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Post by oldgraymare on Jun 11, 2014 13:17:07 GMT -5
I will try adding rye on day three then. Thank you. Everything looked awesome until I added that into the mix. Maybe a coincidence but Im sticking with the rye issue!!!!LOL!
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Post by Sprouts on Jun 15, 2014 9:08:19 GMT -5
There's a sprout chart on the forum that shows how long to soak each grain because the quicker a grain sprouts the less time you soak it. For example oats I only soak a couple hours and water a lot less.
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Post by jdsxd1776 on Sept 21, 2014 22:15:39 GMT -5
Hi every body I'm new to the fodder system, and at 1st everything was fine. I had a 9 day grow rate from tray to feeding. I had to move inside because of birds and really warm humid weather. I live in Cleveland Ohio currently. So I moved it in my basement and started from scratch. I cleaned everything with antibacterial dawn soap and a bleach soak after. I'm using wheat because I can't find barley in my area. 1 round of 9 days no issues. But now no matter what I do I get 2 different types of mold. I get the bluish green, and white like silky like mold. My basement isn't really humid or damp, and is pretty dry. I'm using a Z style rack of 9 trays. I use bleach water to soak the seeds for 15-20 min then rinse with fresh city water. Then soak for almost 24 hrs can b as short as 12 hours. My temp is low 70's all year round in my basement. The trays drain in to a Rubbermaid tote. I haven't put in a watering system yet until I get this mold under control. So I water by hand 3-4 times a day. I've tried adding small amount of bleach to the water, and also peroxide in the water. I've also tried a squirt bottle with either bleach or peroxide and spray 1 or 2 times a day. I have put a fan on the rack and tried all 3 different speeds. I have gotten mold as early as a few days and as late as 6. I did notice peroxide help cut grow time down to 6/7 days. I've also tried watering individually, think maybe bad water from tote. I'm only growing small trays as a small scale work out kinks. Plus only a few animals right now. I tried to watch as much as possible for mold. I don't know what else to do to stop the mold. PLEASE HELP!!!!!!! I'd prefer to raise everything as organically as possible. I am at a loss PLEASE HELP I gotta figure this out. Can't be this hard. Also I do get a foul smell in my trays and water tote. AGAIN PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!!
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Post by Sprouts on Sept 22, 2014 9:43:21 GMT -5
Such is the trouble with sprouting wheat. Try a couple hours soak time before putting into the trays, water twice a day, make sure you have adequate holes in the trays for drainage if not add more holes can never be to many holes! lol The smell is normal as grain ferments water your garden with it works wonders. I put an ad on craigslist for barley as it has way less mold issues. Also you can try to mix some black oil sun flower seeds in with the wheat or another grain. I usually feed my fodder out to the animals at the first sign of mold as it is just as nutritious at day three as it is a day 6!I would also try a few different wheats sources as well.
Corn sprouts great requires about 12 hour soak time and make take a day or two longer if you are wanting 6 inch green growth but the animals love it as it is sweeter tasting than wheat or barley. If you try corn it doesnt develop a tight root mat like wheat or barley but dont let that throw you off.
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Post by jdsxd1776 on Sept 22, 2014 11:41:50 GMT -5
OK thank you. I will try to add both into my trays and make a mix of everything. Good info on the nutritional value early. Like I said my setup is small right now, trying to get this dialed in before I move to southern Florida and need a large scale.
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doc
New Member
Posts: 6
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Post by doc on Sept 25, 2014 19:01:41 GMT -5
A couple points on mold: while it's good to use reasonably clean equipment & wash the seeds, the real source of mold spores in our fodder is the air itself. Those spores are everywhere. Try leaving a Petri dish of agar or gelatin out overnite to prove it. In two days , it'll be covered with mold colonies.
While the ungerminated seeds need to be kept moist at all times to induce germination, once the root mat is growing, it seems only the roots need to be kept moist. Over watering or poor drainage is a problem facilitating mold growth at that time. Lower humidity & good air circulation to induce evaporation inhibits mold growth.
I just read where baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) can be used as an anti-fungal. It's slightly alkaline. I wonder if a spray of dilute ammonia (also slightly alkaline) would do the same thing (and incidentally provide some nitrogen for fertilization) would also work? I'm gunna try it and I'll let you know.
I also just read that milk (skim milk is best) diluted 9:1 with water and sprayed on is also fungicidal and shouldn't hurt the sprouts, while also providing some fertilization. I'll give that a try too.
The couple of trays of corn, oat and wheat fodder I've grown seem to have a very slimy feeling root mat. That slimy feel often indicates bacterial growth (that's why older lunch meat feels that way.) My mare sniffs the mats and turns her nose away, although she'll take the leaves if I tear them off first. Anybody else observing this?
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Post by Sprouts on Sept 27, 2014 5:20:43 GMT -5
Doc,
I have found wheat to be the most problematic in regards to mold and I believe its the wheat most of the time. I can take the same routine with other grains and not have the mold issues I get when sprouting wheat. The only nutrient I use is water adding anything else into the mix when your only growing to day six isnt really nescessary and may cause other issues. Keep it simple and above all drainage drainage drainage! I have so may holes in my trays the water runs straight in the top and out the bottom. If the roots are alimy I would consider drainage.....My goats used to shy away from the root mat as well but over time they now love it roots green and all!
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doc
New Member
Posts: 6
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Post by doc on Sept 28, 2014 6:34:19 GMT -5
I've tried oats, oil seeds, rye, corn and wheat. A few fluffy, 1 cm "cotton balls" have shown up only on the wheat sprouts on about day 4 (two days of good green sprouts). Spraying with either the milk or the bicarb solutions seem to have suppressed further mold growth.
Let's not argue about the source of the mold. It's not really important. The fact that it shows up only on the wheat suggests the others have a better anti-fungal resistance than wheat, or maybe the smaller wheat seeds retain more moisture, or pack tighter so there's less air circulation, etc.
I'm surprised your goats were reluctant eaters at all- they seem to eat anything. There's the joke about the two goats eating old films thrown out behind the movie theatre: "How's your movie?" asked the one. The other replied, "I liked the book better."
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Post by kit-kat on Oct 21, 2014 11:46:50 GMT -5
second start with my fodder. I did fodder jan thru july this year with minimal mold but I just started back up doing the same and my day 7 tray was covered in mold all my other trays look mold free. I am doing a new system where when rinsed my trays drain into each other. do I need to rinse longer to rinse the mold away? I do a 5min water in the morning and evening. the seed gets soaked each night over night with bleach to start with. my house has been kinda on the cooler side 66ish and have no idea on humitity.help?
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Post by MaryAnne on Oct 22, 2014 5:20:55 GMT -5
Kit Kat If you didnt get mold until day seven feed it out to the animals before the mold sets in it is just as nutritious on day three and four! Mold ususally sets in when things are to wet, to humid, poor quality grain, or inadequate drainage.
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Post by jeff on Oct 29, 2014 14:48:53 GMT -5
has anyone used salinity for controlling mold in trays. Not in soak but in rinse
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Post by yankeespie on Dec 18, 2014 22:51:48 GMT -5
Hi~ New to site and fodder growing..... Hi everyone, and thank you in advance for any help! This is a picture of my set up.... Any suggestions would be appreciated I'm still trying to figure all this out, but from reading on this site, I believe my drainage holes are too small, angle of my trays might not be high enough, and or I'm just watering too much. Let me say first, I can't give directions out of a paper bag! With that said let me try and explain what I'm seeing. Some of my trays are see threw, and I noticed I have a great root mass up to the last 2 inches of the tray where the drainage holes are. (That tells me too much water is sitting there). Right (?) But the last 2 inches there is no roots at all. Than the second problem is mold, its white like a tiny cotton ball, little smaller than an eraser head, in places. But the grass its self looks great. Can I still feed that to my horses and chickens(?) I don't want to use any chemicals, I buy organic barley seeds, from a local Health Store, so adding chemicals would defeat the purpose. I will try the Apple Cider for soaking the seeds. I read somewhere to use Grape seed extract. Has anyone tried that(?) I just started cleaning the trays with peroxide, hoping that might help(?) I read here I believe you can use lemon juice also is that correct and how much pleases(?) There is little humidity in the house, so I don't think that is a problem. And temp in the house is 67*- 70*. So I don't think that is the problem. I do have to be more careful with sterile equipment. From what I've read you seeds shouldn't be any higher than 1/2" is that correct(?) When I'm looking down into the grass I see a lot of seeds that haven't done anything is that normal(?) I'm thinking I should spray on top instead of just watering on the end without holes(?) I'm sorry for all the questions but any advise would be greatly appreciated! Thank you Yankeespie
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Post by Sprouts on Dec 26, 2014 7:25:21 GMT -5
I would say add more holes you can never have enough drainage. Is it possible to rotate the trays once a day; turn them on the system so that the lean is on the other end so that each end is getting enough water and not to much water just on the leaning end? Or you could try drainage holes on the entire bottom making sure to not put any holes in the part of the tray that sits on the pvc as to avoid water running down the pvc into the floor? This would help your germination rate; there is no such thing as to much drainage! haha I water once every 12 hours but I make sure the grain is watered throughly. Also you can use apple cider vinegar in place of bleach. Hope this helps!
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Post by Fodder fan on May 10, 2015 21:01:41 GMT -5
Hey I am also new to fodder growing. I have about 60 sheep and that's where my fodder is going. I started growing fodder.... um about 3 days ago and am seeing some mold, how can I stop it without having to start over? Can I add anything to my water? Please help me!
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Post by Fodder fan on May 10, 2015 21:03:30 GMT -5
Hey I am also new to fodder growing. I have about 60 sheep and that's where my fodder is going. I started growing fodder.... um about 3 days ago and am seeing some mold, how can I stop it without having to start over? Can I add anything to my water? Please help me!
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