Equipment Needed
When making your microgreens business plan, this is the basic microgreens growing equipment needed for starting a microgreens business.
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Trays You will need two types of trays, one with holes and one without holes. The tray with holes will have the seed and soil inside it and it will sit in the tray without holes to allow you to water from underneath. If you cannot source trays with holes, you can buy trays without holes and drill the holes yourself. Recommended Microgreens Trays: Microgreens Trays with Holes – US Link – European Link – UK Link Microgreens Trays without Holes – US Link – European Link – UK Link Extra Strength Microgreens Trays – US Link Shelving Shelving racks are great for getting the most out of indoor space, I started off with wooden shelves, I work with dry soil and do all my prep work on my table, which means my shelves are always kept clean. Steel shelving is very popular too, but a little more expensive. Recommended Microgreens Shelves: Wooden Shelves – US Link – European Link Steel shelves – US Link – European Link Lights Lights are a necessity if you are growing on a shelving unit, if you are using direct sunlight then you will not need to invest. If investing in lighting, I recommend Sunblaster T5 fluorescent lights, as I use these myself. They are a little more expensive than the standard shop lights, but they reflect more light on the microgreens and I am confident that they are a good product. You have a vast array of options when it comes to lighting, it’s no harm to do a little research yourself and see what’s right for you. Recommended Microgreens Grow Lights: Sunblaster lights – US Link – European Link Cheaper lights – US Link – European Link |
Seeds As there are some families of vegetables which can’t be grown as Microgreens such as the nightshade family, I would recommend buying your seeds from a trusted source, companies usually market each seed specifically as Microgreen seeds to avoid confusion. True Leaf Market is the best and most popular microgreens seed seller in the United States. I recommend starting by only growing 1 crop, pea shoots. Recommended Microgreens Seeds True Leaf Market – US Link Seeds Ireland – European Link Sky Sprouts – UK Link Soil Your soil must be as fine as possible, I buy organic, fine compost, that is 80% coconut coir, and I thread the soil between my two hands to make sure it is as fine as can be. You can also sieve your soil to make sure it is as fine as possible. Buy this locally, as buying it online will result in high shipping costs due to weight. Scissors & Knife You will need these to harvest your microgreens. The sharper the better for this tool, I started off with a scissors and later moved to a sharp bladed knife. A scissors is perfect for starting out, but the knife is far more efficient for cutting the crop at harvest when you get the technique right. Recommended Microgreens Scissors & Knife Scissors – US Link – European Link Knife – US Link – European Link Watering Can When purchasing a watering can, you want to look for one which you will be able to hold in one hand, while you water the trays sitting on your shelf. Bare this in mind and don’t invest in something which will be too heavy to manage with one hand. You also need to make sure it comes with a sprinkler head, this will help with giving the seeds an even watering at germination. Recommended Microgreens Watering Can Watering can – US Link – European Link |
Water sprayer This is a mister bottle, it is used for keeping smaller seeds moist during planting and the germination period. Recommended Microgreens Water Sprayer: Water sprayer – US Link – European Link Weighing Scales This is essential for weighing out your harvest for packaging. I would recommend a flat digital scale where you can place your packaging on the scales as you cut your harvest. Recommended Microgreens Weighing Scales: Weighing scales – US Link – European Link Table This is only necessary if you do not have a work bench at home. In the beginning I used my kitchen table, but eventually invested in a foldable table to keep all operations within the grow room. Recommended Microgreens Table: Table – US Link – European Link Fan Air flow is a key part of growing any crop, areas with poor airflow even outdoors, provide the wrong balance for growing. Fans also play a key part in keeping your crops dry, which make them better quality when it’s time to package them. Recommended Microgreens Fan Fan – US Link – European Link Timer All crops must get at least 12 hours sunlight per day, I would recommend investing in a timer so you can set your lights to come on and turn off for 12 hours per day, 7 days a week and save you the effort of doing this manually. Recommended Microgreens Timer: Timer – US Link – European Link |
Packaging Plastic clamshells are the most popular choice of packaging. I use cellulose compostable packaging, it’s better for the environment, and also a selling point too, as customers are now a lot more conscious of purchasing environmentally friendly goods. The choice is yours. Recommended Microgreens Packaging: Plastic Clamshells – US Link – European Link Compostable Clamshells – US Link – European Link Labels Getting the right size label is key, make sure to put all the key details on your labels: the variety of crop in the package, the weight of the crop in the package, the best before date, your company name, whether or not the product is washed, and a way to contact you, whether that is your web address, email or phone number. This is your product branding, make sure to use this opportunity to get your brand out there wisely. Recommended Microgreens Labels Labels – US Link – European Link Dehumidifier A dehumidifier is an important piece of microgreens growing equipment. The humidity in yoyr grow room will have a huge part to play in the quality of your microgreens, and if you’re growing in your own home like I am, you will also want to protect your property and not have too much humidity generated, which could cause mold. Recommended Microgreens Dehumidifier: Dehumidifier – US Link – European Link Bins I keep two 80L bins in my grow room, one which stores my dry soil and the other for disposing of what’s left of my harvested trays. Having an organized operation and a clean and tidy workspace really does help with everyday efficiencies. Recommended Microgreens Soil Bins: Bins – US Link – European Link |
Climate Gauge Monitoring your grow room’s temperature and humidity is essential to know if you are using your fan, dehumidifier and heating system effectively. Ideally your grow room should remain close to 68-73 Fahrenheit or 20-22 degrees Celsius. This will help keep your growing cycles consistent, and provide the conditions for optimal microgreens growth. Recommended Microgreens Climate Gauge: US Link – European Link Printer You will need to print your own pricing lists, labels, and invoices to get your business started. Having your own printer saves you time and effort when you can do these admin type jobs at your leisure. Recommended Microgreens Printer Printer – US Link – European Link Date Stamp Most retail outlets will require you to have a ‘best before’ or ‘harvested on’ date on the label. You can have this typed into the label before you send it to print. I usually print off a large amount of my labels at one time and then I stamp them with an ink stamp as I need them. Recommended Microgreens Date Stamp: Date Stamp –US Link – European Link Date Stamp Ink – US Link – European Link Affiliate Disclosure: I hope you found this list of microgreens growing equipment and supplies useful. One thing I want to be fully upfront and honest about is that some of these links are affiliate links. Which means that should you click on any of these links and then go ahead and purchase that product, I may receive a small commission. This is at no extra cost to you, and you can be assured I only promote products that I am confident of their quality or have previously bought myself. This helps support the making of free products like this ebook and my podcast. If you choose to use one of my links, I want to pass on my sincere thank you and appreciation. |