- If you're wondering
why your sunflower microgreens are falling over,
you're in the right place
because I'm about to share with you
the different reasons this could be happening.
For the best microgreens content,
be sure to subscribe to my channel and ring the bell,
that way, you get notified every Tuesday
when I come out with a new video on microgreens
and microgreens business.
I have grown a ton of sunflower microgreens
and I've noticed some of the nuances
of the various stages in their lifecycle.
They can be a frustrating variety to grow,
but they're very rewarding
once you dial in your process.
I've noticed that they do fall over
under certain circumstances,
so, I'm gonna share with you what those circumstances are
as well as how to prevent them from falling over
in the first place.
All right, so there are a few reasons
why your sunflower microgreens could be falling over.
The first and most common reason is dehydration.
If your sunflower microgreens don't get enough water,
and actually this goes for all varieties,
they're gonna get dehydrated and fall down.
This may seem obvious,
but I still see so many growers posting pictures
wondering what happened to their plants,
and the plants are just completely dehydrated
and sitting in bone-dry soil.
So if your microgreens are falling over in general,
chances are they're probably just dehydrated.
If your sunflower microgreens are falling over
around the edges of the tray
and even specifically in the corners of the tray,
definitely go watch my video
on my procedure for growing sunflower microgreens
because chances are
you're not getting enough of your growing medium
into the corners and along the sides of the tray
which is resulting in dehydration in those areas
because the soil is too loose to really hold the moisture
and therefore your sunflowers in those areas
are gonna get dehydrated and fall over.
Another reason why your sunflower microgreens
could be falling over
is because they're simply weak in general.
This could be due to low quality seeds
or a problem with your growing process.
Again, if you check out my video
*on how to grow sunflower microgreens,
I talk you about stacking trees in germination
which helps the plants, well, it actually forces the plants,
to become stronger
'cause they have to push up on the weight that's above them.
Another reason, but less common, is over watering.
If you're really over watering your sunflower microgreens,
they can get weak and exhausted and fall over.
If this is the case,
they also usually start damping off
where the stems will start getting rotten,
and they'll fall over and form just like a really nasty,
rotten clump of sunflower microgreens.
Keep in mind also that sometimes sunflower microgreens
will fall over,
and it's really not a problem in the first place.
Sometimes a few stragglers
will fall over the edge of the tray
instead of staying together with the group of microgreens.
If your greens are healthy in general,
then this isn't a problem and you shouldn't worry about it.
They will also fall over a bit and get all disheveled
after you swipe off the hulls,
so that's completely normal.
And they will actually come back up naturally over time
as they suck in more water and grow back towards the light.
Comment below and let me know which of these reasons
you think is the cause
behind your sunflower microgreens falling over.
Okay, now you know the potential reasons
why your sunflower microgreens could be falling over,
so, let's talk about how to prevent that.
First and foremost, be careful with your watering.
Underwatering is definitely the most common cause
of sunflower microgreens falling over,
but overwatering can also cause this
like I mentioned before.
Pay attention to how much water
you're putting into your trays
and how the sunflower microgreens are responding.
This is going to inform you
on how much water these greens actually need
and will also force you
to really dial in your process of watering,
which is one of the most important things
in growing microgreens.
Second is grow healthy plants.
If your microgreens are healthy in the first place,
they should be able to stand up on their own,
so, dial in your grow process.
If you wait too long,
the plants can get overgrown and too tall
and fall over for that reason as well.
They will also taste bitter at this point,
like I talked about in my last video
on when to harvest sunflower microgreens,
so, be sure to check that out.
I've heard some people giving advice
of using the deep trays to help the plants to stay upright.
I don't like the idea of this
because the thinner trays allow better airflow
across the base of the plants
which is where the mold problems normally arise.
Instead, you can actually train them
to grow inward towards the center of the tray naturally
by using only one high quality grow light
on your microgreens shelf like I do.
This forces the plants on the outside of the trays
to grow up and inward towards the light
keeping them nice and tidy.
If these techniques don't solve your problem,
it very well could just be your seeds.
Low quality seeds will give you problems making it very hard
to grow high quality sunflower microgreens in general
let alone plants that will stay very upright
without falling over.
But more on this in my next video on seeds.
Now you know why your sunflower microgreens
are falling over and how to solve that problem,
but what if you wanna learn more
about microgreens in general?
Subscribe to my channel here on YouTube
where I post new videos every Tuesday
on growing microgreens and microgreens business,
that way you can improve your grow
and improve your business if you have one.
Watch the video below
to learn more about sunflower microgreens seeds
or click the other video
to learn the ideal time your sunflower microgreens
are ready for harvest.
If you liked this video, hit that like button below,
subscribe to my YouTube channel
and share this video with anybody you think it may help.
Thanks a lot, and I'll see you next time.