Growing Spirulina at home is very rewarding. It is easy, fun, you can do it with friends & family and very beneficial to your health and the planet. Like everything, however, growing Spirulina comes with its challenges and little tricks that you can do to ensure that your Spirulina stays healthy and grows fast and full of nutrients. Here we are going to discuss some tips and challenges that you will utilize and face when growing spirulina using a Spirulina growing kit.
TIP: Keep your Spirulina in the spot with the most direct sunlight
Spirulina grows by photosynthesizing and requires energy from the sun to begin growing. For Spirulina to thrive, the more sunlight the Spirulina medium (e.g. water tank) can get the better. We recommend using a clear water tank to cultivate your spirulina to expose your Spirulina to more sunlight during the day.
CHALLENGE: Maintaining the Spirulina medium temperature
Spirulina is sensitive to temperature. Spirulina grows best at 28C-36C however, it can also thrive in temperatures between 22C-38C. The temperature of the water determines the pace at which the Spirulina grows and the amount of protein and nutrients that it contains. If the water temperature drops below 20C your Spirulina will be unable to grow and your Live Spirulina Cultures might die. If the water temperature rises higher than 38C then your Spirulina faces the risk of algae bleaching and stunted growth of the algae and the culture. It is important to monitor the temperature of your spirulina medium and make necessary changes to the temperature of the water if need.
TIP: Stir your Spirulina
As mentioned earlier, Spirulina requires a lot of sunlight to thrive.
As your Spirulina goes from culture to algae, some spirulina will be pushed to a lower part of the tank and won’t get the direct sunlight that the Spirulina at the top does. To ensure that all of your Spirulina gets an equal amount of sunshine, you must stir the Spirulina medium slowly and gently every 3-4 hours during the day. This will guarantee that all of your Spirulina continues to grow uniformly.
Challenge: Mosquito Larvae
If you wake up one morning and see something swimming in your Spirulina, that means a mosquito has come and laid its larvae in your Spirulina medium. If this happens to you, you can scoop out all of the larvae and try to move your Spirulina medium to a place where it will not be affected by Mosquitoes. Mosquito Larvae can decrease your homegrown spirulina production by more than 10%, if larvae are present during the harvest of your Spirulina it will contaminate what you have harvested and it is not recommended to ingest contaminated Spirulina. So ensure to keep an eye out for anything swimming in your Spirulina medium!
You can learn more tips and tricks for growing Spirulina on our blog and in our detailed step-by-step guide that you receive when you purchase our beginner Spirulina kit. We hope that these tips and challenges help you succeed at growing Spirulina at home!
