Categories
MICROGREENS

How to grow sunflower microgreens without soil (Pictures)

Sunflower microgreens should be everyone’s easy go to mini crop. I, for one, have been growing sunflower microgreens without soil or media for a long time.

I affirmatively recommend starting out by growing sunflower microgreens without media if you are new to microgreens. Not only does sunflower microgreens (depending on variety of course) give you some amazing flavor; I would say they are virtually fail safe for would be hesitant new growers.

Growing this mini crop will be so easy. Get ready to kick yourself why you haven’t been doing this sooner.

The magic 3 when growing sunflower microgreens without soil or media

You can do sunflower microgreens soil-free without any media. Yes, that’s been an absolute winner for me. Key factors that influence your soil-free success with sunflower microgreens, in my experience, are

Water
Light
Air

Water

No water, the crop will be slow to grow, too much water you run the risk of molds developing. Water must just be right at about once or twice per day watering. If you are struggling with moulding make sure you are not excessively watering your plants.

Light

No light, the crop will struggle to green because no photosynthesis could take place. If you are using artificial light and it’s placed too high above the crop, the crop will spend much of its energy growing tall attempting to rich for the light. In turn you will struggle to get any green micro leaves which is really what you are after. Look for a balance.

Air

Little air circulation, and you are creating just the right environment for molds to develop. Once molds develop I feel my crop is contaminated. Even if I could take some measures to recover, such as pulling out the bad parts, it’s not looking as nice anymore and takes away the fun too. So I just through away everything. If you are struggling with molds if your water levels are just right make sure your plants have good air circulation.

So that’s it. That’s the magic 3 for me. If you get these three correct which is really not a big deal, you will be having a boat load of sunflower microgreens to eat and give away as often as you did like.

Some regular but useful stuff about sunflower microgreens

While what I am about to say about sunflower microgreens seem regular, it should be the reason why you would want to grow them and eat them just about always. At least in my case, apart from the fun of having a microgarden, I grow and eat sunflower microgreens for the following reasons…

  • they are high in vitamin B
  • they contain vitamin C and are good for circulatory system including blood pressure and heart disease
  • they are a good source of protein (which makes them ideal for vegetarian dishes)
  • they offer Increased resistance to disease and illness
  • they boost energy
  • and much more benefits associated with microgreen nutrient-dense characteristics.

I will mention thought that microgreens represent a new and emerging research frontier among nutritionists. Early studies indicate unparalleled benefits compared to fully mature plants. I suspect we are in for further pleasant findings over and above what is already known.

General microgreens growing equipment & material

Before I go on to explain what you will need to grow sunflower microgreens in particular, here is a list of some equipment and materials commonly used when growing microgreens in general. Also see how to grow microgreens indoors here.

What you need to grow sunflower microgreens without soil im particular

We are now getting in into the meat of it. You will need a couple of things to start growing sunflower microgreens. I will run through each one of the requirements before I talk about how to actually grow them. You will need…

Dried sunflower seed

sunflower seed for microgreens

Shown above are dried sunflower seeds which are not chemically treated. This is intentional. When growing microgreens in general it is important to use seeds that have not been chemically treated. This is a health precaution.

To grow sunflower microgreens I use dried sunflower seeds. To the sunflower plant, sunflower seeds are its fruit. This is were we get sunflower oil and other products and by-products. There are types of sunflower seeds. The three main types are NuSun, Linoleic, and High-oleic.

While I am not particularly bothered by this and virtually see no need to do it, some microgardners go a step further as to use only seeds that have been grown organically. That’s alright too, but shouldn’t stop you from getting started if you have no access to organic seeds.

So depending on the amount you want to grow of sunflower microgreens, which is also determined by your container size, I recommend you start by getting just two handfuls of the seed.

Another factor to take into account when deciding on how much crop to grow is that sunflower microgreens have a best-by-date. The closer your consumption is to harvest date the better the flavor. I therefore find it best to grow a bit at a time according to my consumption patterns.

Now that you have your seed, you will also need a…

Growing Container

microgreens growing tray

This is a grocery store punnet above, which became available after a grocery run. As part of conscious household re-purposing and for convenience, I use a simple punnets as shown here to grow not only sunflower microgreens but just about all the other microgreens that I grow. In it’s own right I would say this is container growing!

A common question is how big, wide and deep should a container for growing sunflower microgreens without soil be…

how deep should your tray be when growing sunflower microgreens without soil

As shown above, I am most concerned about the depth of the punnet more than anything else. At 3 cm/1.8 inch deep, it has proven to work just fine.

You want to avoid containers that are too deep. The goal is to have air circulating easily and for the stems to soon grow tall enough to clear the punnet 1.8 inch sides.

While some microgarderners would prefer to punch a few holes beneath the punnet or container for drainage, I grow my sunflower greens without holes beneath. However, I do punch holes for other microgreens such as when growing lettuce.

If you follow this method, any water that you water the sunflower crop with, get to sit at the base of the punnet because without drainage holes there is no way for the water to escape. This is a good thing. I do this because sunflower microgreens are very thirsty. Modestly watering at once per day, this amount of water does no harm to the plants and in my experience does not increase the risk of molds forming.

With the growing container ready, also get a…

Kitchen bowel

kitchen bowl

You will need a simple kitchen bowl like this one shown here to soak your seeds first. It need not exactly be a kitchen bowl. Any cut out container that could hold water will do.You could even use a bottle cut in half for this purpose. It doesn’t really matter, all that matters is having somewhere to soak your seeds!

Not everyone soak their seeds first, some go ahead to sprout their sunflower microgreens in soil without water soaking. I soak my sunflower seeds to speed up germination by weakening the tough shell, and also to allow the seeds to take in some moisture. All this is good for speedy germination.

Finally you will also need a…

Colander

colander for sprouting sunflower microgreens

You can get a colander as a borrowed item from your kitchen. It is necessary for rinsing out the seeds repeatedly. This will be for the next two to three days.

In my early days I discovered that sunflower seeds tend to bleach out a purple color. This could permanently stain you colander or any container the seeds and water draining out from the seeds may come into contact with.

For this reason you may want to set aside a special colander for this purpose. What you see above is my already stained colander which I use all the time. Again a cut out old container which you punch out holes all around it should be a sufficient work about colander.

With these items in place, it’s time to take concrete steps to grow our sunflower microgreens without need for any soil.

Step-by-step guide to growing your sunflower microgreens without soil

Step 1 – Soak your sunflower seeds overnight

soaked sunflower seeds before growing without media

Take your handful or two (or desired amount) of dried sunflower seeds and soak in a container overnight as shown above. Initially, your sunflower seeds, because they are dry, will float. Using your hands ensure all seeds are in contact with water. The bulk of the seeds should immediately sink and sit below the water.

An eight hour soak will also do just fine, if you opt not to soak overnight.

You want to soak the seeds to allow them to absorb some water/moisture which will be needed to kick-start the germination process. Whether or not you soak them exposed to some light or in a dark place or covered doesn’t matter. I always soak my seeds exposed to light with no problems.

Step 2 – Transfer your sunflower seeds to Colander

sunflower seeds in colander

Following overnight soaking (or 8 hours of soaking) as in Step 1, transfer your sunflower seeds to a colander as shown above.

This process will allow the seeds to drain off any excess water. The colander will be their home for the next 48 hours to 72 hours.

Twice to thrice per day, using your kitchen sink, run some water over the seeds (which is the rinsing process) whilst still in the colander. This ensures that the seeds do not become slimy and go bad.

This also prevents dehydration of your sunflower seeds. When left in the open air as is the case in the colander, the seeds tend to loose a good deal of moisture.

24 hours later…

sprouting sunflower seeds

Within 24 hours following putting of the sunflower seeds into the colander, there are clear and exciting signs of your sunflower seeds sprouting. Interestingly, and so don’t be fooled, these are actually roots coming out first. Many people tend to think these are leaves.

This sprouting will increase and become more apparent as hours pass by. We are talking of changes in hours now. In response to this increased sprouting, to protect the emerging delicate roots, increase your water rinsing frequency to prevent them from drying up. We want the sprouts to grow significantly before we move on to Step 3.

Here is a closer look of the sprouting sunflower microgreens…

sprouting sunflower microgreens

You may have come across before (or later will) some approaches were the sprouting seeds are covered. I usually just allow them to sprout whilst uncovered as shown here. One thing I do, though, is avoiding exposing them to direct sunlight so they are not scorched and dry up.

Step 3 – Transfer seeds to growing container

transfer sprouting sunflower seed to punnet

Some 48 hours to 72 hours later, the final step is to move your sprouting sunflower seeds from the colander to your growing container as shown here. Our quest to grow sunflower microgreens without soil is taking some really good shape!

In this case, to mention again, the container is a simple grocery store re-purposed punnet with no holes beneath. Don’t think too hard about it, any decent container satisfying the depth measurements given earlier above will do just fine.

Spread the sprouting seeds in the punnet in a crowded fashion as shown above. Some seeds can be on top of each other, that’s okay, they will sort themselves out as the root network develops. This will also ensure dense growth and support for each other as they grow. Remember we are growing the sunflower microgreens without soil which would anchor the plants.

Root network development…

Once your sunflower seeds are in the container, watered at least once per day, the sprouting roots will work had to anchor the crop. This tend to happen in a very aggressive manner.

When I first saw the root network as pictured below I was totally blown away! You will witness this development beginning day 2 of the transfer of the sprouting seeds from the colander to punnet/container.

sunflower microgreens root network

The sunflower seeds will rapidly create an intricate root network covering the entire floor of the punnet or container. What you see here is the base of the sprouted sunflower seeds well developed, well networked.

This root network apart from anchoring the sprouts as they grow into stems and green leaves, also works as a thirsty sponge that sucks up a lot of water (the reason I don’t find a need to put holes beneath my growing container).

This calls for watering once per day by simply pouring water into the bottom of punnet. Avoid drowning or covering the seeds with water. Remember they need air and exposure to light.

Many people are surprised that sunflower microgreens can grow and be ready for harvest without any soil. This is indeed amazing. The science behind this is that the sunflower microgreens very much rely on nutrients contained in the seed itself. They do not need any soil nutrients as one would initially assume.

Step 4 – When to harvest your sunflower microgreens

sunflower_microgreens_matured

Some 5 to 7 days later following step 3, you will have something as shown above. These sunflower microgreens look just great for a salad. However, when to harvest them is a frequently asked question.

The most frequent answer is that the best time to harvest is just as the true leaves start to emerge. This is what I also follow. Usually, true leaves are the third leaf that appears following the maturity of cotyledons.

Take a look below. Cotyledons are the “leaf” like growth, green in color in our case, that follows the sprouting. So as shown below, we have two cotyledons that came out of the seed as the shell fell off.

In the middle we have the true leaves coming out. Around this occurrence is when many people go for the harvest, me also included.

sunflower-true-leaves

Overall, I did say it’s really up to you when you want to harvest. Follow the recommended timing first, but do not be afraid to let your sunflower microgreens go a little further so you determine for yourself if you did like the taste and flavor when the leaves are a little older. In other words, feel free to curve out your own path!

How to harvest your soil-free sunflower microgreens

sunflower_microgreens_harvest

When harvesting my sunflower microgreens, I use a kitchen scissors to graze them off. These ones shown above are soon after harvest as I prepared this guide.

The actual level at which I cut them is towards the upper end of the stem and not close to the floor of the punnet. This is deliberate and a precaution against possible contamination. I recommend this approach.

Contamination may come from the rotting seeds that may have failed to sprout to full life or which just failed for one reason or another.

How to remove seed shells from your harvested sunflower microgreens

sunflower_seed_shells

One unique characteristic of sunflower microgreens are the seed shells which tend to be carried along by sprouting leaves remaing on top as the sprout matures into microgreens.

What happens is that the sprouting root lifts up the seed as the stem emerges rising towards the light and the shell gradually opens up to let out the cotyledons. So there is often a lot of hangers on! This means, in many cases, the entire top of the microgreens becomes densely covered with inedible shells.

One trick is to gently run an open palm of your hand over the canopy of the microgreens before harvest. This will cause the shells to come off or drop off. Some of the shells you will need to pick by hand to ensure they are not harvested together with your edible crop.

Try as much as possible never to allow them to find their way into a dish. This would be very unpleasant in your mouth.

How to store your sunflower microgreens

packaging_ziplock

The harvest is complete, now what to do with the harvest?. Storage of your harvested sunflower microgreens is not something to ignore. Sunflower microgreens have a relatively longer shelf live provided they are properly stored and refrigerated.

At harvest, rinse them preferably under running water and then put them in a zip lock bag.

I make sure to label them (because there are other microgreens that I grow) and store them away in the fridge. Microgreens tend to look alike and my easily confuse the grower when its time for recipes.

It is possible to keep your sunflower microgreens for up to two weeks in the refrigerator in conditions not too cold. In other words, store them in the warmest part inside the fridge. Generally, I would say sunflower microgreens are at their best in terms of flavor the closer they are to harvest date.

It is for this reason that I prefer to run a growing cycle of a few of them at a time to ensure I eat them fresh as much as possible. There are roughly some 7 days between Step 1 and harvest. So it’s fairly easy to develop a cyclic routine.

So this is it. This is how I grow sunflower microgreens without soil. I hope you will jump into it and put them into all sorts of salads or simply enjoy as is, as is the case with my kids!