Home Microgreens Seed Calculator
Use this Home Microgreens seed calculator to determine the perfect seeding density for your microgreen trays.
We’ve covered aspects of microgreen seed density and calculating the perfect seed density in several articles; see below for links to those articles.
The reason for multiple articles is that seeding density is vital for both commercial and home microgreen growers.
In this article, as you can imagine by the name of this website, we concentrate on the microgreen tray seeding density for home microgreen growers.
Below is an interactive web microgreens seed calculator you can use to determine how many grams of microgreen seeds you need for your trays. There are over 20 varieties of microgreens listed, and more will be added.
To go directly to the Home Microgreens Calculator, click here.
Methods to Calculate Microgreen Seed Density
Below are the iterations used to create the microgreens seed calculator presented below.
At first, we tried to use the rather gross reported weights and volumes used by commercial growers to plant their 10- by 20-inch trays.
FREE Home Microgreens Grow course that teaches you the basics of growing microgreens in your home! There are 12 video lessons (over 120 minutes), downloads, and more written information and tips!
We found that the seeding densities used by commercial growers – those growing microgreens to sell to restaurants, stores, and farmers’ markets – were much too dense for the smaller trays most home microgreen growers would use.
In our opinion, the plants were so tight that they fought for light, and those in the middle of the tray didn’t develop to efficiently convert light energy to maximize their nutrition.
Commercial growers obviously want to produce a nutritious product. But they also want to maximize the weight of harvested greens. Home growers, on the other hand, can give up a bit of yield for more nutritious and flavorful greens.
But all we had to go on were the seed weights (or volumes) used by commercial growers, so we went with it and modified as we tested.
We also found that several wholesale microgreen websites estimate how many seeds are in a pound. Using averages of these estimates, we now know how many seeds are planted on the tray. Dividing this number by the area of the tray gives us how many seeds are ideally grown per square inch of space on the tray.
This allows us to calculate how many seeds (and thus the weight) are ideal for the perfect seeding density regardless of the tray area.
You can read more about that method and get a free chart listing the number of seeds per gram for various microgreens.
Sowing MicroGreen Trays With a Consistent Seeding Density
Trial and Experimentation with Microgreen Seeds
Using the method explained above and then planting and growing tray after tray of microgreens, we have narrowed down what we believe to be the correct seeding density for the Home Microgreens Store trays.
In the associated article, we explain more about why microgreen seeding density is essential. A couple of web-interface calculators help you calculate how much seed you need for microgreen tray sizes that are not equivalent to the Home Microgreens Store tray.
These calculators might be obsolete with the creation of the calculator presented below and additional purchase options in the Home Microgreen Store. However, the content of the article is beneficial.
Click the link below to read the article.
Calculating Microgreen Seed Density For Your Planting Trays
Home Microgreen Seed Calculator
Below is the Microgreen Seed Calculator. Most likely, it will be obvious how to use the calculator, but below we explain how to use it and how the calculations are derived.
The Home Microgreens Calculator uses the dimensions of your tray and converts it to the surface area.
Then the algorithm uses the data collected in our planting trials and experiments to calculate how many grams of microgreen seed you’ll need to sow in your planting tray.
If you would rather know how much seed to use in teaspoons, tablespoons, or quarter cups you can click here to use the volume seed density calculator.
Update* Seed Density Course with 2 Calculators!
Since writing this article, I have created a new mini-course with two seed calculators. One provides recommended seeding densities in grams, like the one above.
The other is measuring spoon units, like teaspoons, tablespoons, and quarter cups, depending on the microgreen variety.
Almost 50 Microgreen Varieties are represented on the full calculators.
Instead of the 15 varieties like the calculator above, the new calculators have almost 50 varieties, and I will continue to add varieties to the calculators.
All of the seed density information for the most common tray sizes are also included on each microgreen variation product page in the Home Microgreens Shop. Creating algebraic equations from the data given is basic 7th grade math.
The purpose of the low cost Seed Density Course and Full Calculators is convenience. The calculators are also available outside the course from the Members Dashboard once the course has been purchased or you are a Patron Level Member.
Home Microgreens Seed Density Course & Calculators
The course is available for those in the US and our International readers!
The Seed Density Course contains:
- Four video lessons
- Two seed calculators (grams & volume)
- 50+ microgreen varieties in the calculator.
- Two worksheets to write down your seed weights or volumes.
- Links to peer-reviewed papers.
- Lifetime access & updates
- Future discounts on other premium content
- Currently $9.99 and a money back guarantee.
Learn more and purchase the Full Calculators and take advantage of the limited time perks by clicking the button below
Using the Home Microgreen Seed Calculator(s)
First, measure the average length and width of the microgreen tray you will plant (in inches).
Important Step
Don’t necessarily measure the edges of the tray, but rather, the extent of the soil in the tray. You want to calculate the surface area of plantable soil in the tray.
Then adjust the slider bars on the calculator to the plantable dimensions of your tray. The bars move in quarter-inch intervals.
You’ll notice that values under each microgreen variety below the sliders will change as the sliders move.
The value presented under each microgreen variety is the mass of seed in grams you should plant in your microgreen tray.
Much Easier Way to Calculate Seeding Density
As you can see, that is a much easier way to calculate how much seed you need for each of your trays.
You can now buy several varieties of microgreen seeds by ounce in the Home Microgreens Store.
Use the seed calculator above, then go to the Home Microgreens Store and purchase the amount of seed you need for your trays.
Home Microgreens Store
Have a Question?
If you have any questions about the information in this post or microgreens, in general, please leave a comment below or reach out to me using the Ask a Question page.
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Is your microgreen seed calculator considering germination rate by percentage? I have been reading the germination rate on my seed packages which I consider when I plant them.
Thanks for your question. The calculation is based on a 90% germination rate.
I love the seed density calculator. Some of the recommended amounts seem surprisingly low. I like the idea of being conservative with seed as it can be one of the highest costs portray. Your recommendation for peas seems rather High. I’ve gotten away with a quarter pound in the past with great results. But that was using dwarf grey sugar
Thank you!
Remember the calculator is a place to start. It should get you close depending on your growing conditions and grow media. It isn’t as accurate with larger trays as smaller trays. But again, it’s a place to start.
Yes, some weights are low, but those are for the microgreens that have larger leaves or should be grown longer. For peas and sunflowers, the amount is what fits in the Home Microgreens Tray. For 1020 trays I use 9.8-ounces for peas and 4.8-ounces for sunflowers. But again, it depends on the seed as each seed lot is a different size and density. The seed calculator is again, only a guide.
Great calculator but could you clarify the amount needed for upland cress please and thank you.
Will do shortly!