Day 4, the first two batches. Primary difference between these two (besides the age) is that Batch 2 was soaked for 24 hours, while Batch 1 was soaked for 8-10 hours.

Comparing the growth of Batch 1 versus Batch 2 at the same post-soaking time frame, Batch 2 is definitely doing visibly better. Batches 3-5 are also a little bit further along in development than Batch 1 was.

For Day 5 (of growth, Day 6 from start of initial soaking), I decided I wasn’t very happy with the growth so far of the wheat seed. Batch 2 is still ahead of the comparable time for Batch 1, though, as you can see in the picture immediately below.

Now, the bathroom shower stall this is currently housed in is running about 70F (per the interior thermometer in that room) which is right in the range for this seed, but it’s also relatively dark. There’s only a small window, facing west, which gets little direct sunlight. You can possibly see from above how the seedlings are bending in the direction of the light. That light’s from the lights above the sink, which aren’t on often. To me, this indicates the seedlings are pretty desperate for the exterior energy input of lighting. So I have added my LED growth lights to hang from the side, to see how this impacts things.

From an “experimentation” perspective, to appropriately test the differences, I should have waited until Batches 1&2 were out of the tower, and added the lights then. But this isn’t a rigorous scientific study, it’s an attempt to save a little bit of money on feed + give the animals some fresh growing feed. That trumps the purely rigorous study. I may attempt to do a more rigorous study latter; we’ll see.

Now, off to start building a hutch frame, so I can pull kits out of cages and give the does some space.