* While most small microgreen farms seen online use simple 2' x 4' wire racks and hand-watered trays, I knew that labour would be my largest cost and this approach would not work.

* So I set out to build a system optimized for minimal labour and maximum potential yield while keeping CAPEX low.

* Design: A simple automated flood and drain system built on 4' x 8' pallet racking

* While this build was simple, calibrating the fill heights, fill schedule and bell siphons for ideal watering and reliable drainage for a wide variety of microgreen varieties was challenging.

* Sensors were installed to monitor temperature and humidity and trigger fans, heaters, dehumidfiers and humidifiers to ensure ideal enviromental conditions at all times.

* PPFD requirements and minimum level height for ideal microgreen growth and optimal quality and yields were well researched, measured and implemented when LED lights were installed.

* A dosing schedule and air bubblers were implemented to maintain ideal EC, pH, and dissolved O2 concentrations in the nutrient solution.

* A high yielding, reliable and efficient microgreen system capable of producing 64 trays/week.

* Consistent high yields (>1kg/tray Sunflower, ~800g/tray Pea, ~500g/tray Radish, 400g/tray Broccoli, ~300g/tray Coriander )

* High quality and amazing taste

* Remote monitoring and controllable from my phone

* Redundancy and failsafes built in to increase reliability

* Reduced CAPEX by 50% from 15,000$ (turnkey system purchase for similar capacity) to ~7500$