Vermiculite/Fleece study photos

[Guest guest]

I've uploaded the photos I took for the study I recently finished.

Basically, I've compared using vermiculite as a growth medium versus

fleece. The seeds were broccoli. Also, on the left side of the

pictures, the seeds had a 12 hour presoak. On the right, the seeds

had no presoaking before planting. Both seeds were planted at the

same time.

It seems to me by the study that the growth medium had less to do with

the growth than the presoak did. In the end, all the broccoli

sprouted, but the non-soaked seeds were about 24-36 hours behind the

soaked ones.

Just thought some here may be interested in the results. I'll do the

burlap test next, when I get some material that I'm confident that has

not been treated with chemicals.

Tim

[Guest guest]

>

> I've uploaded the photos I took for the study I recently finished.

>

> Just thought some here may be interested in the results.

> Tim

>

Thx for putting up your photos. Interesting, glad we could get a

look. Clean looking. Good job.

Jerry

[Guest guest]

Tim,

Wow, they look fabulous!! So much better than mine ever look. Thank you for

taking the time to conduct your experiment, photograph, and post your results!!

When you say you used fleece to sprout them, are you talking about regular

fleece material you can purchase at a fabric store? I would be very interested

in growing my broccoli sprouts this way (as well as any other seeds that it

would work with) as they look so tasty!!

Vermiculite/Fleece study photos

I've uploaded the photos I took for the study I recently finished.

Basically, I've compared using vermiculite as a growth medium versus

fleece. The seeds were broccoli. Also, on the left side of the

pictures, the seeds had a 12 hour presoak. On the right, the seeds

had no presoaking before planting. Both seeds were planted at the

same time.

It seems to me by the study that the growth medium had less to do with

the growth than the presoak did. In the end, all the broccoli

sprouted, but the non-soaked seeds were about 24-36 hours behind the

soaked ones.

Just thought some here may be interested in the results. I'll do the

burlap test next, when I get some material that I'm confident that has

not been treated with chemicals.

Tim

[Guest guest]

>

> Tim,

>

> Wow, they look fabulous!! So much better than mine ever look.

Thank you for taking the time to conduct your experiment, photograph,

and post your results!!

>

> When you say you used fleece to sprout them, are you talking about

regular fleece material you can purchase at a fabric store? I would

be very interested in growing my broccoli sprouts this way (as well

as any other seeds that it would work with) as they look so tasty!!

>

>

Thank you for the compliment. In regards to the fleece, I went to Jo

Ann's Fabric Store and bought 12 square yards of regular fleece a

couple months back. I originally bought it to cut 1 sq ft blankets

for a puppy I have. She likes to chew on the blankets. After

realizing that she now has trained herself to chew on ALL blankets

(big oops on my part) I stopped giving her the fleece blankets. So,

I had all this fleece material laying around, and I thought, what the

heck, let's just try it.

After the soak, and getting the fleece damp, all I did was spray the

seeds/sprouts with a spray bottle about 3-4 times a day.

Hope this helps some.

Tim

[Guest guest]

Is fleece the same as felt? I don't know the answer to that one. I

don't know what felt is made of, or if it's always made of the same

material. Fleece is a synthetic material made of polyester. The

reason why I chose fleece was mainly because I had it laying around,

and I wanted to use something completely non-soil.

A friend of mine used " baby blankets " , which are sold on

.com. The are made of organic material, and are to be

used for sprouting micro-greens. He posted pictures on a message

board I belong to, and said the material was similar to felt. That

was what gave me the idea. I think you could use just about anything

to be truthful. I think the only thing that matters is that the

material has to stay moist, and the roots have to be able to penetrate

what you use, so they can get a firm hold to allow the plants to

grow. I think you can use just about anything to be truthful.

Tim

wow i may try

it?!

>

[Guest guest]

Is fleece the same as felt? I don't know the answer to that one. I

don't know what felt is made of, or if it's always made of the same

material. Fleece is a synthetic material made of polyester. The

reason why I chose fleece was mainly because I had it laying around,

and I wanted to use something completely non-soil.

A friend of mine used " baby blankets " , which are sold on

.com. The are made of organic material, and are to be

used for sprouting micro-greens. He posted pictures on a message

board I belong to, and said the material was similar to felt. That

was what gave me the idea. I think you could use just about anything

to be truthful. I think the only thing that matters is that the

material has to stay moist, and the roots have to be able to penetrate

what you use, so they can get a firm hold to allow the plants to

grow. I think you can use just about anything to be truthful.

Tim

wow i may try

it?!

>

[Guest guest]

Fleece is made of polyethylene fiber; felt is made of cotton.

_____

From: [mailto: ] On

Behalf Of Tim

Sent: Sunday, October 29, 2006 1:24 AM

Subject: Re: Vermiculite/Fleece study photos

Is fleece the same as felt? I don't know the answer to that one. I

don't know what felt is made of, or if it's always made of the same

material. Fleece is a synthetic material made of polyester. The

reason why I chose fleece was mainly because I had it laying around,

and I wanted to use something completely non-soil.

A friend of mine used " baby blankets " , which are sold on

.com. The are made of organic material, and are to be

used for sprouting micro-greens. He posted pictures on a message

board I belong to, and said the material was similar to felt. That

was what gave me the idea. I think you could use just about anything

to be truthful. I think the only thing that matters is that the

material has to stay moist, and the roots have to be able to penetrate

what you use, so they can get a firm hold to allow the plants to

grow. I think you can use just about anything to be truthful.

Tim

wow i may try

it?!

>

[Guest guest]

Is it possible that the vermiculite is contaminated with asbestos?

Morning Edition on NPR just ran a story this morning about a vermiculite

mine in Libby Colorado. Click on this link to read a summary of the report

and listen to the audio.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6421549#email

Grace

>

> I've uploaded the photos I took for the study I recently finished.

> Basically, I've compared using vermiculite as a growth medium versus

> fleece. The seeds were broccoli. Also, on the left side of the

> pictures, the seeds had a 12 hour presoak. On the right, the seeds

> had no presoaking before planting. Both seeds were planted at the

> same time.

>

> It seems to me by the study that the growth medium had less to do with

> the growth than the presoak did. In the end, all the broccoli

> sprouted, but the non-soaked seeds were about 24-36 hours behind the

> soaked ones.

>

> Just thought some here may be interested in the results. I'll do the

> burlap test next, when I get some material that I'm confident that has

> not been treated with chemicals.

>

> Tim

>

[Guest guest]

Would it matter? In vertical growing you're only eating the part above the

growing medium. Asbestos fibers are dangerous if you inhale them; any minerals

absorbed by the sprout aren't.

>Is it possible that the vermiculite is contaminated with asbestos?

>

>Morning Edition on NPR just ran a story this morning about a vermiculite

>mine in Libby Colorado. Click on this link to read a summary of the report

>and listen to the audio.

>

>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6421549#email

>

>Grace

>

>

>>

>> I've uploaded the photos I took for the study I recently finished.

>> Basically, I've compared using vermiculite as a growth medium versus

>> fleece. The seeds were broccoli. Also, on the left side of the

>> pictures, the seeds had a 12 hour presoak. On the right, the seeds

>> had no presoaking before planting. Both seeds were planted at the

>> same time.

>>

>> It seems to me by the study that the growth medium had less to do with

>> the growth than the presoak did. In the end, all the broccoli

>> sprouted, but the non-soaked seeds were about 24-36 hours behind the

>> soaked ones.

>>

>> Just thought some here may be interested in the results. I'll do the

>> burlap test next, when I get some material that I'm confident that has

>> not been treated with chemicals.

>>

>> Tim

>>

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