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Soaking Your Seeds

For our bigger seed types — pea shoots and sunflower — a pre-soak in water is required to ensure the best harvest possible. Both pea shoot and sunflower seeds have a large, thicker outer hull. Soaking seeds helps to speed up the germination process by weakening that tough outer layer and making it easier for the seed sprouts to break through and begin to root.

Soaking Steps:

  1. Tear open seed packet and transfer seeds into a strainer
  2. Rinse seeds with cold water — this helps wash off any foreign contaminants that might be on seed hulls
  3. After a thorough rinse, transfer seeds from the strainer into a medium size bowl
  4. Fill bowl with cold water and set a timer for 4 - 8 hours — seeds can soak for up to 24 hours, but we’ve found the best results in the 4 - 8 range
  5. When the timer ends, transfer seeds back into the strainer and give them a final rinse — plant immediately, do not let seeds dry back out
  6. Transfer into grow tray with coir, spray with water, and cover with germination lid

TO NOTE: Since you are soaking the seeds for 4 - 8 hours, we recommend beginning this step in the morning and planting in the late afternoon.

OPTIONAL

If your grow environment may be prone to mold (low airflow, high temperature and humidity), we recommend pre-soaking your seeds in a mixture of 1 Tbsp 3% food grade hydrogen peroxide or white vinegar for every 1 cup of water for 5 minutes max. This will help eliminate any bacteria that may be on the seed hulls. After soaking in the mixture, transfer back into the strainer, thoroughly rinse, and proceed to soak in regular cold water for the 4-8 hours.

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PRE-SOAKING FAQS

Bigger seed varieties that require pre-soaking are pretty tolerant when it comes to how short / long they can soak in water for. 4 - 8 hours is the sweet spot, but your seeds should be fine if the time spent soaking in water falls outside of this range. Outside of 4 - 8 hours, you might see slightly lower germination rates, or staggered germination within the tray. 

After your seeds have soaked in water for 4-8 hours, give them a final rinse and plant immediately.

If seeds are left out after soaking, they can begin to sprout or dry out, which can cause germination issues. You just spent all that time soaking them — it's time to get planting!

Soak your seeds in cold water for the best results.

If you forget to pre-soak pea shoots or sunflower seeds, germination rates will be severely effected and your harvest will be substantially smaller. If this happens, you can try to mitigate by giving the seeds a heavy spray down with water daily, with the goal of loosening up the seed hull. 

Pea shoot microgreen seeds for indoor gardening - organic, non-GMO
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The Fieldhouse in Clay on kitchen countertop with grow light on mobile - best indoor garden

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