other peoples fodder. Can someone tell me if I am doing anything wrong? I am using tins (I think 9x12) which i water and drain daily.

 

[Sally PB]

Off the top of my head, I'd say maybe the grain just has a poor germination rate. In which case, well, you won't ever get a nice fodder out of it.

One other thing... did you soak the grain first? Most grains need to get thoroughly wet to sprout, and that can take a while. I soaked barley for 12 hours before spreading it out.

 

[AntiqueB]

I use winter wheat for fodder. I soak overnight, then water and drain once a day. It takes a couple days to see the roots begin to really grow, and about 4 days to get a mat. I spread them in the container in a layer one seed high, if that makes sense, instead of a pile of seed.

The sprouts will not stick together for the first few days. They have to get growing enough for that to happen.

 

[urbanquackjc]

Off the top of my head, I'd say maybe the grain just has a poor germination rate. In which case, well, you won't ever get a nice fodder out of it.

One other thing... did you soak the grain first? Most grains need to get thoroughly wet to sprout, and that can take a while. I soaked barley for 12 hours before spreading it out.

thanks for that information, I'll try to do an overnight soak to see if my next batches work!