Microgreens are now being widely grown by many people because of its high demand, quick turnaround, and nutrient content. Some people are growing them commercially, and others are trying to grow microgreens. Unfortunately, the beginners face some common problems in microgreens that are quite hard to solve. These problems can eventually kill your tiny vegetables, ruining all the efforts.
Common problems in microgreens
While growing microgreens commercially in the soil system, there are certain problems that you may face.
Figure 1: Molds in microgreens.
- Fungus or Mold
Fungus is one of the most common problems in microgreens. People usually experience this problem when the humidity is high, and the surrounding temperature exceeds 70-degree Fahrenheit. White mold looks similar to a spider-web, and it crawls throughout the surface of soil. It can expand its colony quickly if it remains unchecked. Eventually, it will climb up the stems of the plants and kill them.
To prevent this problem, you should clean the container before using any soil or seeds. It is also recommended to lower the humidity by air circulation. Decreasing seed density and bottom-watering can also solve the problem.
- Slower or no germination
Most of the microgreen seeds take a maximum of two or three days to germinate, and few may take some more days. Poor germination rate is another common problem in microgreens, and many people find it very annoying when the seeds don’t germinate properly.
To increase the germination rate, first make sure that the seeds are healthy. Secondly, sprouts need energy to break the seed coat, so you need to moisten the soil thoroughly. Finally, there is another option to germinate the seeds. You can use the wet paper towel method to germinate the seeds, and then transfer them to soil.
- Yellowish microgreens
This is one of the most common problems in microgreens, and many people report that their microgreens look so pale and yellowish. This is a symptom that the microgreens are not happy with the environment or soil nutrients.
Microgreens can turn yellow because of any of the following two reasons – i) the soil lacks sufficient nitrogen, or ii) the plants can start the photosynthesis process. You can add diluted liquid organic fertilizer to supply instant nitrogen. At the same time, you need to move the container/tray to the light to promote the photosynthesis process.
- Damping off and root rot
Phytophthora and Pythium, respectively cause root rot and damping off. Both of them are destructive pathogens and prefer thriving in acidic and poorly drained soils. Pythium can infect seeds and cause pre-emergence as well as post-emergence damping off. Phytophthora makes the plants stunned and wilted. This pathogen will cause root rotting. It is quite difficult to distinguish the death caused by these pathogens.
Controlling these pathogens is also a hard task. You may need to sterile the entire growing medium or change it.
- Botrytis
This is a type of mold or fungus that can infect and destroy leaves. Adding too much water makes the soil favorable for this fungus to thrive. If the condition is too cold and wet, it grows and infects all the plants and cause death.
To control this fungus, you should firstly remove the infected plants. If it is impossible to find out the infected ones, move the container to the sunlight and gently moisten the soil with water.
These are the most common problems in microgreens. They can kill the plants if they remain unchecked. In the worst case, the mold or fungus can destroy the entire microgreen farm.