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Writer's pictureRavindra G
Jul 305 min read

Why Specialized Trays Are Essential for Microgreens Farming

Controlled Environment in Growing


Microgreens are normally grown in trays or containers for controlled mediums. Trays can safely help in controlling the parameters such as soil depth, moisture content, and light intensity. These are very important parameters concerning the optimal growing conditions of microgreens. In addition, it economizes on space.


Growing microgreens in trays allows a grower to effectively use the growing area, be it in a greenhouse or indoor growing room, or even outdoors. The trays may be stacked or set out to make use of vertical space and increase production in a limited square-foot area.



Uniform growth and harvest

This uniformity of the greens in tray culture makes it easier to harvest all greens at the correct stage in one go. Such uniformity ensures that the microgreens are all harvested at the same time with similar size, color, and flavor.


Easy handling and Transport

Trays are most convenient for handling and moving microgreens. They protect delicate greens from damage during harvesting, washing, packaging, and shipping. It's much easier to transport microgreens around a growing facility or to the market in trays.


Lowered Contamination Risks:

With tray-grown microgreens, most diseases and pests related to soil will be reduced. Cleanliness of trays and growing media should be maintained as much as possible to avoid risks of contamination for the cultivation of healthy, quality microgreens.


Trays are an integral component in microgreens farming. They provide the farmer with a controlled growing environment, space efficiency, uniform growth and harvest, easy handling and transportation, and reduction of contamination risks. Proper selection and management of the trays is, therefore, important for effective microgreen production.


How do trays help in the growth and maintenance of microgreens?


Trays are essential in the cultivation of microgreens. The advantages are many, and offer tremendous help at all levels for growing these greens. Here are the major ways that trays contribute to microgreens farming:


Optimized growing conditions

The control is provided by the trays, which maximize the conditions required for germination and further growth. These trays may be filled with any growing media such as soil, coco peat, or vermicompost, all of which may be fine-tuned based on different microgreen species. This helps in controlling the amount of moisture and the availability of nutrients required by the microgreens during their healthy growth.


Space Efficiency

Trays allow growers to grow plants efficiently, mainly within indoor or vertical farming systems. Trays can be stacked or set out in a way that allows for the use of vertical space. This facilitates the cultivation of a high number of plants within a relatively small area, which is quite important in urban areas where space is limited.


Light Management

They may also be made to suit some LED lighting systems. The spacing of the trays can be done in a manner that provides maximum light exposure, thus ensuring each microgreen gets enough for photosynthesis. It is evident that yield of microgreens is highly dependent on the light intensity and uniformity, which is ensured through trays.


Easy Maintenance and Harvesting

The trays make caring for microgreens easy through easy watering and monitoring with the harvesting process. They are also easily movable to clean or just get out of the way and, by design, avoid compacting the soil and assist drainage, which reduces the possibilities of overwatering and root diseases.


High-Yield and Quality.

Using trays provides a stable growing environment, thereby leading to higher yields and quality of microgreens. It has been shown that compared to other growing methods, trays could be used to generate uniform growth and maturation of microgreens, which is very critical in attaining a consistent size and flavor at harvest time.


In other words, trays are essential in microgreens farming because they provide a maximum growing condition, ensure space efficiency, manage light exposure, make maintenance easy, and improve yield and quality—suddenly, all of which contribute to successful microgreens production.


What are the common challenges faced with different tray sizes in microgreens farming

Different sizes of trays in microgreens farming can bring about various types of challenges related to growth, maintenance, and general yield. Here are some common challenges associated with different tray sizes:

1. Space Limitations

Thus, using a small tray will reduce the number of plants that can be grown at a time, hence decreasing the overall yield per area. On the other hand, larger trays take up more space, which is a limiting factor in urban or indoor farming conditions where space is at a premium.


2. Water Management

This can dry out relatively fast, creating the need for more frequency in watering to attain the perfect amount of moisture. This can lead to very unequal growth when not monitored. On the other extreme, the larger trays will hold the moisture better; but, conversely, there is always the possibility that with bad drainage, there might be over-watering that causes root rot.


3. Dispersion of Nutrients

In the small trays, the volume of the raising medium may get depleted very fast, so there is an increased frequency of fertilization; for bigger trays, more raising medium means that more nutrients may be retained, although, if mismanaged, there may be unequal distributions.


4. Harvesting Problems

Larger trays can make the harvesting process more complicated because of the density of the plants; some areas of the tray may not be accessible without damaging the microgreens. On the other hand, smaller trays would make it easier to get to the microgreens but could very well deplete their crop more rapidly.


5. Light Distribution

This would affect the size and setting of trays and, therefore, the amount of light they would receive. Large trays may shade the plants at the middle, thus promoting uneven growth. Small trays may be set up to enhance exposure to light but might not make effective use of space.


Although tray size in microgreen farming is of such an important aspect, it presents a number of challenges in the direction of space management, water and nutrient distribution, growth variability, harvesting, and light exposure. Growers must carefully consider these factors while opting for a tray size so that maximum output could be derived in the production of microgreens.

There are certainly different tray sizes that can best bring out specific microgreens varieties, and these may largely affect their growth and yield. Here are some insights based on research findings:


Recommended Tray Sizes for Specific Microgreens


Microgreens like Cauliflower, Broccoli, Mustard

Experiments on some of the microgreens of the family Brassicaceae demonstrated that about 250mm X 300mm is a suitable tray size. This tray size can achieve high total yield than the others under optimal growing conditions, including the provision of proper light intensity and growing media.


Pea Shoots, Corn microgreens, Sunflower

For instance, the increased volume of a larger tray can support deeper rooting and more square inches per plant for sunflower microgreens, leading to increased yields.


General Considerations:

Varieties with larger seeds or those growing taller, like sunflowers, may prefer larger trays depending on their growth habits. Conversely, varieties with smaller seeds would do very well in smaller trays, which allow more efficient use of space and resources.


We strongly recommend our Specialized trays for all varieties of microgreens. However, generally speaking, bigger trays work for corn salad and sunflower microgreens; in such a case, small trays may be more suitable for compact varieties like arugula. Growers will want to consider the growth habits and requirements of each microgreen variety when choosing tray sizes to optimize yield and quality.


Ready to enhance your microgreens farming setup? Select the best trays for your needs and start growing healthy, vibrant microgreens today.

Phone: +91 97415 36972


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