Disclaimer: Outdoor garden veggies meet indoor-grown Hamama microgreens for their photoshoot. Hamama is designed for an indoor growing environment. If you’re like me, you’re spending extra time outside tending to your garden, but there’s nothing that I love more than adding fresh microgreens to all my meals! Plus, who doesn’t love a nice easy harvest? No dirt, no sweat, and no pesky bugs! As the days are longer and temperatures are warmer, it’s important to re-calibrate the care we give our microgreens. Think about how you’d apply sunscreen and drink more water during the hotter days - well depending on where you live, your greens might also need a little extra TLC for this hot weather! Let’s take a look at watering, lighting, and just a few helpful tips to give your greens a healthy growing environment during this warm weather season. Both our black plastic and white ceramic grow trays are marked for how much water should be added to initially soak your Seed Quilt. The black Grow Trays should be filled to the fill line and the ceramic tray to the indentation ridge. When soaking, it is super important to soak the entire Seed Quilt long enough so it turns a shade darker. This ensures all seed pods have enough water to begin germination! Splish or Splash! Watering is oh-so-important to growing your microgreens. If you are in a drier climate or the temperature is just a little warmer in your house (are you sweating?! - remember our golden rule “if it’s comfortable for you, it’s comfortable for your plants!”), please take a peek under your Seed Quilt every so often. It's totally normal for the water level to have dropped below the level of the Seed Quilt since your greens have been drinking it up! 💧 If they’ve been thirsty and the roots are almost dry, add enough water to bring the level up to just above the tray's ribs to make sure your greens don't wilt prematurely! On the flip side, remember not to over-water! That's just as bad as running out of water. Grow Tip #1: Begin checking the roots at peel day to make sure they haven’t dried out! If this is the case, just add a little bit of water to the bottom of the tray. Avoid adding water directly on top of the Seed Quilt. Grow Tip #2: If you miss tip #1 and happen to wake up to your greens wilted, take a deep breath! It will be okay! Just add a cup of water to the bottom of the grow tray and they will perk back up. Zip-a-dee-doo-dah! Zip-a-dee-ay! My, oh my, it's a sunshiny day! Once you’ve soaked your quilt, no need to find the sunniest spot in your house for it to grow. Did you know that seeds have a blackout period that is vital to their success? This is why the top paper layer was created for the Seed Quilts and is removed after the seeds have germinated. Fun fact, this phase of growth is what encourages your greens to reach for any bits of light while they are starting to dig their roots deep, too. With that being said, the great part about microgreens is that they require little light to grow! In fact, exposing your greens to direct sunlight can sometimes do more harm than good like drying out your seed quilt or causing the water to evaporate more quickly. For this reason, we do not recommend a sunny windowsill in the summer! If you just can’t resist displaying your greens in the sunniest window box (we don’t blame you!), be sure to read up on our watering tips #1 and #2 above!Where are some of our favorite other places to grow your tray of microgreens? Kitchen countertops Island tops Dining room table Dedicated shelf Coffee table Grow Tip #3: If your greens are "leggy" or not as strong as you'd like them to be, this could result from too little lighting. Although able to grow in low light, you'll want to make sure they still get a sufficient amount of natural indirect or indoor ceiling lighting. If too dark, they’ll stretch from reaching too find the light. Nothing bad about that but just know if you’re looking for that lush harvesting with big open leaves, light is the key! - Finally, if you continue to have growing issues or just want to make sure you're on track, snap a picture and contact us here, and we are happy to help problem solve! Happy Summer! 💚 Maura & the rest of your Hamama Team
