First sow: five shelves, one rack, and zero idea how this goes.
Day one of Wilder Roots as an actual business. Five shelves of microgreens on a single rack, pink and white lights on a timer, and a whole lot to learn before the next rack goes up.
Today is the day Wilder Roots stops being an idea on a sticky note and starts being a thing on a rack.
The setup is one rack to start: five shelves of microgreens, a combination of pink and white grow lights on a timer. Nothing fancy yet — just shelves, seeds, and the patience to dial in the cycle one round at a time.
Why one rack first
We could have bought three racks and filled twenty trays on day one. Starting with one is the smarter play — not because bigger is bad, but because one rack teaches the whole cycle cold: sow, mist, harvest, pack, repeat. Get that dialed in and the next racks are mostly repetition. We fully intend to grow — we just want the foundation solid before we do.
What we're tracking
- Days from sow to germination on each variety
- How much water each shelf drinks per day
- What the light pattern (pink/white ratio) does to leaf color
- What we'd tweak next round — the small adjustments that make each sow better
Tracking is the thing. Anybody can grow microgreens. Fewer people can tell you, on demand, exactly what's ready and when. We're building toward the second thing — quietly, while we learn the first.
"Wait — those tiny sprouts are food?" — the kids, day one
That's the whole pitch, really — those tiny sprouts become food, fresh and grown a few feet from where they're eaten. We started small, and we're learning as we go. Humble beginnings.