I have looked at many different fodder systems, trying to decide whether it would work for us, and whether it would work in terms of saving us money in feed but still maintain the nutrition, organics and corn-free, soy-free commitment. My friend posted one video where a man set up a very simple system in his kitchen using inexpensive plastic containers. I thought that made for a cost effective experiment to see how a fodder system might integrate into our system and goals here, so here we go...
I found these inexpensive containers, brought them home and poked holes in the bottom, cut more holes in the top, and stacked them on a tray in the East window of the kitchen. I had trouble finding the type of seeds I really wanted to try, and ended up finding them through a coop. They will arrive later in the month, but not quite yet, so I set it up for now with sunflower seeds.
I didn't know how many seeds to soak for the eight hours before setting the system up, so I did a feed can full. I guess I didn't realize how much they would expand while soaking. Oops. This is the first bit of the system I set up.
Since I hadn't taken the expansion into account, I ended up putting the rest in a colander in the sink. Most of those white dots are hte seeds sprouting. I started them on Monday night for their soak, then on Tuesday in the containers. The containers with the lids seem to be going a little faster. Maybe because they are warmer, maybe the dome over the top keeps the humidity more consistent, maybe the sunlight makes the difference. It will be really interesting to see which grows the best!
The previous photos were from Wednesday, this one if Thursday (today).
I can't wait to see how long they take to be ready to feed the chickens!
No comments:
Post a Comment