- Interested in starting a microgreens farm
but not sure where to start?
By the end of this video,
you're gonna know all the supplies and equipment
that you need to start a basic microgreens farm,
that way you can get started right away with your build.
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Although I'm in a very big, nice, urban farm now,
I started off in a very small space
with very basic equipment, just like everybody else.
As my business grew,
I actually didn't need much different supplies
because I bought high quality equipment in the first place.
You don't want anything that you buy in the beginning
to be rendered useless as you grow.
You wanna be investing in assets from the start.
Because I did this, I ended up just needing to buy more
of the same equipment I already had.
So my assets just kept on growing as my business grew.
One mistake I did make in the beginning
was buying those normal flimsy 10 by 20 trays
instead of buying the sturdy ones,
and over time my trays started breaking
and I ended up having to throw them out.
When I finally did make the switch over to the sturdy trays,
I ended up being able to donate
all my old ones to a local farm.
So that was nice.
But nevertheless, this was just wasted money
because I wasn't investing in assets
that were gonna last me a long time,
and I wish I bought the better trays from the start.
So don't make the same mistake I did.
Okay, even though we're sticking
to just the equipment basics,
there's still a lot of items needed,
so let's get right into it.
First and most obvious,
is you're gonna need a microgreens rack
like the ones you see behind me.
This consists of the rack itself,
lights that go on each shelf,
zip ties to map the lights to the shelf,
a power strip, and an outlet timer.
I'll let you know right now in the beginning of the video
that most of the supplies and equipment I talk about today
is gonna be linked right below in the description
so you can see exactly what I'm using here in my farm.
Next is tables, you're gonna need
one dirty table for making trays,
and one clean table for harvesting.
I used to folding tables in the beginning
which ended up doubling as my Farmers Market tables.
This is a great way
to stay as lean as possible in the beginning,
by getting multiple uses out of your equipment.
Trays, like I mentioned in the beginning,
it is in your best interest
to buy the best trays on the market from the start.
These are made by bootstrap farmer,
they're extremely durable and high quality,
they're gonna last you forever and they don't break.
They're amazing, you could slap them together,
you can carry two at a time without them breaking.
It's amazing.
You're gonna want the shallow trays
which are linked below in the description.
In order to grow plants,
you're gonna need some sort of growing medium.
I prefer a potting mix like the PRO-MIX MP ORGANIK,
that's what I use,
but I see a lot of people also using Coco Quart,
and things like the Gro Pads.
So try out some different materials,
see which ones you like growing with best
and more importantly, see which ones
your microgreens like growing in best.
Water, water is important
and I don't recommend cutting any corners here.
Do some basic plumbing or hire a plumber
to run a line into your grow room.
You're gonna need water in your farm space.
So don't go making some inefficient watering system
for yourself that's gonna end up making you crazy.
Do it right and run a water line into your grow space
that's attached to a garden hose with a garden hose nozzle
so you can water and mist your trays.
Ideally, you're gonna have a sink in your grow room as well
for washing things like knives,
and your buckets and other equipment.
It's not completely necessary,
but just make sure you have a sink at least nearby.
I know this is a lot of equipment,
but what's great, is that all this stuff
that you're buying in the beginning
are actually business assets that you'll be able to use
for a very long time as you grow.
You're growing a business here
and you will be putting all this equipment to good use.
Let me know below in the comments
what your number one favorite business purchase
has been so far for your microgreens farm.
You're going to need buckets
if you intend on growing varieties
that need to be pre-soaked for the germination process.
I use paint strainer bags within the buckets
which keep the seeds contained
that I can just pull out of the buckets
when it comes time to drain the water.
And again, these are links below in the description.
Seeds, yes, these are very important
if you're gonna be growing microgreens.
I keep big bags of bulk seeds right my main grow room
and then I transfer them into smaller containers
like buckets, bags and jars,
so that way they're ready for use when I need them.
You're also gonna need scales for weighing out seeds
as well as during the harvesting process.
For harvesting, you're also gonna need a knife.
I've seen other people use things like shears, and scissors,
but I highly recommend a knife
and I'll actually link a video above me
that way you can learn why I prefer a knife
over everything else.
Since we're growing microgreens in trays,
it's also important to have a soil press
which I've also heard called a soil tamper,
and what this does is it presses down the soil
on your growing medium, so that way it's a flat surface
so you can easily broadcast your seeds over that
when you're planting in your trays right before germination.
If you don't feel like making one of these,
you can actually also use another tray
and just press the soil down with that
to get a relatively flat surface as well.
To keep things sanitary,
you're also gonna need something like a sanitizing agent
like ZeroTol 2.0, which is what I use.
This then gets diluted in a spray bottle
so you can then spray down your supplies and equipment.
So you're also gonna need a spray bottle.
Gloves are also a must for sanitation
and food handling purposes.
I also like to use gloves to keep my hands clean
when I'm doing things like making trays
or watering the plants.
You may not need refrigeration, but I highly suggest it.
Some people harvest the same day that they deliver,
so they don't really need refrigeration,
but I prefer to harvest the day before deliveries,
that way I can get the products
nice and cold overnight in the fridge.
You're gonna need packaging for your products,
often a few different sizes.
And with packaging also comes labels,
so you'll need those as well.
I particularly love my sticker dispensers,
it keeps my stickering process very efficient and dialed in.
Aside from everything I already mentioned,
you're also going to need to control your environment.
A dehumidifier to control humidity, fans for airflow,
and some sort of way to manage temperature in your farm,
like an AC-heat combo, which I show in my farm tour video.
Okay, lastly, you need music.
Studies show that plants love listening to music,
especially certain types of music,
and why not have the jams bumping while you're working?
(upbeat music)
Okay, I guess this isn't totally necessary,
but why not listen to music while you work?
It'll keep you in the groove,
and will prevent you from going crazy
from doing the repetitive tasks over and over again,
which is just part of the microgreens business.
I actually made a playlist of a bunch of my favorite music
that I like to listen to in the farm.
And that's actually right on Spotify.
So I'll put a link to that below in the description
so you can listen to that playlist as well.
It's called Seed Your Soul.
Okay, that was probably a lot to take in
and I'm sure you want a list of the supplies and equipment
that I mentioned in this video.
If you didn't already know I actually have a blog
right on my website donnygreens.com,
where I post my YouTube videos
along with everything I said in the video
below in the blog post, so that way,
just in case you wanna read the information from the video
instead of just watching or listening, you can do that.
So if you prefer to read my microgreens content,
you can just go right to my blog at donnygreens.com
click on blog at the top,
and you'll see all my YouTube videos that you can click on
and then you'll see the transcription written out for you.
And for this specific blog post,
I'll be sure to list out all the equipment I mentioned
along with links so you can have easy access to them.
If you haven't seen my farm tour video,
you can click it right below for a full walkthrough
or click the other video if you wanna learn more
about the ideal environmental conditions
for your grow space.
If you liked this video, hit that like button below,
subscribe to my channel and be sure to share this video
with your friends if you think it can help.
Thanks again and I'll see you next time.