Growing Sunflower Microgreens

Types of Sunflower seeds

Different varieties of sunflower microgreens are: linoleic (most common), high oleic, and sunflower oil seeds

Left: Black oil sunflower seeds, right: striped sunflower seeds

Left: Dehulled kernel, Right: whole striped seeds with hull

 

Sunflower seeds with whole black husks are called black oil sunflower seeds. Striped sunflower seeds are eaten as snacks. For microgreens, the popular sunflower seed is the black oil sunflower seed due to its high yield and taste.

Things you need to grow Sunflower Microgreens

1. Black oil sunflower seeds - 5oz / 28 g 
2. 10x20 trays x 2 - without holes
3. 10x20 tray x 1 - with holes
4. Growing medium: Coco coir, coco coir mat or soil
5. Hydrogen peroxide - 2 tbsp

Steps to grow sunflower microgreens

 

1. Wash the seeds in a strainer
2. Soak the seeds for 4-8 hours for a better germination rate.
3. Fill coco coir upto the line of the tray with holes. Stack a tray without holes under this tray.
4. Seed as evenly as possible, spread out bigger clumps of seeds.
5. Water from the top, making the tray wet but not to the point where water starts dripping from the tray holes.
6. Mist some antifungal spray to avoid mold and decay of soaked seeds. (2 tbsp food-grade hydrogen-peroxide to 1 liter filtered water) for the first 3 days.
7. Cover the top of the tray by stacking a tray without holes on top.
8. Add a 15 pound weight on top of the stacked tray for better germination and proper seed to soil contact.

 

 

When to harvest sunflower microgreens

When the sunflower microgreens reach a height of about 4 inches, it has already been 7 days and you start to see the true leaves in some microgreens (tiny leaves emerging in the middle of cotyledon leaves), you can harvest the sunflower microgreens. Wash your hands before touching the plant (everytime). Use a sharp knife or scissor to cut the microgreen an inch or two above the soil line. Just grab the top, and glide through.

 

When you are bagging the microgreens, you can use reusable containers such as wide-mouth mason jars or glass tupperware. You could also just use a plastic bag. Make sure to write the crop name and the date of harvest.

 

Tips for growing the best sunflower microgreens

1. Check the pH of your water source and balance it to 5.5-6.0 range using pH Down. You can buy a pH meter to keep track of your water pH. You can also drop the pH with lemons or vinegar.
2. Soaked sunflower seeds are prone to mold and decay, so spray some antifungal solution on the seeds when seeding the tray to prevent mold in your sunflower crop.
3. Top watering helps the seed hulls come off as it softens the shell over time.

Also check how you can grow sunflower plant to full maturity.