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Post by Adri on Aug 17, 2015 17:24:59 GMT -5
Hi, I was excited to try fodder. I bought a Kruses recleaned bag of barley some months ago. From the get go I have had problems with the sprouting. No mold issues though! I get this white pasty film that developers on the end of the seed as it starts to sprout. The white "stuff" then just works its way from one end of the seed to the other if left alone. Some seeds sprout before the film can develope and they will continue to grow and develope roots and green growth with out the white stuff, but the majority develope this "stuff". I have varried my soak times from 4 hours to 15 hours all in an experimentation. The longer the soak time the more white stuff I get. I rinse and lay out in my clean very holey trays. Btw, baking soda or a splash of bleach in the soaking cup don't do a thing. I have varied my waterings in experimentation too. It seems that watering 1x per day helps limit the white stuff but then the seeds dry out. In an attempt to wash the stuff off I rinse and agitate with a strainer 1-2x a day (very time consuming & water consuming) but it seems to help. I periodically mix the seed with my fingers to airate them. Of course this defeats the purpose of developing a root mat. I also only have the seeds about 1 cm thick or less (in case you were wondering). I took the seeds camping with me to the mountains and it did it there too. I've tried growing them outside at home, but the rats ate the seed. Ironically they went for the seeds with the white stuff 1st. I moved them back inside with a fan all to no avail. The temp in my house is 78 during the day (90-100 outside). When I was in the mountains the temps were between 45 and 80 degrees and it happened there too. When I rinse and strain my seeds 2-3 days in, the rinse water turns a milky frothy white with mini cottage cheese blobs floating. The only think I can think is happening is it is fermenting (fast). It smells like ferment (but I'm not sure). The chickens love it no mater what, but I am trying to grow fodder not ferment it. I live in So Calif and my grass is dead. I want greens for them to eat during this drought. I've watched countless YouTube videos and read so many blogs and articles, but no one has ever mentioned this problem. I have a lot of seed to go through still so I am hoping it's not the seed. Please help, I've been trouble shooting for months now!
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Post by Adri on Aug 17, 2015 17:33:49 GMT -5
This is a picture of a few of my seeds with the white "stuff". I've done a good job of rinsing it off so I pulled out a few that still had it on them. Because of this stuff sometimes I will get 1-2 sprouted seeds or sometimes up to 40% sprouted (only happened 1x). What is it and how do I prevent it.?
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Post by Sprouts on Aug 19, 2015 7:59:13 GMT -5
Adri what do they look like on day 6 or 7? Can I see a picture of them in the tray? I see nothing wrong with the seed itself. How old is the grain you are trying to sprout? Fodder does get a white film and white hairy looking growth, this is fine as long as it doesn't develop into black or pink mold, I would try small samples of grain from others sources if it isn't growing into greens, The fermented smell is also normal. I water mine for 20-30 minutes twice a day adjusting up or down as needed.
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Post by Adri on Aug 20, 2015 15:27:45 GMT -5
Thank you for getting back to me. I usually dont get to day 6-7 because it has turned into a foul "cottage cheesey" mess than none of the animals will eat. The seed is completely covered in the white stuff. I do have a photo of a recent tray that made it to day 6-7. It was probably the best growth I've ever gotten and that was due to my obsessive rinsing. With that said the underside in the root mat the white stuff is thick and foul smelling. When I fed it to my girls they ate the clean seeds and left everything else including the tall green shoots. Odd. Or maybe not so odd. The age of the grain is a mystery. I've had it in a galvanized trash can since June when I bought it from the feed store. Who knows how long it's been on the pallet there. I would gladly try other grain suppliers but I live in the city and other feed stores are a treck. Even as a kid I remember my parents only buying Kruses feed because that was the only thing available in the area. I grew up 100 miles from where I am now and the feed suppliers are all the same still. If I went with a different supplier I would have to have it mailed/shipped to me. Any suggestions on cheap grain to sprout with low cost shipping? Cost is huge. After all I'm trying to cut down on the feed bill too. Currently I've taken the soaked grain and trying it in soil flat trays from the nursery. So far so good. But it's very early still I just started that 2 days ago.
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Post by Adri on Aug 20, 2015 15:41:00 GMT -5
Above are my most recent trays. The first two are day 6 or 7. Decent looking on top but foul, slimy and rank under with the root mat.
The other two pictures are of a tray that is about 3 days old. Already it has gotten too rank to have in the house and now the girls won't eat this either. They used to eat the white stuff but now they are walking away once the clean seed is gone leaving only the slimy white covered seeds.
I understand it's natural for the seed roots to get a little hairy. It's a sign of a healthy root. Mine are not hairy. And no black or pink mold. I've had that a few times when I covered the seeds. That was an easy lesson to learn.
Thanks for your help. A
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Post by Sprouts on Aug 21, 2015 6:57:45 GMT -5
Yes that is poor grain and wont get any better no matter what you try. Is there black oil sunflower seeds (BOSS) available in your area? The kind usually bought as bird seed? Try sprouting it or a mix of it with some corn added in. These two options sprout very well they don't get the kind of root mat you see in pictures but still very very nutritious. Corn has to soak longer the the BOSS do. I have sprouted beans, corn, wheat, BOSS, barley anything. Also The Sprouthouse www.sprouthouse.com/ has a lot of grains to offer. Some seeds are really small so after my BOSS starts sprouting a few days into the process I will add these smaller grains into the tray on top as an added treat they sprout faster and just mix in with the tray. Just some ideas. Maybe an ad on craigslist can round up some grains from a local farmer. Hope this helps!
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Post by Sprouts on Aug 21, 2015 6:58:51 GMT -5
Make sure your trays have as many drainage holes in them as you can put this is key!
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Post by Adri on Aug 28, 2015 13:46:26 GMT -5
Thanks again. Been busy with kids starting school. I wondered about the black sunflower seeds. I can get them at lowes. I've been feeding sunflower seeds grown from home as a treat. I'll try sprouting the BOSS. I'll look into a bag of whole corn and see if it's cost effective. I've grown corn in my garden in the past, it's too dry here now to do it. I've never seen it spouted for chickens. Sounds interesting. I can get recleaned wheat from my feed store but I wonder if it is just as old as the barley. The remaining bags share a pallet. As for my 50# bag of barley I've been sprouting it in soil flats and in a grow frame in the run. It seems to be working much better. The key is to protect it from the rats! They are digging it up to eat it before it sprouts! What about milo? I remember as a kid it sprouted like a weed when it spilled. I'll try the sprout house as a last resort.
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Post by Sprouts on Aug 31, 2015 5:03:43 GMT -5
Yes milo works as well. With corn its a little slower to sprout and wont get the thick mat as seen in many pictures but it is very nutritious sprouted and the animals love it for its sweet taste!
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