Microgreens, also known as vegetable confetti, are all the rage in fancy restaurants around the globe. Raised from a variety of different vegetable seeds, they’re harvested just past the sprout period, but before they would qualify as baby greens – usually 10-14 days after planting. There’s a variety of ways to grow microgreens, and [Mr Ben] has developed a 3D printed rig to help.
The rig consists of two parts – a seed tray and a water tray underneath. The seed tray consists of a grid to house the broccoli seeds to be grown, with small holes in each grid pocket to allow drainage. They’re sized just under the minimum seed size to avoid the seeds falling through, and also provide a path for root growth. Beneath the seed tray, the water tray provides the required hydration for plant growth, and helps train the roots downward.
[Mr Ben] notes there are some possible improvements to the design. He suggests PETG would be the ideal filament to use for the prints, as it is foodsafe unlike PLA and ABS. Additionally, precautions could be taken to better seal the water tray to avoid it becoming a breeding ground for insects.
Overall, it’s a tidy project that makes growing these otherwise delicate and expensive greens much neater and tidier. There’s also plenty of scope out there to automate plant care, too. Video after the break.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCGV1DJq0Sg
theres something similar in the wild already – named “växxar” and it comes to your favorite nordic supplier of household items. includes rack and lighting if you fancy.
I can get .something like those trays out of the trash cans at the local gun range. some bullets come in trays with 50 little pockets. Great to repurpose for this.
@roger
I wouldn’t want the heavy metal exposure, personally. I have seen how dirty my hands get from the range, no way I want to expose myself to ingesting that grime.
You point it out: Actually lead contamination from bullets is largely unknown and underestimated. It poisons the food chain, particularly scavengers (http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.2193/0091-7648%282006%2934%5B167%3ABFIDRI%5D2.0.CO%3B2?journalCode=wbul&
and has acute consequences: https://www.thetrace.org/2016/04/gun-range-toxic-lead-pollution/
There are these things called dishwashers which ought to be able to clean those trays.
Computer technology continues to cross a line that I fear will come to a bad end, replace human life.
#define life
when do you draw this line you are talking about ?
Is a virus alive ? and a microvirus ? and a bacteria, is it alive, or just a complex biological robot ?
what is the ratio human cells / “alien” (bacteria, fungi, parasites) cells in a human body ?
what about the influence of those “aliens” on the *behavior* of their host ?
and the mass of all humans ? is it a live entity, or mere a disease for the planet ?
You don´t have to fear much about Computer technology replacing human life I think, humans are efficiently stupid enough to auto-destruct by transforming their environment into one that threatens their survival !
That, and ff the ever computers survive, they could be then considered as an evolutionary success, based on intelligent design…
A florescent light grid diffuser and wet paper towels could work?
Some paper towel and a small dish is all you need to grow alfalfa or any other kind of sprout. Calling them ‘microgreens’ and selling them at high prices is hipster nonsense.
https://www.theartofdoingstuff.com/grow-sprouts-in-4-days/
Don´t be so mean, it´s space-illusioned jargon: after all it´s a promising technology that for sure will enable humans living on Mars. NASA should have a look at that. Well, you have to time precisely bringing the first seeds, then after four days the happy marsionauts would have their first meal. Well, if they ever land alive…
Horribly space inefficient.
Microgreens are still getting all their nutrients from the seed when they’re harvested. A couple cm of soil, rockwool, or vermiculite in a standard 10/20 nursery tray are more than sufficient. All you need to do is keep the sprouts watered.
What you described is already the optimum way. You can even reuse the soil/growing medium. Drives me a little crazy when people try to “improve” in an area where they have no experience and have not even attempted to see how those who do it everyday do things.
” Beneath the seed tray, the water tray provides the required hydration for plant growth, and helps train the roots downward.” Priceless !!!
What happens if:
– you just water the seeds instead of providing these the required hydration ?
– if you put the water on top of the plants, can you train the root upward ?