Punch holes in my fodder system....

[MamaAB]

Ok so I decided to try fodder because everyone here showed me how awesome it can be! So I have a very little set up. But I am thinking I am doing something wrong. So help... punch holes in my system so that i can get it right.

I bought cleaned whole oats. (will these even sprout?)

We put them in water for almost 24 hours.

strained them, and put them into bowls with holes on the bottom.

We "water" them day and night.

We are on day 2-3 and I noticed that the ones we started first had the slightest bit of mold starting UGH UGH UGH

I didn't do a bleach bath or anything of that nature. I am not even sure these seeds will grow.

Should I try a diff seed even though I have 50 pounds of oats?

 

[christiethorn1]

hopefully someone will respond to this cuz I am curious as well!!

 

[MamaAB]

Well today would be day 6 on the oats and they are sprouting some but they are not "grass" at ALL yet.

Maybe wheat would have been better

 

[Hypertay]

I had great success with lentils from the grocery store and black oil sunflower seed. They grew fast, I fed out at 6-7 days and as long as they were well drained I didn't have a mold problem. You can also just sprout them, feed on the 3rd day. On cold mornings I rinsed the cold sprouts with hot water before feeding.

 

[ChickensRDinos]

Hmmm. I am fairly new to fodder as well and have not yet tried oats but that seems not quite right. What temp is the water you are watering with? Cold water helps prevent mold. How often are you watering and is it draining fully? Does it look slimey at all?

 

[ScottM]

Barley is the quickest and wheat/oats are very slow by comparison.

How long does it take for the water to drain?

 

[MamaAB]

Well apparently I can't get Barley locally so I am trying to find something else that will sprout quickly.

Any other suggestions?

 

[JanetS]

I had mold problems with wheat but great success with BOSS and rye grass.

 

[MamaAB]

I heard BOSS was slow to sprout as well?

What would be faster? Besides Barely that I apparently can't get...

 

[Cknldy]

Just to experiment I soaked some BOSS in water for about 5 hours, then spread onto soil and watered. Had the soil in a clear tackle box infront of a sunny window. I didn't snap the lid shut but just rested the top to the bottom. By day 2 and 3 the green sprouts were pushing the lid open due to greenhouse affect. Anything clear over the top will do the trick and it works pretty fast. Soaking first is really just softening the shell for faster germination. Hope this gives u encouragement to keep on trying