| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |  |
Nursery Trays
aka Flats
| | |
We used Flats for our wholesale sprout production, but due to limitations,
we offer them to you - currently - only for growing Grass, Greens & Micro-Greens.
These are called "Nursery" because they are used in the greenhouse and nursery industries.
Nursery Tray Info
Nursery Tray Description
Seeds to Sprout in Trays
Sprouting Instructions
Tray & Set Assembly
Additional Notes
| Sprout School & Shop Sprouting Seed Info Center |
Sproutpeople produced over 200 tons of sprouts, Grasses and Greens between 1993 - 2003, using Trays like these. There is little need for a home sprouter to grow amounts of sprouts so great that Trays would make sense, but we will be adding information on our SproutGarden site in the future (we've been saying that for years now, but we REALLY will get to it - or writing a book - eventually), for small wholesale and farmer's market growers, which will include methods of growing sprouts in Trays and Buckets. For now, these Trays are not a good choice for sprouts because their drainage slits are poorly layed out. They are just swell for Grass and Greens though.
We have grown Grass and Greens - on soil - in Trays, for years. But, we now have alternatives: Soilless Planting media- Baby Blanket, Vermiculite- and organic liquid kelp fertilizer - Kelpman. Baby Blanket is a thin organic material that holds moisture and in general acts much like soil. Vermiculite is a mineral that is heated to 1,600° and then expands in a worm (verm) like shape, into an extremely light planting medium that has remarkable moisture retention. We think you should try both if you can - there are differences and though they are minimal you may prefer one method over the other and the only way to know for sure is to try both. You can also use both together - Baby Blanket on the bottom of the tray and Vermiculite atop it. In either case you definitely should use Kelpman - it can make a whole lot of difference!
You can use any soil you like for most crops. We used sterile bagged composted cow manure for all of our crops. We add about 20% Earthworm Castings when growing Sunflower Greens. You can use any sterile soil you like - or can get. Though expensive soils are fine, we prefer inexpensive 40 pound bags of sterile cow manure. Whatever you choose - be sure it is free of chemicals!
Each 11x22 inch tray will grow 1-3 pounds of Greens or produce enough grass to yield 10-20 ounces of Juice!
Growing Capacity
See seed information pages for details.
Eat More Sprouts + Grow More Often - Easily!
These seeds are a Perfect match for Trays:
Micro-Greens - If you want big crops this is the way to go!
You can also Pre-Sprout all of the big seed Greens and all of the Grasses in Trays.
Possibilities:
If you're sprouting big seeds you can use Trays. You will need to use our Light/Regular Duty Trays WITH Drainage (the Heavy Duty Trays have an unacceptable drainage hole configuration for sprouts), and because the location of the drainage slits is less than perfect - you will have to pay some extra attention to Draining.
Beans - All
Mung Beans - Big and Little Sprouts are Possible.
Grains - The Big Ones Only.
Nuts and Seeds - Almonds, Pumpkins, Peanuts, Sunflower, etc.
Impossible:
Until we get Trays with smaller drainage holes/slits, or find the time to tell you how to make them, you just can not sprout these seeds.
Leafy Sprouts: Alfalfa/Clover and Mixes - When you grow these in a tray they grow vertically, roots down, leaves up! It is very beautiful! We look forward to showing you how - soon!
Brassicas - Broccoli, Radish, Mustard, Cabbage, etc. These are great in Trays as long as you remember to keep them from forming a mass.
Alliums - Garlic, Leek and Onion.
Like the other currently impossible.
Grains - The little ones will have to wait too.
Note: You CAN grow any of the Leafy or Brassica sprouts as Micro-Greens. Just follow the directions directly below. You should also refer to the seed's detail page.
Nursery Tray
Sprouting Instructions
Specific Sprouting Instructions are found on the page devoted to the Seed or Mix you are interested in.
Below are Tray/Flat specifics.
When Pre-Sprouting and growing, you MUST use Trays WITH drainage holes/slits! If you try to grow in an undrainable container you'll have to tip it to let the excess water out. If you don't you will drown your seeds!
You will find all the specific information you need on the seed information pages.
Not all seeds require this step. See the seed's information page to see if you need to do this for the seed you are sprouting.
Use something else - the drainage holes are just too big in these Trays!
You can not Soak in Trays. Use a bowl or similar water holding unit.
When Pre-Sprouting or sprouting big seeds (those listed as Possible for Trays above) - Rinse each tray individually with a sprayer or faucet (if you are using a small Tray or have a lot of room under your faucet) and Drain well by holding the Tray at an angle until no more (or very little) water remains.
In either case - once Drained thoroughly, cover the Tray with another Tray to retain moisture. Sprout According to the directions on the seed's information page.
With Soil
Fill Tray 2/3 - 3/4 full of soil .
The amount of soil you use is up to you. The reality is this: As your plants grow they need more and more water. They get their water from the soil. The more soil you use - the more water it can hold - the less you need to water.
Thoroughly moisten the soil. Allow puddles to dry.
Sometimes you may need to use your fingers to make sure the soil is moist all the way down to the bottom of the tray. Water, mix, water, mix, etc. Sometimes you don't have to do that.
Spread seeds evenly on thoroughly moistened soil.
Cover the planted tray
with an inverted tray - to keep light out and moisture in.
Note: Your covering tray should have holes or slits in it so that some air circulation exists.
See the seed information pages for complete details.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
With Baby Blanket
There really is very little different about growing with Baby Blanket - for the most part the instructions are identical. Where there are differences they will be noted in purple text. Here are the first differences:
Prepare the Pad
Cut it to fit your Tray (if necessary). Soak it in water or better yet, Kelpman enriched water, until thoroughly saturated (fold it up and push it into the liquid - use a pot or something similar to hold it). Spread the wet pad accross the bottom of your Planting Tray. Proceed as with soil...
With Vermiculite
There is even less difference when using Vermiculite - except that you lose less of it, it can be treated just like soil.
Spread seeds evenly on thoroughly moistened medium.
Cover the planted tray
with an inverted tray - to keep light out and moisture in.
Note: Your covering tray should have holes or slits in it so that some air circulation exists.
See the seed information pages for complete details.
Watering
Soil Growing
When growing Grass and/or Greens - Water the seed gently at first so as to not disturb the seeds - you want them to stay in place once planted on the soil. When the roots are firmly in place you water the soil every day or two. Keep the soil moist but not water logged. Your plants will need more water more often the bigger they get.
With Baby Blanket
We water our Baby Blanket crops with a Spray Bottle, with Kelpman enriched water. Water the seed gently at first so as to not disturb the seeds (this is a given if you use a Spray Bottle), you want them to stay in place . When the roots are firmly in place, you water every day or two. Your plants will need more water, more often, the bigger they get.
Baby Blanket will dry out more quickly than soil in most circumstances, so you should either water more often or experiment with our somewhat risky trick:
Use the Drip Tray to hold some water. The roots will actually sit in this, so don't go crazy - too much can drown your plants and/or lead to fungal or mold problems. Just leave as much water as the Greens can drink in a day, and then add more the following day. The amount is dependant on the climate (humidity especially) you're growing in, so you'll have to learn this for yourself. We suggest that you start with 1 cup in the Drip Tray. Lift the Planting Tray to see how much is left after 4, 8 and 12 hours. If the Drip Tray is dry add more water - if there is still water 24 hours later then cut back the next time you add water. Pretty simple really, and not as risky as we make it sound - it is really a time saver and produces happier healthier greens.
During your regular spraying some water will run through and collect in the Drip Tray. Be sure to account for this too when calculating how much to add to the Drip Tray.
Once again, we do recommend Kelpman enriched water for soilless growers. Soil growers may use it too of course, but the soil does have some nutrients already, so it is not nearly as important for you. Just follow the instructions for diluting, on the Kelpman bottle.
Sprouting, Greening and De-Hulling
Keep Trays covered until your Grass is about 1-2 inches tall or your Greens push the cover up (they do that when they exceed 2 inches or so - it's cool!).
Uncover Trays and locate them where they can get some light (according to the directions on that seed's information page). Since you are dealing with Trays you can get away with more light than when using enclosed sprouters. You can even use direct sunlight, but do pay attention as the sun hastens drying and heats up the sprouts, so you might have to water more frequently. Experiment and see. We love Greening our plants outside in the sun! We cover them with screen to keep the squirrels away and a garden fabric (or a thin white sheet) to keep insects and birds away. You'll do fine with minimal light too, so don't feel like you have to push it.
The only Greens that retain hulls are Sunflower and Buckwheat. When they are ready to cut, we brush our hands over the tops gently, while holding the Tray at an angle (90° in most cases - as long as they are firmly in the Tray). Many hulls can be removed this way. You will have to pick the remaining hulls off by hand - we know of no other way.
Harvest
All of these soil/medium grown plants are harvested by cutting just above the soil/medium with a scissors. As with all crops, if you are going to refrigerate your crop, it should be not wet (wet plants will decompose in refrigeration much faster), so allow them to dry before cutting.
If you used soil, compost it or throw it away (a little organic material in a landfill is no sin), you can not plant on it again.
If you grew on Baby Blanket, you need to be careful when removing it from the tray. cut the roots that are growing out of the bottom first, then carefully pull it up from a corner. If you are too casual, you can break your tray, so take your time. Baby Blanket is also not reusable. Throw it away or compost it - it is organic =:-D
In both cases, you may want to try growing a second crop. To do this, just keep the soil/medium moist, re-cover until the plants grow an inch or two, and proceed as above. No crop will ever be as good as the first, but it doesn't hurt to try. See the seed's detail page for additional information.
Seed Specific
Sprouting Instructions
If you have a particular seed type in mind,
read on to discover further details of Tray sprouting that seed type.
Refer to the seed's main information page for detailed instructions.
Leafy Sprouts
Though you can't use our current Nursery Trays to do this - you can use SproutMaster - which is a great way to familiarize yourself with the Tray method!
Beans
Follow the seed information page instructions for the bean you are growing.
Maximum dry seed =
5 pounds per 11x22 inch tray.
Mung Bean
If you are going for small sweet Mungs you need only follow the directions on the Mung Bean information page. If you are going for big and thick, read on...
The 2 big issues with growing large, thick rooted Mungs is keeping them dark while growing and applying weight to the growing sprouts. Nursery Trays, though not deep, are dark inside and applying weight is easy. Whenever you try to grow big thick rooted Mung Bean sprouts, you need to keep them from moving: Don't disturb the sprouts - they need to be tightly packed, so after the first Rinse, apply weight directly to the sprouts by putting the bottom of another Tray directly on top of the beans. If you use a solid (drip) Tray as a cover, you can put anything in it without fear of contaminating your Mungs. Bricks would work well! Come to think of it - regardless of the Tray you use to cover the beans - you should wrap your weights if they aren't really clean - you don't want brick bits or dirt or such as that in your sprouts! When you Rinse you need to do it gently the first few times. Soon they will be firmly massed together and you'll be able to turn up the pressure a bit. The only other issue is the soak period we suggest while growing Mungs. To accomplish this - insert your Tray full of Mungs in a solid (drip) Tray and gently fill with water. That isn't going to work as well as other methods, but it will help. Alternately you can submerge the bean Tray in a bathtub or some big container. You might want to weight the beans down during this so they don't float away.
Maximum dry seed =
5 pounds for small sprouts or
3.75 pounds for big sprouts
per 11x22 inch tray.
Brassicas
These will work well in Trays - when we get new trays. We hope to have a solution Soon.
Alliums
These will work well in Trays - when we get new trays. We hope to have a solution Soon.
Grains
Follow the seed information page instructions for the grain you are growing.
Maximum dry seed =
7 pounds per 11x22 inch tray.
Nuts and Seeds
Follow the seed information page instructions for the nut or seed you are growing.
Maximum dry seed =
6 pounds per 11x22 inch tray.
Grass and Greens
What is written above and what is on the seed information pages is all you need to know.
Maximum dry seed (Grass) = 2 pounds per 11x22 inch tray
Maximum dry seed (Greens) = Varies. See Seed Information Pages
Micro-Greens
What is written above and what is on the seed information pages is all you need to know. Baby Blanket will work better than soil for Micro-Greens.
Maximum dry seed = 2/3 - 1 cup per 11x22 inch tray
All sets contain one Solid Tray which is the Container for the tray(s) in which you plant. It keeps water +/or mud from messing up your home.
Single Crop Tray Set
Planting is done in the Heavy Duty Tray with circular drainage holes.
The Lightweight Tray with drainage slits is to cover your planted tray.
Two Crop Tray Set
Planting is done in two of the 11 Inch Square Trays. The other two are your Covering Trays.
Crop-a-Day/8 Crop Tray Set
Planting is done in eight of the 5 Inch Square Trays. The other eight are your Covering Trays.
If you are growing indoors, you must use a solid Drip Tray as the base - it is just like keeping a plate under a houseplant. If you are growing outside you can safely skip the Drip Tray, though you should use one if you are growing on Baby Blanket.
Cleaning: When growing Greens and Grass in soil we do not do more than rinse our trays out between crops. If you grow with Baby Blanket, scrub well between crops with soap and water. Rinse well!
Sterilize: Scrub and soak in bleach water if you want to do the best job. We do this every crop when we grow sprouts in trays because a clean sprouter produces better sprouts a sterile sprouter is a great place to begin a crop.
Purchase Individual Trays and Tray Sets
Please note: Nursery Trays are closer to 10 x 20 inches than 11x22 as we refer to them. It is a remnant of our growing days - we just don't want to let go of all that history, so we'll continue to call them 11x22 and 11x11, but now you know - they are really 10x20 and 10x10.
| Heavy Duty Planting Tray | | |
| Regular Duty Planting or Cover Tray | ||
| Regular Duty Drip Tray | ||
| Regular Duty Planting Tray | ||
| Light Duty Planting Tray | | |
| Tray Sets | ||
| Single Crop Tray Set | ||
| 2 Crop Tray Set 11x22 Drip Tray and Four 11x11 inch Trays: Two for Planting, Two as Covers | ||
| 8 Crop Tray Set | ||
| Soiless Planting Media and Liquid Fertilizer Soilless Planting Medium | ||
Baby BlanketSoilless Planting Medium for Purchase pre-cut to your Tray size or buy it in bulk and save. | ||
VermiculiteSoilless Planting Medium *Vermiculite weight will vary depending on its moisture content. We will send you 6-7 Pints which is enough for two "full tray" crops. In a perfect world those 6-7 pints will weigh close to one pound. | ||
Kelpman | ||
SPROUTPEOPLE®
170 Mendell St.
San Francisco, CA 94124
Toll Free:
877/777-6887
(877/SPROUTS)
We only use the phone for emergencies.
Back in 2001 we were still using the phone. One day I was talking to a long-time customer while pushing my daughter on the swing in our backyard (this is what a mom n' pop business is like on the internet). It dawned on me that my priorities were severely messed up, so I stopped using the phone. I love to talk and I love to help, but my family would never see me if I picked up the phone again.
The very best way to contact us is through E-mail =:-)
We are quite fast and VERY thorough. We love to help.
We have been an internet only business since 2001. We are not a big corporation. We are but 2 people, mom n' pop. We decided after years of juggling our family's (kids, dogs, cats and even our own) needs, and the needs of Sproutpeople, that we had to make more time for our kids, so we stopped talking on the phone. All calls go to voice mail and have since 2001.
We are very fast to fill orders and answer e-mail, and though we wish we could make the time to talk, we just can't seem to get more minutes into a each hour. We are many years older than when we started and our days are too short and made up of too few hours to do everything. This limitation in our business has not kept us from pleasing our customers, nor from growing (as we have every year since 1993). We do what we do as well as we can, and we think we do it very well indeed.
We appreciate your business more than we can say. We ask that you use the phone for emergencies only and that you search our site for answers before e-mailing us. This site is bigger than any 4 sprout books put together, it is always available and it is free, and we know that almost all questions are answered here.
Thanks again for your patronage and your many kind words.
Sproutpeople family