Do you get Mold on Sprouts or Fungus on Microgreens? Here is the explanation and solution:

What is mold on Sprouts and fungus on Microgreens?

What are root hairs on Sprouts if not mold?

Which Sprouts and Microgreens form root hairs?

Lack of moisture causes more root hairs on sprouts

Healthy roots on Sprouts and Microgreens

Can you eat root hairs on Sprouts in the food?

Enjoy healthy roots and sprouts in a SproutPearl

It is only certain sprouts and microgreens that get ‘mould’ and ‘mold’ on the roots – the so-called root hairs. They are: Broccoli – Chinese radish – Pink cabbage – Violet radish – Rapeseed – Red cabbage – Mustard – Sunflower + certain varieties of grain.

You can’t control whether a Spire grows root hairs. It is in the genes of the plant. Root hairs are smart because they allow the plant to absorb the bit of moisture that is in the top of the soil.

Other plants have chosen to bet on a single long root without root hairs, which can quickly shoot down to low-lying moisture, after which the long root forms lateral roots. These sprouts are: Fenugreek – Red clover – White clover – Lucerne, on the other hand, has a single root.

The two root types each have a different strategy, both of which are about the plant’s need for water, nutrition and adhesion. Plants just bet differently based on evolution’s success criteria.

In order for your Sprouts and Microgreens to grow into healthy plants, they need a good moisture balance in the sprout box. The container must partly retain the moisture and still allow the plants to get oxygen.

Sprouts are only as healthy as their roots. If you have difficulty achieving a good moisture balance around the roots, I can recommend a SpirePerle tray.

The SpirePearl is a FRESH SPROUT design. I created it in 2017 when I missed a functional and beautiful sprouting container. The tray supports the plants’ needs for oxygen, moisture and drainage on their journey from dry seed to crisp, ready-to-eat plant.

You can grow both the small Sprouts and the larger Microgreens in it.

Yes, you can easily eat its sprouts with ‘moldy’ roots. That is, if you are sure that the mold is root hair – see more above.

The fluffy roots are edible as are all the roots of your sprouts grown in a clean sprout container.

Roots with root hairs may look a little wild, but they are full of plant fiber. They are neutral in taste, which makes them easy to slice for extra filling in recipes with raw greens.

I typically blend root hairs myself into smoothies, dips or spreads. Other times I eat them directly from the sprout tray together with the rest of the sprout.

When I take pictures of Sprouts and Microgreens, I trim and eat the root hairs while styling the setup, as the thin roots tend to turn brown quickly in dry air.

Here are 7 great tips for your succesful Sunflower sprout cultivation:

1. Mouldy sunflower sprouts
2. Soaking airfilled seeds
3. Why do the Sprouts grow bitter?
4. Pink stems on sunflower
5. Hulled or unhulled seeds
6. Sunflower sprouts in recipes
7. Bird seeds for sprouting

Soaking your sunflower sprouting seeds require a little more than soaking other seeds. This us due to the seeds being full of air.

So to soak sunflower seeds optimally, you need to force the seeds under water for all 8 hours of soaking.

One useful way is to place a bowl on top of the seeds and make sure the seeds are all submersed in water. Only this way will they absorb the nessecary water to sprout optimally.

Have you ever experienced the otherwise green and white stems on you sunflower sprouts turn pink?

The beautiful pink tones that form in your sunflower sprouts is caused by the plants being stressed. The stress is often lack of water or too high temperatures for the little seedling. It may also be caused by a fast switch between heat and cold.

The colouring is not harmful in any way. It is a natural antioxidant called anthocyanin. The same as in green apples turning red when exposed to hot sun during growth.

The sprouts will turn green again if you rinse them more often and place them cooler to prevent their stress.

You can find unhulled sunflower seeds in most supermarkets, but they will seldom succeed as sprouts.

This is because sunflower seeds are very fragile and easily break. And broken seeds give bad, rotten sprouts. So to get beautiful sunflower sprouts, they must be grown from sunflower seeds with shells/hulls on them.

Also you should sort away broken seeds before soaking. Then it will be easier for you to keep the rest healthy during cultivation. When you choose Sunflower seeds certified for sprouting, the seeds have been handled carefully to avoid too many broken seeds.

Sunflower sprouts and microgreens are known to be full of nutrients. Because of this many use them in big quantities in juicing. If you choose to make juice from sunflower, you can get a little extra from growing them i  a SproutPearl sprouter.

This is because this sprouter allow for you to harvest and use the whole sprout in your recipe. If you grow in soil, you can only eat the stem and leaves.

have a sweet taste reminiscent of fresh sunflower seeds. Their flavor is light and delicious in raw salads and green smoothies.

If you prefer to unse inly the stems and leaves in dishes like sandwiches, salads or wraps, you can use the leftover roots blended into dips, spreads or smoothies.

It may be tempting to use bird sunflower seeds for your home-grown sprouts and microgreens. I do not recommend that.

Why not?

Because sunflower seeds sold for birds are often sprayed with pesticides that the sprouts take in during the cultivation. Or the seeds are not clean and teated for harmful bacteria which certified sprouting seeds has to be by law.

So choose organic sunflower seeds with shells/hulls on them sold espicially for sprouts. These will give you good, healthy sprouts and an easy cultivation.