In the past I have used an aeroponic method of growing sprouts in large clear tote bins, with a misting line fitted around the rim.
Foggers are used to produce a highly oxygenated mist to spray into trays. These trays have drainage holes, and the whole container is slightly angled to drain the water. An irrigation valve and timer are used to mist briefly every 3-4 hours, though this is intended for indoors. Outdoors it would be more effective to add more during warmer times of the day.
I used the municipal water supply passed through an inline chlorine filter to adequately pressurize the flow.
An alternative to this is to use a large pump up fertilizer sprayer(new obviously) to pressurize the water. It easier this way to add in nutrients (AP water perhaps
)than tap water due to plumbing particulars.
One would have to pump it up every few days and add water, but that is not unreasonable.
The formal plans to build these were developed here and are available for a small cost :
http://www.eat-sprouts.com/
I am very impressed with the results from this unit, so I chose to integrate the system into my AP system...here goes.
Factors for effective sprout growing:
- even moisture application
- high oxygen
- sufficient airflow
- not intense light (ideally here would be diffused sunlight)
- not crowded seeds (experimentation will determine your capacity, which also depends upon the sprout grown)
Details:
-Built a frame to hold the containers from 1/2" pvc pipe and fittings, to hold the trays above the duckweed channel.
-Containers are drawer organizer trays with small holes drilled around bottom corners (will post images soon)
-Built a frame for shade cloth from steel and fastened misting line to it.
-Aim mist nozzles diagonally down, staggered from each side along the chamber
-Connect valve and timer to water supply lines (found at garden supply stores), you will need to aquire appropriate fittings and possibly filters depending on your water supply. Particulate matter will eventually clog nozzles, along with calcium deposits from hard water. They can be cleaned with a vinegar solution though in most cases.
- fastened shade cloth
- timer is set to run more often during warm hours to keep temps down, but still at 3-5 hour intervals over night. Not for too long, 1-3 minutes is sufficient. Indoors a 3-4 hour interval over 24hrs works well
-do not use soil, perlite works ok so far for microgreens (pea shoots, sunflower,etc; wheatgrass does not need a medium.
-sprinkle seeds in trays (the fun starts here...well, it started well before that for me
)
alfalfa
clover
sunflower
broccoli
radish
chives
wheat grass
pea shoots
.............etc.
Notes:
- If mold is experienced your seeding density is too high or you have insufficient air flow
- consider a chlorine filter if using municipal water
- if indoors you must follow proper plumbing protocols to avoid a leak and the consequences of a flood
Situate near a suitable drain or be diligent with emptying a large bucket under your container. Account for the liters of water put out from the nozzles(learn flow rate and multiply by the number of nozzles you have...or just run them to find out
)
Sprouts are great in wraps or rolls of aquaponic grown lettuce leaf
with various sauces (I'm fond of goats milk yogurt based tzatziki), and are high in minerals and nutrients.
More photos soon:
Backyard Aquaponics
