Spirulina is a type of bacteria called cyanobacterium, but is most commonly referred to as blue-green algae. Like most plants, it creates energy through photosynthesis and grows in both fresh and saltwater, but thrives the most in alkaline freshwater such as ponds and rivers. Spirulina is one of the best sources of protein, containing 40-80% of protein, this tasteless and scentless food is great to add to salads, cooked meals and protein shakes. Growing Spirulina at home is a new phenomenon taking the world by storm; it’s easy, fun, and environmentally friendly. To get started, you need Spirulina culture, which can be purchased on our website in addition to our beginner Spirulina cultivation kits. What is Spirulina Culture, and why is it crucial at the beginning of growing Spirulina?
Live Spirulina Culture, also known as the mother culture, is the living microscopic cyanobacterium that will kick off your Spirulina production. Spirulina culture uses photosynthetic pigments and various forms of chlorophyll to absorb energy from light and CO2 in the environment. Spirulina culture thrives best at a pH of around 8.5 and requires a temperature of about 30°C. Once your Spirulina culture gets growing, it becomes autotrophic, meaning it can create its own food and doesn’t rely on a living energy source to grow. Nutrient feeds help Spirulina culture begin growing into our favorite superfood, examples of nutrient feeds are baking soda, potassium nitrate, sea salt, and potassium phosphate.
Spirulina Culture is the foundation to growing Spirulina at home, you cannot start without it. Along with this, a clean and correctly set-up ecosystem is just as important to make sure that your Spirulina culture grows without any hiccups. To turn the Spirulina culture into the algae that we all love we need to have a water tank that can hold around 30L of water, lots and lots of sunlight, nutrient feeds (like the ones mentioned above), iron solution, and a pH meter. Spirulina takes about 3-6 weeks of the Live Spirulina Culture to grow dense enough to eat. Once the Spirulina looks dark green, thick, and has maintained the same pH for 10-24 hours, then you know for sure that you’re Spirulina is ready to be harvested.
Live Spirulina Culture is essential for the success of your homegrown Spirulina. Spirulina in its dried and powdered form does not contain Live Spirulina Culture and hence cannot be used for cultivating Spirulina. You can find 450ml of the high-density Live Spirulina Culture on our website for $69. We cultivate our Spirulina culture in a clean food-grade environment that is monitored by experts to guarantee that the Spirulina culture is pure and will grow into nutritious Spirulina that everyone can enjoy. If you are a beginner in the world of cultivating Spirulina, we recommend you also check out our beginner Spirulina kits that contain almost all the materials mentioned above, we guarantee that in no time you and your family will be enjoying the benefits of fresh home-grown Spirulina.
