Introduction

Facebook groups on growing microgreens have many suggestions on how to start. “Buy this equipment.” “Don’t get your seeds from here.” “You need XYZ tool.” And so on. The info is disjointed. The advice is from beginners. We love seeing people help each other, but we wanted to compile a concise but quality list of everything you need to get started. Why trust us? My name is Garrett, and I’m the owner of Piedmont Microgreens in Durham, NC. We’ve been in business for four years. We grow 350+ trays per week for dozens of restaurants, as well as distributors, schools, and grocery stores. If I were starting over and I only had $1,000 to create the best setup, I’d buy the items below. If you only have $500, you can reduce the volume or quality of certain items. For example, opt for the cheaper 1020 trays, a smaller volume of seeds, and a smaller box of packaging from Amazon or Webstaurant. After making your first few sales, I suggest investing in a thermal printer from a brand like Brother to create quality labels for cheap. Otherwise, you’ll want to read our blog about the first four software tools for getting started. This article is for those looking to grow for profit, not just for personal use. If you want to grow only for yourself or friends and family, you can get by with much less.

Disclaimer: This is not an article about how to grow or sell microgreens. This article is intended only to offer a guide for getting the best equipment and inputs to get started. To learn about the best microgreens to grow as a beginner, read our blog, The 3 Best Microgreen Varieties to Grow for Beginners. To learn about the best software tools to get started, read our blog, The 4 Software Tools Every Microgreen Farmer Needs! We’re not including the cost of software or a digital presence, such as a website.

Equipment List

We’ll assume you have the following tools and equipment.

• A home refrigerator with extra space to store the microgreens after harvesting.
• A garden hose with a basic hose head. The hose head should have a “Shower” setting.
• A printer for generating paper invoices.

Getting Set Up

I will walk you through the setup and production process in order. This will help you see how the many pieces fit together.

• Purchase and assemble the 6-tier wire rack from Costco. Adjust the shelves to be 10” apart, which should be 11 notches on the poles. A 6-tier shelf allows for five operating shelves. The top three will be for growing. The bottom two will be for germination. The top of the rack can be used for storage.
• Unbox the LED lights and zip-tie them to each of the top three shelves. Zip-tie them to the underside of each shelf. Two per shelf. Space them about two inches from the outside and about eight inches from each other. You can watch this
  video from the team at OnTheGrow for a tutorial. Ignore anything about fans. The great thing about these LED lights is that you can connect six lights in sequence. That means all six lights are going to be controlled by a single switch. You won’t need a power strip,; the single plug can plug into the outlet timer.
• Plug in the outlet timer and connect the single plug from the six lights connected in sequence. Follow the package instructions for the outlet timer. Set the timer to run the lights ON for 16 hours and OFF for 8 hours.
• Take your 1020 trays outside and fill six top trays with soil. The top trays are the versions with holes in them. Spread the soil around evenly, breaking up any clumps. Once the soil is evenly distributed for all six trays, use a bottom tray to tamp down the soil. To do this, place a bottom tray on top of the soil. Then, press down on the soil in the middle and along the edges. Tamping will compress the soil, pushing out excess air and creating a smooth surface for seeding. Remove the top tray used for tamping. Sow the desired crops and water the trays thoroughly using the “Shower” setting on your hose head. Please remember this isn’t meant to be a guide on how to grow microgreens.
• After sowing and watering each of the six trays, nest each inside a bottom tray. Bottom trays are the ones without holes. Each tray should now be a set of trays - bottom tray, then top tray, then soil, then seeds. Take that full set and place it directly on top of another set. Repeat until you have two stacks of three planted trays. Place one more empty bottom tray on top of each stack.
• Place the two stacks of freshly planted trays on the bottom shelves of the grow rack. Place 10-15 pounds of Home Depot pavers on top of the stacks. You can use two bricks or one large paver. Most paver types weigh 10-15 pounds. Most bricks weigh 5 pounds. The extra weight aids in germination. If you want to learn more about why, read our blog, Why Should You Weigh Down Your Microgreens During Germination?
• In this article, we suggest starting with broccoli, pea, and radish microgreens. All three crops germinate for three days. Let the two stacks sit on the shelf for three days without checking on them. After three days, remove the weights and remove the bottom tray you placed on top.
• Place the six freshly germinated trays on any of the upper three shelves. The lights should be set to run automatically. Use the three-liter pitcher to water each tray. You can use water from your kitchen sink. Lift the top tray and add 300-500mL to the bottom tray. Slowly lower the top tray and allow the soil to soak up the water via the holes in the top tray. Water each tray every 12-24 hours, depending on moisture levels.
• The ideal grow time for broccoli, radish, and pea microgreens is 10, 7, and 9 days, respectively. When each variety is ready for harvest, remove the tray from the grow rack and place it on the kitchen table. Place an empty container on your kitchen scale and press the tare button. A 24-ounce container can hold 3 to 4 ounces of these microgreen varieties.
• Use one hand to gently grab a section of the crop canopy. Use the other hand to cut the stems about 1” above the soil surface using the harvest knife. Check for any dirt or roots, and then place the microgreens directly into the container. When the scale reads the desired weight, seal the container with a lid.
• Place the final product in your refrigerator until it’s time to deliver. Use the delivery bag to keep the product cold during transit.
• After each harvest, you’re left with a block of used soil, root matter, and stem stubble. You need to decide how to get rid of this organic matter. With such a small initial volume of trays, you can dump the soil residue in your city’s brown bin. You can feed it to chickens, contact a composting company, or dump it in your garden.
• Scrub the trays clean using a spare kitchen sponge and soap. Rinse the trays and set them out in the sun to dry. The sun is a great UV disinfectant. At this stage in your journey, you don’t need to worry too much about harsh sterilizing chemicals, like hydrogen peroxide or SaniDate.

Conclusion

The ~$65.00 of soil should fill about 65 trays. The sowing density for broccoli, radish, and pea are 18g, 40g, and 300g per tray, respectively. You will run out of soil long before you run out of seed, if you purchase the recommended volume. Five pounds of radish seed is enough for about 56 trays (454g/lb 5lbs = 2,270g/ 40g/tray = 56.75 trays). Five pounds of broccoli seed is enough for about 126 trays (454g/lb 5lbs = 2,270g/ 18g/tray = 126.1 trays). 25 pounds of pea seed is enough for about 37 trays (454g/lb * 25lbs = 11,350g/ 300g/tray = 37.8 trays). Altogether, that means you can grow about 219 trays using the seed volume we recommend. A good heuristic for microgreen economics is that you can sell the average tray for $20.00. At $20.00/tray and 219 trays, you can make $4,380 in revenue. This is, obviously, back-of-napkin math, but the numbers are pretty generous.

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