Sprouting Wheat

[trescloudy]

Rinse, rinse and rinse... warm weather makes it tougher to keep mold away for sure.

I didn't like the idea of using bleach but lots use it. Got mold once in a while if I slacked off on rinsing.

Just gotta use cold water. Its probably more expensive and time consuming by not using bleach.

Im going to start growing fodder again when the weather cools back down.

I read that the nutritional value drops after 7 or 8 days when it starts getting much past 4 inches tall.

Because the birds eat it roots and all I think they get way more nutrition than the would just by eating grass. But then when birds are eating grass they also eat bugs and probably a little of the roots. Fodder roots smell very nutritious to me, I almost want to take a bite myself. I noticed that the chickens usually went right after the roots first and ate the grass blades afterwards.

I miss doing the fodder thing. The birds got so excited when I dropped fodder to them.

It's a little work but it just becomes part of the daily routine.

Looks like you are doing a great job.

 

[jthornton]

Rinse, rinse and rinse... warm weather makes it tougher to keep mold away for sure.

I didn't like the idea of using bleach but lots use it. Got mold once in a while if I slacked off on rinsing.

Did you rinse multiple times a day or several times in a row?

I'm growing indoors so temperature is pretty stable.

I also don't like the idea of using bleach and would prefer an alternate solution.

JT

 

[RebelChief]

Starting to get a routine going for sprouting wheat. I've been adding 1 drop of bleach to the soak water and to the rinse water and I'm still seeing a tiny bit of mold in a couple so I'll up that a bit and see.

Days 4 - 9, today I'll start cutting day 9 in half for each group of chickens.
View attachment 2263842

And when I get a chance I'll build a shelf for days 7 - 9.

JT

It looks awesome!!!

 

[trescloudy]

Did you rinse multiple times a day or several times in a row?

I'm growing indoors so temperature is pretty stable.

I also don't like the idea of using bleach and would prefer an alternate solution.

JT

If its warm you will want to rinse more often. You can get misters from grow supply shops or on the internet quite cheap. You just drill holes into pvc or cpvc and screw them in. It's not really difficult to set up, they have lots of videos on YouTube. It will need a pump and a way to run off the drain water. They often use shelves and put the trays on an angle and run off the drain water.

I definitely rinsed it good. If you see any starches from the seed, keep rinsing until you dont. The roots should always smell fresh.

 

[jthornton]

If its warm you will want to rinse more often. You can get misters from grow supply shops or on the internet quite cheap. You just drill holes into pvc or cpvc and screw them in. It's not really difficult to set up, they have lots of videos on YouTube. It will need a pump and a way to run off the drain water. They often use shelves and put the trays on an angle and run off the drain water.

I definitely rinsed it good. If you see any starches from the seed, keep rinsing until you don't. The roots should always smell fresh.

I setup a misting system in the downstairs bathroom a couple of winters back but don't want to go back to that route even though it worked well it was a mess in the bathtub.

I'll watch for the starches more now.

JT

 

[jthornton]

A few photos of harvest time and their disappearing act.


Rhode Island Red Hens


Cinnamon Queen Chicks... did I say Chicks they are pretty big...


JT

 

[RebelChief]

I setup a misting system in the downstairs bathroom a couple of winters back but don't want to go back to that route even though it worked well it was a mess in the bathtub.

I'll watch for the starches more now.

JT

The starchy water is also good for your house plants

 

[jthornton]

Trying to find the lowest ratio of bleach to water that will prevent mold from growing. So what I've been doing for the last two days is adding 5 drops to 3 quarts of water. Downstairs I have 5 containers with the first one having dry wheat grass seeds to soak for 8 - 12 hours today. I pour the water into each container then mix up another 3 quarts and go upstairs to the 5 containers up there and divide the water up in them. I let them all sit a few minutes and soak then drain all but the first container and bring the 5th container from downstairs to upstairs to put into the window. I'll take the 10th container and cut it in half around lunch time and give half to each group.

I figure in 5 - 6 days I'll know if there is enough bleach to kill all the mold. Today I see no mold up to day 7 and only tiny bit of mold left in days 8 - 10.

I cobbled up a shelf so I'd have room for 6 containers.


JT

 

[RebelChief]

Trying to find the lowest ratio of bleach to water that will prevent mold from growing. So what I've been doing for the last two days is adding 5 drops to 3 quarts of water. Downstairs I have 5 containers with the first one having dry wheat grass seeds to soak for 8 - 12 hours today. I pour the water into each container then mix up another 3 quarts and go upstairs to the 5 containers up there and divide the water up in them. I let them all sit a few minutes and soak then drain all but the first container and bring the 5th container from downstairs to upstairs to put into the window. I'll take the 10th container and cut it in half around lunch time and give half to each group.

I figure in 5 - 6 days I'll know if there is enough bleach to kill all the mold. Today I see no mold up to day 7 and only tiny bit of mold left in days 8 - 10.

I cobbled up a shelf so I'd have room for 6 containers.
View attachment 2266941

JT

How long do you leave the sprouts in the dark? My last few batches only half sprouted. I think I didn't leave them in the dark long enough.

 

[jthornton]

How long do you leave the sprouts in the dark? My last few batches only half sprouted. I think I didn't leave them in the dark long enough.

The sprout ratio I think depends more on the seeds. I have some wheat feed from last year that less than half will sprout. The fresh seeds from Power Grow all sprout. The covers seem to keep more moisture in. The sides of the containers are clear so they are not really in the dark.

Just took a close up look at the wheat grass seeds that soaked 12 hours yesterday from 5:30am to 5:30pm and all of the seeds have started to sprout at the 24 hour mark.

I have 5 pounds of barley on the way to test with as I've read on here many times folks sprouting barley seeds for their chickens.

JT