Student Farmers is actively reaching out to manufacturers of Equipment and Supplies to develop strategic partnerships for volume orders. Our intention is to reduce the cost to students through either promotion codes or direct shipments from one or more Student Farmers distribution centers. For now, we have included the links to what we have found to be the most reliable and cost-effective products. In some cases, we receive are an affiliate and 100% of all proceeds goes toward the development of our Student Farmers non-profit 501c3.
Checklist:
For Beginners the key items are the trays (at least one with and without drainage holes), enough hemp grow mats for a few weeks of cultivation, and seed. The sun on a windowsill does most of the work! The cost is less per unit for the trays and hemp when you buy more than the minimum needs, so you may want to share the cost with friends or classmates.
For Intermediate farm students that don’t have access to a southern facing window, you will need to add a single tray grow light to the beginner set of equipment and supplies.
For Advanced farm students, who want to go bigger with three trays running simultaneously, go for the full roster of equipment and supplies, noting that the larger grow light replaces the single tray grow light and that the combination tray kit is not required.
| Equipment and Supply | Beginner | Intermediate | Advanced |
| Trays | 20’x10’ Tray | 20’x10’ Tray | 20’x10’ Tray (3 PCs.) |
| Grow Base | Hemp Grow Mats | Hemp Grow Mats | Hemp Grow Mats or Soil |
| Light Source | Sun | Grow Light (LED shop light or under-cabinet LED grow light) | LED Grow Light |
| Timing control | N/A | N/A | Timer |
| Rack | N/A | N/A | 3-tray Shelf |
| Sprayer | Water Sprayer | Water Sprayer | Water Sprayer |
| Seed Supply | Mixed Microgreen Seeds | Mixed Microgreen Seeds | Self-selection seeds |
Student Farmers Microgreen Superfood Starter Kit with “BAT” Mix of Broccoli, Arugula, and Turnip seeds.
(All you need to start growing microgreens)
This Microgreen Superfood Starter Kit includes:
1. Four Envelopes of Seeds, 2. Four Grow Mats. 3. One Grow Tray (with drainage holes), 4. One Upper Tray (without holes). 5. One Lower Tray (without holes), 6. Spray Bottle.
(Note: This is for windowsill, countertop, or tabletop farming and does not include a grow light. When you decide to go “bigger” the links below include the individual Equipment and Supplies)
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ADDED EQUIPMENT
Trays:
Trays without drainage holes
Microgreen Trays No Holes, 10 Pack, Extra Strength Black Shallow 1020 Tray Grow Microgreens Wheatgrass Fodder Sprouting Plants
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Trays with drainage holes
Bootstrap Farmer 1020 Tray with Holes 10 Pack
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Grow Lights:
Grow Light for 1 Grow Tray
Maxxima 2 ft. Utility LED Shop Light Fixture, 20 Watt, Linkable, Frosted Lens 5000K Daylight 2000 Lumens, Plug in, Pull Chain, Hardware Included
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Grow Light for 3 Grow Trays
Light in Depot 2FT Commercial LED 162w High Bay Light, 21222Lm 5000k 0-10V Dimming
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Timer (Optional)
GE 24-Hour Heavy Duty Indoor Plug-in Mechanical Timer, 2 Grounded Outlets, 30 Minute Intervals, Daily On/Off Cycle
The key is to typically provide microgreens with 12 hours of light and 12 hours of dark, so that the plants can rest. You can certainly switch or unplug the light manually, and the timer is just a tool to take the “task” off of your list.: About $15 or less
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Shelving (for 3 Tray Systems)
YSSOA 4-Tier Heavy Duty Storage Shelving Unit ,Chrome,35L x 18W x 61H inch
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SUPPLIES
Seeds: About $1 / Tray
Superfood Microgreen Seeds Mix | for Microgreens Growing Trays | 1 LB | Heirloom Non GMO Purple Kohlrabi, Collard, Radish, Turnip & Broccoli Sprouts Seeds | Rainbow Heirloom Seed Co.
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Hemp Grow Mats: About $1.50 / Tray for 10 x 20 and $0.75 / Tray for 10 x 10
terrafibre Hemp Matting (1, 10″ x 120′) The actual width is closer to 9.5” which fits nicely into 10” x 20” grow trays. 120’ is 1,440 inches, yielding 72 grow mats that are 20” each. The roll costs about $100, which nets out to $1.39 per matt. It’s super easy to just cut the hemp with scissors. This roll is over a year of mats for single tray farming, but the cost of the roll is much less than buying single pre-cut hemp sheets. The extra hemp on the roll is good motivation to share it with a friend, split the cost with a classmate, or grow more than one tray each week.
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Great Alternative Option: Jute Grow Mats. Click Here to ORDER
Containers (to store the microgreens in the fridge): About $0.50 / container
Volume Deal:
Biodegradable 6″ x 6″ x 3″ Clear PLA Clamshell, Hinged Lid. Packs of 80, 160, and 240 (which is the best value). At about $120 for the case of 240 clamshells, the unit cost is about $0.50. They are made from 100% plants (corn starch) and these are in line with the sustainability goals of Student Farmers. Please note that you can hand wash and reuse the containers.
240 may seem like a lot of containers, but each grow tray yields 8 containers of microgreens, so over 52 weeks of a year that’s 416 containers. If you are growing three trays concurrently you will use 24 each week, which is 10 weeks (2.5 months)
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Smaller Volume Option:
World Centric 100% Compostable 7 Inch Plastic Clamshell Container. Pack 25. This set of 25 is about $15, which brings the unit cost to about $0.60. While it is a higher unit cost, you don’t have to spend closer to $105 to get 240 units with the volume deal.
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Labels (if you would like to give some to family or friends and include information on the type of microgreens on the label): About $0.06 (6 cents) / container sticker
Option 1: Waterproof Labels: Avery® Waterproof Labels with Ultrahold® Permanent Adhesive, 2″ x 4″, Laser, 500 Labels (5523)
50 sheets of 10. Note that you can layout the graphic and text on half of each sticker, and then cut them in half with scissors or a cutting device to make 1,000 stickers. At about $60 for the pack, this the cost for the waterproof stickers is $0.06 (6 cents) / container sticker. There are also less expensive non-waterproof stickers on the market and the cost is often less than half of these stickers.
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Option 2: Non-waterproof Labels: AVERY Shipping Address Labels, Laser Printers, 1,000 Labels, 2×4 Labels, Permanent Adhesive, TrueBlock (5163)
This is an example of non-waterproof stickers that significantly brings down the per unit cost to about a penny and a half per container, if you cut the labels in half.
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T-Shirts
In addition to growing fresh, affordable, and pesticide free food, our Student Farmers team has found a sustainable apparel manufacturer that produces the shirts from 60% organic cotton and 40% recycled poly rPET blend that makes the fabric more durable and heavyweight. Each shirt saves at least 4 plastic bottles from ending up in a landfill, or worse. To learn more and order click StudentFarmers.org T-Shirt or T-Shirts with Circle logo on the front with .org on the back.
Miscellaneous Items
These are things that you may already have at hand:
Shears: Kitchen Shears, iBayam Kitchen Scissors Heavy Duty, Dishwasher Safe Food Cooking Scissors All Purpose Stainless Steel Utility Scissors, 2-Pack (Black Red, Black Gray) Scissors: For cutting the Hemp Grow Matts to 20” length before germination and after vegetation to fit in the containers.
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Sprayers: CSBD 32oz Plastic Spray Bottles, Empty and Reusable for Cleaning Solutions, Water, Auto Detailing, or Bathroom and Kitchen, Commercial and Residential, 3 Pack (White/Blue) Spray Bottle: For spritzing the microgreens in the morning and evening.
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Scale: Etekcity Food Kitchen Scale, Digital Grams and Ounces for Weight Loss, Baking, Cooking, Keto and Meal Prep, Medium, 304 Stainless Steel. Food Scale (Optional) to measure the seed weight per tray. You can also just use about 8 teaspoons and get to approximately 1 oz of seeds per tray.
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FOR GROWING BEYOND MICROGREENS:
Countertop Herb Garden with LED Lights: AeroGarden
Grow Cubes: Rockwool
Grow Cube Trays: Grow-Smart
Nutrients: MaxiGrow
Herb Seeds: Set of 12
Leafy Green Seeds: Set of 8
Product Updates
We are periodically updating this roster of equipment and supplies, so if you find a product that appears to be comparable or better in quality and price, please Contact Us so that we can add replace it or add an additional option