Well, my microgreens adventure has already gone wrong.
If you missed the start of the adventure, check out what happened on Day 1.
But back to Day 3 - What did I forget to do? Spray the seeds down with 3% hydrogen peroxide!
Fortunately the mould really hasn't gotten out of control. I've heard before that sunflower seeds are particularly susceptible and it seems true, as whilst the radish and amaranthe show no signs, there is some mould on the sunflower seed husks. Now, it's not to be confused with the fluffy white fibres that appear on the sunflower roots; that is completely natural. But a soft sheen of white across the husks is cause for alarm.
Luckily, it's not Sunday (I mean, everything that could ever go wrong ALWAYS happens on a Sunday when the shops are closed, or you have to pay emergency out of hours vet fees, or you've run out of gas and the nearest 24hr gas station is too far away). But it's Saturday, so I dashed to Boots and picked up some hydrogen peroxide, got a spray bottle and also picked up a cheap £6 fan from Wilko. Of course, I'll need a MUCH more substantial air agitating and cooling system in the future, but at the moment I only intend to have two shelves on the go.
The only peroxide I could get was 6%, so I diluted it down to 3%, sprayed the seeds and re-covered. I'm really pleased to see germination already happening on both the radish and sunflowers. There's no signs yet on the amaranthe; something I'll learn from as they're in the same tray as the radish. I should've done them in separate trays as now I'll have to choose whether to leave the radish in the dark for longer, or pull them and have the amaranthe in the dark for a shorter period of time.
But, you know, this is all a learning experience!
So, that's Day 3. I LOVE how quickly seeds germinate! Now just to keep the dreaded mould at bay, give a few more days darkness to these babies and then flick on the growlights and start the next stage.