It's About The Horse

Clarissa · Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2011 11:31 am Post subject: Sprouted Barley

For many years since I first spoke with the 2 guys who invented the Fodder Solutions system & then also developed the Global Fodder variation, I have been very interested in feeding sprouted barley.

But never being able to afford the older big systems I tried to do it small scale without success. Then Fodder Solutions developed the small fully automated portable 6-10 horse system costing AU$10k, I wanted one but not a happening thing yet.

So much experimentation later I have got IT!!!! hello1

It takes more days than the professional systems take to produce an edible crop but the horses love it. Unfortunately I won't be able to produce enough to be a total feed option for mine but it is a great additive for variety. Barely grows well here in winter since it is a cool season crop but it most likely won't grow in summer. I think that is where I have been failing, thinking it needs hot humid conditions whereas what it really needs is 21c & medium humidity. The plastic cloach has been the real beneficial thing.
It's not as long as the professional systems make but if I left it another day it goes sticky & gunky under the root mass.

The thing that makes sprouted grain so good is that the grain is a complete feed which includes the exceptionally vital enzymes that are killed in hay making process or any other process for dry grain storage or feeding. It is those enzymes that stop the sugars becoming toxic to the animal that eats them, instead they are turned into healthy energy.

Many types of sprouted grains are suitable for feeding to horses, sunflower seed, barley, wheat, bukwheat, various peas & pulses, fenugreek, etc.

The cost of each serve of sprouted barley for me is equal to feeding each horse 2 meduim sized carrots daily so no cheaper than other feeds but a greater variety complete with enzymes which are missing in all other feed types (hay, processed or plain dry feeds).

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Clarissa · Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2011 11:51 am Post subject:

There is this thread started in March 2009

http://itsaboutthehorse.myfastforum.org/about141.html
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learningthedance · Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2011 12:14 pm Post subject:

I have no idea about feeding sprouted Barley, but I just wanted to say that your system looks awesome. Pretty darn clever!!

Now you will send me off to do homework on Spouted Barley.

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"Some people are always grumbling
because roses have thorns;
I am thankful
that thorns have roses."
Alphonse Karr

thebundychick · Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2011 11:13 pm Post subject:

Clarissa. I love you!

sebocat · Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2011 11:31 pm Post subject:

Awesome, this is what I was just looking at trying to do after I saw it in operation in Fairbanks! I have TWO of those little greenhouses!!! yay!!!
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I miss you Bob

thebundychick · Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2011 2:39 am Post subject:

Oh Clarissa!

So many questions!!

Can you overfeed using this method, how much is too much?

Can you grow other seeds at the same time? ONe of the women i agist with HAS the fodder solutions machine - and yes, it cost 8k! She grows barley, alfalfa & sunflower all in the one tray. Can you do that without using the hydroponic setup - or do sunflower / alfalfa seeds not grow as well in winter?

I think she said it takes 6 days with the machine - and she basically brings out a tray each for her horses.

How do you avoid mould?

What were you using as the base in your photos? A friend of mine suggested simple paper towel is all that is needed - I can't see whether you have a base in yours though?

I'm so excited. I really want to try this. How much do you think it costs you a week to do this?

thelmanelle · Member Joined: 20 Sep 2009 Posts: 3248

I feed barley and what ever is spilled over gets planted. The horses love it!
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Clarissa · Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2011 1:09 pm Post subject:

Geez Jane I’m the wrong person to ask if you have that lady right where you are doing it so successfully!! Lol

Unless she’s a nasty person I’d be picking her brains for all it’s worth. Why don’t you just pay her per tray of produced feed? It would probably turn out cheaper than starting from scratch setting up something for yourself & far less time consuming.

The little greenhouse in my photos above was $25+P&P from Deals Direct online. The trays are kitty litter trays of a better quality than those at the elcheapo store & cost me aprox $7 each although I did get some that had corners broken so got them cheaper. The hand sprayer was $2 but isn’t good enough. The sprayer needs to put out a larger volume whilst still being a sprayerbecause spraying 6 trays 6 times daily(on dry windy days) is time consuming. The seed barley is same cost as most whole grain horse feed at aprox $1kg & comes in 20kg bags. The sprouting grain MUST be sprayed at least 4times daily, if you let it dry out you loose the whole crop. In my case that is 2wks worth since I get 2 days from each tray. It takes 12 days from soaking grain to last half tray used. I am mostly just feeding it in place of carrots after dinner because carrots got quite expensive a while back but seem cheap enough again which makes this a more expensive treat even though it is a good nutritional treat.

Apparently horses can live on it soley & do so in Arabian countries. Check out youtube for several videos & testimonials. You can sprout various seeds together but they may take different lengths of time to get to the right size whereas if combos are sprouted in the Fodder Solutions machine they seem to get to the right size together. That is because the conditions are just right in the machine. Round the clock watering, humidity & temp just right, 24/7 light, no rodent attack. Also one brand has created a sort of sprout food to produce even better sprouts with extra minerals specially for horses. Check out the other thread that I started that has the links to the various brands.

I have to bring mine in at night because we are having a rodent plague just like everywhere else & they have discovered just how yummy sprouting barley is! I am having to keep a TomCat Red rodent bait right beside the greenhouse & it gets eaten over 2 nights at a cost of $1.10 each! I have had to clear the dining table to accommodate the 6trays every night & I leave the light on over them until I go to bed to help it all grow better so I will have extra power bill now too.

Look Bundy it’s a really good idea but the practicalities of it are less than ideal. I can’t go away overnight because the trays will dry out, the trays MUST be watered regularly during the day, I HAVE to bring the trays in every night or else, a 20kg bag of carrots is an easier option in the long run.

$10k is a huge price to pay for the convenience of feeding live food to your horses. But making a few trays of your own is great fun but not cost effective.

Cleaning to avoid mold needs to be thorough with periodic go over all utensils & trays with bleach. In 1990/91 I used to run a commercial hydroponic system to grow parsley for Coles before I hurt my back & it was expensive. I mention that because if I want to go away overnight now I will have to set up a simple hydro sys again at great cost & in my situation it’s really not a wise move. I already have the electric timer (big cost) that can be set down to the minute across 7days left over from my own system, but I still need to buy an electric solenoid that opens & closes the water hose under instruction from the timer(like theones in washing machines). I would have to fiddle with finding out which fine spray jets will be best involving buying several plus their fittings, then finding somewhere that is rodent proof where the excess water from the spray jets can drain away. Also I would have to change the type of tray I use because you can’t afford to drown the seeds & finding trays with fine mesh bases will probably be expensive since they are a specialist hydroponics item.

When you think about all of those requirements, it shows you why & how the Fodder Machines were designed the way they were.
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Clarissa · Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2011 4:18 pm Post subject:

I've been experimenting with differing watering regimes for the sprouts.

Because I have to go away all day & occasionally overnight it is not convenient to have to spray the trays 4times a day.

So I experimented with gently pouring on specific volumes of water that would last all day & not let the barely dry out. For my size trays I found 1/2cup measured acurately to be the right amount for the first night after putting the seeds in the trays. Because I bring the trays in at night & the house is a bit warmer than outside, I feel the trays might use a little more moisture.

After I line the trays up on the dining table I check them for dry seeds on the top & if so, I give a little spray across the whole tray. Then I tip the trays a little to check to make sure there is no residual moisture under the seeds. Then for the second night I gently pour on 3/4cup water because the seeds are swelling a lot & will use all that in 24hrs. In the morning there might be a few drier seeds on top so before I put the trays back out in the little greenhouse I give a light spray over the top.

For the next night it's 3/4cup again because the seeds are getting green shoots, but after that it is back to only 1/2cup each night or the tray gets gunky roots & a bit smelly.

I have just had to feed off over 2 days, 2 trays of sprouts because I put too much water on them. They should have been 4 days worth of 'dessert' because I usually only feed 1/2 tray with each evening feed. Most of the water is needed during the first few days while the seeds are swelling & getting the first hints of green shoots. After that it seems only necessary to keep the top of the seeds moist to prevent drying out which kills the shoots. It seems very important to measure acurately otherwise it is very easy to put on too much water because it is only such a small amount needed anyway.

I have 6trays which would normally last 12 days fed at half a tray a day. As the days warm up the sprouts might grow faster meaning feeding more each day so the sprout spend less time in the trays. The roots get gunky & smelly if they aren't airated well. So if there's too much moisture in the roots the air can't circulate. Spraying the trays 4times daily avoided that whole overwet root thing because the seeds used the very small amount of water applied within that short time of just a few hours before the next spray. But it's not always possible to spray the trays 4times daily.

I have got it now to where I can just apply the right amount of water each morning or each evening whichever is most convenient so I can now go away for 24hrs without loosing my whole 12 days of crops.

So progress there. It's all good

Just need to sort out the flamin rodents!

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Most of L4 PNH achieved WooHoo!! happy10

Clarissa · Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2011 4:59 am Post subject:

Well earlier last week I had a problem with the sprouts. The trays went smelly, gunky & lots of the grain went mouldy. The sprouts stopped growing roots & the leaf was very thin. The numbers of gnats had been building up during those last few days of warmer weather.

So I had to throw away 2 trays of sprouts being 4 days worth for the horses. I also had to feed off the next younger 2 trays much earlier or they would have gone the same way as the older trays. It was ok to feed off the younger sprouts because they had germinated, they just didn’t have the volume of leaf or root.

I then had to think why this had happened. Had I got slack with the cleanliness? No. Had I made mistakes in how I set the seed? No. Had the weather got too warm too soon? Maybe the change from night to day temp is quickening now as spring approaches. However the thing I noticed was that the carefully measured amount of water being applied in 1 hit each morning was not being used & the next morning there was still some left in the trays.

I already know it is a really bad thing for the seed to sit in moisture always(even if only a clammy bit of sticky stuff) because the roots need to have oxygen around them too. I had been experimenting with once daily watering so I wasn’t tied to them with 4hourly watering every day. I can’t go away & do what needs doing including being away overnight sometimes if I have to spray bloody sprouts every 4hrs!

I went back to 4hourly spraying from the time I set the new batch & problem solved. So it appears I can do the once daily watering on occasions when necessary but not always.

I used bleach to sterilize everything concerned with growing the sprouts. Then set a fruit trap to get the gnats. I can’t spray them as they alight from the sprout trays because the spray would settle on the sprouts. So I had to remove the trays from the little greenhouse & set some old fruit peels. With that all done, I set new seed & started the cycle again.

I have set 2 new batches with another to set tomorrow & there hasn’t been a single mouldy grain so far. I'm still concerned that the warmer day temps might prevent good clean sprout growth during the summer months here.

The horses certainly knew they were being short changed each afternoon even though they were getting carrot & pumpkin instead like they used to get. Today was the first of the new sprouts & I fed them 2 days early so only part grown. They have really got to like their sprout after dinner treat.
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Most of L4 PNH achieved WooHoo!! happy10