1

With thanks and gratitude to all the wonderful people who

helped this book come alive:
To my beloved Natan for the thorough research, help and moral support
To Tom Vered for giving me my first Spirulina culture,
To Yifat Zilberstein for the beautiful photography,
To Johnny for the cover design

Most of all a big thanks to Mother Nature for giving us the wonderful gift of Spirulina!

Copyright 2014 by Ditsa Keren. All rights reserved.

This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever
without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a
book review.
The medical information on this guidebook is provided as an information resource only, and is not
to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. Those who choose to follow our
guidelines do it on their own responsibility.

Index
Thanks ........................................................................................................................ 2
What Is Spirulina? .......................................................................................................... 6
Some Facts About Spirulina: ..................................................................................... 6
Why Grow Spirulina? ...................................................................................................... 8
Why Grow Spirulina Organically? ............................................................................... 9
Part A- The Basics Of Farming Spirulina .................................................................... 10
Water Temperature .................................................................................................. 10
Water Quality ............................................................................................................ 11
Water Concentration ................................................................................................ 11
Lighting .....................................................................................................................12
Agitation ...................................................................................................................12
Culture Nutrients .....................................................................................................12
Part B - The Growing Stage .......................................................................................... 13
Getting Started ......................................................................................................... 14
Setting Up Your Equipment ...................................................................................... 13
Our Example .............................................................................................................. 14
Prepare The Culture Medium (CM) .........................................................................15
Culture Medium Recipes .............................................................................................. 16
Organic Culture Medium (CM) ................................................................................ 16
Chemical Culture Medium ....................................................................................... 16
Part C- Timing Spirulina's Growth ................................................................................17
Everyday Checklist For The Growing Stage: ............................................................18
Part D- The Harvesting Stage ..................................................................................... 20
How To Safely Harvest Your Spirulina .................................................................... 20
Organic Nutrients .................................................................................................... 20
Chemical Nutrients ...................................................................................................21
When To Harvest? .....................................................................................................21
Checklist For The Harvesting Stage .........................................................................21
Part E- Spirulina Healthcare ....................................................................................... 22
Eating Spirulina .............................................................................................................23
Drying Spirulina ............................................................................................................ 24
Spirulina Recipes .......................................................................................................... 24
Spirulina Seasoning Salt ........................................................................................... 24
Simple Spirulina Salad Dressing ............................................................................... 25
My Favorite Spirulina and Dates Drink ................................................................... 25
Spirulina Ice Cream .................................................................................................. 25

Quick Spirulina Ice Cream ........................................................................................26

Raw Spirulina Energy Bar ..........................................................................................26
Spirulina Guacamole .................................................................................................26
Spirulina Yogurt Drink ..............................................................................................26
Spirulina and Tahini Paste ....................................................................................... 27
Records chart .............................................................................................................. 28

What Is Spirulina?
Known as the most nutritious food on the planet, Spirulina is a fast growing alga that can easily be
grown at home using non-toxic and widely available materials. It is a single- celled spiral microAlgae from the blue-green algae family, which is the oldest life form known to man. She grows
naturally in the volcanic lakes of Africa and South America, and in Mexico, where Aztecs
traditionally used her nutrients and healing properties for many generations.

Spirulina has long ago been recognized as the healthiest food on the planet, and thanks to its rapid
growth, it has been chosen by the UN as a food to distribute to malnourished communities in 3rd
world countries, and by NASA as a food for long term space travel!

Studies have shown that consuming as little as 30 grams of Spirulina daily will provide your body
with literally everything it needs, including protein, iron, calcium, vitamin B12, antioxidants, antiallergens, and numerable minerals and vitamins.
The best thing about it Spirulina is that if given the right conditions, she can grow as quickly as 25%
of her own weight EVERY DAY, way faster than any other crop!

Some Facts About Spirulina:

Spirulina is 60-70% protein, which is x3 times more protein than in meat!

She contains 50 times more iron than spinach

15 times more vitamin A than carrots

High portions of all B vitamins, especially B12

High in anti-allergens, anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatory.

High in vitamin K, chlorophyll, phycocianine.

High in calcium and magnesium, otherwise found in milk.

Already you can see that Spirulina is great for vegans and vegetarians, but that's not all!
She is also a very strong antioxidant, detoxificant, and a powerful immune booster; therefore she
can be very helpful for cancer and aids patients. She's also a great friend to have if you suffer from
allergies, anemia, and even stress. Because of its apparent ability to stimulate whole human

physiology, Spirulina exhibits therapeutic functions such as anti-bacterial, antiviral, anticancer, antiinflammatory, anti-allergic and antidiabetic, with a wide spectrum of beneficial functions. Spirulina
consumption appears to promote the growth of intestinal micro flora as well.

Unlike much of commonly used medicine, she's completely safe to eat to all people young and old,
including pregnant women, children and babies, diabetics, athletes and elderly people (The only
exceptions are people who suffer from excessive iron, or who cannot metabolize the amino acid
phenylalanine).
Furthermore, Spirulina detoxifies from nuclear radiation, and can clean not only the body of such
toxins, but also the entire planet!
What else could anyone possibly need to maintain a good health and lead a happy life?

Why Grow Spirulina?

Peak oil, climate change, extreme weather
events and world war III may not be the
most welcome guests, but they seem to be
a growing threat and are becoming harder
and harder to ignore. People often talk
about Spirulina as a means to save
humanity in a case of an apocalyptic
disaster, mainly thanks to its high pace of
growth and outrageous nutritional values.
But frankly, there's absolutely no reason to wait for a disaster to happen! Already in 2014, as I'm
writing these lines, people all over the world and even in the US and Europe are experiencing a
spectrum of illnesses derived from malnutrition, obesity and starvation are just two of many
examples. Food scarcity, in the form of economic incapability, peer pressure and lack of awareness,
has brought many of us to live on cheap, industrial, unhealthy foods that degrade our health over
time and lower our energy levels. It is no wonder then that cancer is so widespread. Whether or not
Spirulina can cure cancer is open for debate, but one thing we do know for certain is that if you eat
Spirulina daily, you're very unlikely to become ill with cancer and other chronic illnesses in the first
place. It will also keep you safe from many other treacheries, such as viruses, germs and parasites,
which are the second most common death cause in the world. While awareness is on the rise,
organic foods and healthy lifestyles are still considered a luxury, which many of us are still unable to
afford. And as most of us are living in small spaces, the benefits of growing Spirulina seem to
surpass even the growth of fruit and veg!

Growing Spirulina is EASY, inexpensive, and much less time consuming than growing vegetables.
You need very little water and space and you can even grow it indoors, given that you have a
window with enough sunshine. Adopt Spirulina into your life to strengthen your immune system,
improve your health, and boost your energy levels with vital life force! Enjoy the abundance that
has been given to you to free you from all slavery, hunger, disease and distress, and share this
valuable experience with anyone in need to help make our planet a better place!

What is Organic Spirulina?

In terms of aquaponics, the term "Organic" can be misleading. In fact, Spirulina thrives on inorganic
matter, which makes the term seem irrelevant. When I refer to organic Spirulina, I am talking about
a growing method which does not use chemical fertilizers to promote growth, but imitates the
natural conditions that would make her thrive by itself.

Why Grow Spirulina Organically?

We all know the benefits of organic food over industrial, chemical based foods. When it comes to
Spirulina, all chemicals used are consumed by the spirulina, so although most commonly used
nutrients are considered food grade, their consumption will degrade the quality of your Spirulina
over time. Now let's talk about urine.

Urine, along with all the other ingredients of the organic culture medium, has the perfect
composition for Spirulina, and although it is a type of taboo, our experience has shown that it is
completely safe and hygienic. Despite common superstition, urine only counts for about 5% of your
culture medium. The high PH in the water makes it impossible for germs to endure, and the smell is
hardly even noticed after you've poured it in with the rest of the ingredients.

In many cultures urine is used for medicinal purposes, and while personally I'm not really into that, I
do believe it to be healthier than the intake of chemical materials you know nothing about - Where
they came from, how they were produced, and so on.

Overall, urine is the waste that is filtered from our blood, so if we maintain a healthy diet and stay
away from chemical drugs, it should be fairly clean and safe to use.
Obviously, urine is the most widely available ingredient of the organic culture medium, along with
sea salt, bicarbonate soda and iron. To sum things up, growing Spirulina organically can save about
95% of the total growing expenses!

For Spirulina, the best urine is from someone healthy, not on medication, and preferably from
children as their urine is cleaner than adult urine.
While using your urine as her nutrition, it is recommended to avoid sweets, caffeine, and saturated
fats of all sorts.

Part A- The Basics Of Farming Spirulina

Spirulina naturally grows in volcanic lake areas, so what we want to do is resemble that
environment as much as possible, which is why we use the ingredients we use. If we succeed in
making her feel "at home", she will grow 25% her own size EVERY DAY!

Water Temperature
Above 40c is the DANGER ZONE

Between 30-37c she THRIVES!

Between 25-30c she grows pretty well

Between 15-25c she starts to grow

slowly

Below 15c she's too cold to grow but

can still survive

The water temperature is HIGHLY IMPORTANT. Set up a water heater in your tank for about 32c. If
weather is hot, consider lowering temp or switching the heater off.

Water heaters tend to collect scale around them, which stops them from heating the water, so you
should remember to take your heater out at least once every two weeks and wash it in vinegar.
Take a look at the temp. Chart for recommended temperatures.

10

When weather is too hot, Spirulina can die very quickly.

However, when the weather is cold, she might not grow as
well, but she would still remain alive. Most importantly, she
should have a stable temperature. Using a water heater like
the one bellow will help maintain a steady environment even
when on extreme weather events.

Water Quality
Use good water, preferably rain or spring water.

While rain is great at compensating for evaporation, you should never let it cause an
overflow of the culture.

Tap water is ok, but it's better if left out for a day for the chlorine to evaporate.

PH
The ideal PH level for Spirulina is 10.5, although she will survive a PH level of up
to 11.5. Use a PH meter such as the one in the image to measure PH levels of
both your Spirulina and culture medium. This will be helpful especially if your
culture goes bad and observation is required. If PH is too high, add lemon juice
or vinegar to adjust it, or a synthetic food grade PH regulating solution. Add
these slowly and carefully, as PH should never go below 10.

Water Concentration
Until you get familiarized with your Spirulina, you'd want to measure her daily and make sure her
density is just right. To make your most trusted and useful
tool, which is for checking the concentration, all you need
is a white plastic disc, attached to a pole or a string.
Measure 2cm and 3cm from the center of the disk and
mark them. Lower your 'spirumeter' into the culture, and
if the white disc disappears and the water level is below
3cm, then, and only then, you can add the culture medium (CM).

11

Lighting
Growth only takes place in the light (photosynthesis), but prolonged
and strong illumination is not recommended, as it will destroy the
delicate spirulina filaments. However, with proper agitation, all
filaments are exposed to sunlight equally, and will enjoy plenty of
light. Morning sun is Spirulina's favorite, which is why the best place for her is by an eastern or
southern window. If sunlight isn't sufficient, you can use energy saving LED lighting. Either way, be
sure to give her at least 6 hours of darkness every night.

Agitation
Use a water pump to create circulation. The voltage should be 1watt/m.
You can also use a simple air pump in addition, to stimulate the formation
of new filaments and expose more of them to the light. An air pump
should only be turned on for about 1-3 hours during the day, and
definitely not during the night or when the weather is cold. Using these
facilities requires some level of maintenance. Check your equipment once
a week and if needed, clean all filters to ensure proper flow of nutrients.

Culture Nutrients
This is the most incredible part of growing Spirulina organically: she feeds on very basic materials
which are easily obtained even in 3rd world countries. All she needs is bicarbonate soda, salt, ash,
iron drops and.... Urine! To learn of the culture medium (CM) preparation, carry on to How to
Prepare the Culture Medium.

12

Part B - The Growing Stage

If wild Spirulina is available in your region, the best thing is to fill up a bottle with the most
concentrated top layer and get going. If not, search the web to find live Spirulina culture from
growers in your area. You should choose local spirulina over any other, to make the delivery as
quick as possible. If applicable, choose a Spirulina strain with a high percentage of coiled filaments,
which are easier to harvest.

Prepare Your Backup Culture

Once you have your culture ready, put 50% of your live Spirulina in a safe place as a reserve. The
best way to do this is to separate your live culture into 2 different containers, or give some to a
friend to grow their own. Alternatively, fill up a bottle and place in a warm area with light, but no
direct sun, with 25% air in the container and no lid. It will stay fresh for a few months if you agitate
it once or twice a day. Keep this reserve in case something goes wrong, so you can restart the
process later if needed.

Set Up Your Equipment

Find a sunny spot for your tank or pool, either on a
windowsill or outside. Remember that the smaller the
container, the stronger the light exposure will be. This
means that smaller tanks will need more shade then
larger ones. If possible, try to avoid sharp edges, as
round edges create better circulation in the water.

Gather materials, most of which you can find here. What you'll need is:

13

A large tank of approximately 1m2 per person

PH meter

Water pump for water circulation

Air pump with an air stone for stimulation

Water heater set for 30-35c (depending on your local weather).

Enough air tubes and connectors for convenience

A cozy blanket to keep her warm at nights

An electric timer for automatically turning lights and pumps on or off as needed.

A sieve for scooping out insects and a few natural cloths for filtering the harvest.

Gather ingredients for the CM, e.g. sea salt, bicarbonate soda, Iron solution and ash water.

Getting Started
On the growing stage, we try to keep the concentration fairly high, while feeding our Spirulina with
a solution called culture medium (CM). We add a small portion of CM every 2-3 days, about 25% of
the total Spirulina volume, and not the other way around which is a common mistake.

When the spirometer tells you the concentration is good (that is, below 3cm on your Spirumeter),
then and only then do you add the culture medium, which dilutes the concentration, giving her
room to grow. After adding the culture medium, make sure spirometer is invisible at 5cm depth.

The CM is an imitation of Spirulina's natural environment. We need to stir the culture to give each
little spiral food and light. It'll then reproduce by dividing itself into two, growing healthy and
strong. When the culture reaches the maximum capacity of the container, you can stop adding
culture medium and let your culture thicken to about 2cm on your spirometer, before finally
harvesting your first crop.

Our Example
We started off our growing stage by placing 1L of live
culture in a 5L glass jar. We added 250ml of organic
culture medium (see recipe below) and placed it on
our windowsill. We continued adding culture medium
and when our culture grew larger we transferred half
of it into another 5L jar and placed a white LED
projector over it. Separating the culture into several
different jars was very convenient, as it allowed us to experiment different placements and feeding

14

methods on each jar. When one of the jars began looking yellow and pale, all other jars remained
healthy to replace it. Pretty soon afterwards, she grew so large we had to get a 100L tank, and later
added another container of 30 liters.

Prepare The Culture Medium (CM)

Make an iron rich mixture 2 weeks in advance by placing a handful of rusty nails in 1L of
vinegar and juice from one lemon. Put all of those in a bottle and in 2 weeks it will be ready!

Alternatively you can use a pure iron supplement found in drugstores, but make sure it
doesnt contain any additives. Since this is a lot more concentrated, 10 drops per 5 litters of
CM will be plenty.

Prepare ash water using 1kg of good ash, burnt from natural, unprocessed tree branches.
Sieve the ashes and place them in a piece of cloth over a container, pour 5L of warm water
through them twice. This can be prepared long in advanced and be used for months
afterwards. If you're making smaller portions of CM, you could cut the process short by
simply adding raw ash to a bucket of water, wait for it to sink down and then gently scoop it
with a cup to add into your culture medium. To be extra careful, make sure you sieve it well
before adding, to prevent sedimentation of ash at the bottom of your tank.

Important Rules About Adding Culture Medium:

Always check that the PH in the culture medium is between 10-10.5. After adding it, check the ph in
the culture again, to make sure it stays at that level.
The amount of culture medium added should always be 25% of the existing amount of Spirulina in
your tank.

15

How to Prepare the Culture Medium

Organic Culture Medium (CM)
Ingredients

CM measurements

Water
Bicarbonate soda
Sea Salt
Iron mixture
Urine
Ash water

1L
10g
5g
2ml
10ml
20ml

10L
100g
50g
20ml
100ml
200ml

20L
200g
100g
40ml
200ml
400ml

100L
1kg
500g
200ml
1L
2L

Check the color and smell of your urine before you add it to know the exact amount
you need. Generally, yellow urine that smells strongly means you havent been
drinking much and therefore it is more concentrated- in which case "less is more".
Remember that too much urine can kill in just a few hours, so if you've added too
much urine and your Spirulina smells badly, dilute it with 1cm of water or refer to
the "Spirulina healthcare" section in this book.
It's important to prepare the organic CM bit by bit rather than in large amounts. This
is because urine doesnt keep for longer than a week.

Chemical Culture Medium

This is a recipe which was given to me by a very trust worthy colleague; however, I
have not tried it because I generally try to avoid chemicals in my food. I decided to
add this here anyway, because I know some people might feel awkward about
adding urine, as little the amount, into their food.
If you decide to use fertilizer grade chemicals, make sure they're of the "soluble" or
"crystallized" kind, and not the granulated "slow release", kind. Double check the

16

contents and stay away from anything that contains heavy metals like mercury,
cadmium, lead and antimony, as those will be absorbed by your spirulina culture.
The basic recipe is as follows:

Ingredients
Water
Bicarbonate soda
Sea Salt
Iron mixture
Chemical nutrients*

CM measurements
10 L
50 L
100g
500g
50g
250g
20ml
100ml
200ml
1L

100L
1kg
500g
200ml
2L

*To prepare 10 liters of Chemical nutrient mixture you will need:

Quantity
10L
1 kg
100g
50g

Ingredients
Water
Potassium nitrate
Phosphorus mono- ammonium
Sulfate potassium (optional)

Density measurements
1kg=800ml
100g=50ml
50g=30ml

You can find these materials in most agricultural co-ops, as they are commonly used
hydro-soluble fertilizers.
This mixture can keep easily for 6 months, but shake it well before use. If you cannot
find one of the above chemicals, here's a list of adequate replacements:

Nitrate Sodium for Potassium Nitrate

Phosphate Dipotassium for Phosphorus Ammonium

Chloride Potassium for Sulfate Potassium.

Part C- Timing Spirulina's Growth

Day 1: Get started by adding 250ml of CM to 1 liter of live
Spirulina culture. If conditions are good, you can expect the
following growth rate:
Day
Culture size
Added CM
2
1.25L
+250ml
3
1.5L
+500ml
4
2L
+500ml

17

5
2.5L
+500ml
6
3L
+1L
On day 7 you should have 4 liters of live culture! Measure the
concentration and add one more liter of CM, but remember to
only add the CM if concentration is below 3cm. If
concentration is above 3cm, and your Spirulina still has room
to grow, you can always dilute it with some extra water before
adding CM.
8
5L
+1.5L
9
6.5L
+1.5L
10
8L
+2L
11
10L
+2.5L
12
12.5L
+3.5L
13
16L
+4L

Everyday Checklist For The Growing Stage:

In the morning- take off her blanket, stir well, check and record the
temperature

Check the concentration with your spirumeter

If the concentration is below 3cm, prepare and add the CM which is always
25% of the total volume of the culture

Agitation- the minimum amount is 5 times a day, especially during the hot
hours of the day. If you have a pump, turn it off during the night.

During the hot hours of the day, check that her temperature doesnt rise
above 40c, or she will DIE at 42c. If temperature becomes high, turn off
your water heater, move her to the shade or cover her with a thin blanket.

Spirulina needs "TLC"- tender loving care- so try to keep her warm at night as
much as possible. A cozy blanket is a must!

Record all the details, using the growing table which you will also find
available for printing at the end of this book. Here, I used an example from
my own tank.

18

19

Date

15.9

16.9

Weather
Low Temp
High Temp
Concentration
Added CM
Culture volume
Observations

sunny
15c
29c
2.8cm
none
20L
Lots of bubbles

Partly clouded
13c
25c
3cm
5L
25L
Clumps floating

Part D- The Harvesting Stage

Once your Spirulina has reached
its intended size, it should be a
pretty thick, dark green solution.
At this stage we do not add any
more Culture Medium, only
nutrients to compensate for what
we harvest.

How to Safely Harvest Your Spirulina

Take out 25% of the culture, passing it through a cloth filter and pressing out all the
water. This way you are separating the Spirulina from the culture medium.
I used to think scooping out the floating bits was an easier way to harvest, eventually
I realized it was making my filaments straight instead of spirally, which made the
harvesting a lot more difficult.
You should only Spirulina that is dark green. If you ever see brown, white or yellow
bits floating around, scoop them out of your tank and do not eat them. Those are
most likely other types of algae, which can be used as a plant fertilizer.

Adding Nutrients After the Harvest

Depending on the weight of the harvested Spirulina, replace the diluted culture with
a related amount of nutrients, in a ratio as shown below:

Organic Nutrients

Fresh Spirulina weight

extracted
Either Yellow urine
OR Clear urine
Iron mixture

20

100g

150g

200g

250g

300g

200ml
300ml
10ml

300ml
450ml
15ml

400ml
600ml
20ml

500ml
750ml
25ml

600ml
900ml
30ml

It's good to add the nutrients with 4-5 liters of fresh water and then mix it well
before you add it to your tank. Same goes for the chemical nutrients.
Chemical Nutrients

Fresh Spirulina weight

extracted
Chemical nutrients
Iron mixture

100g

150g

200g

250g

300g

200ml
10ml

300ml
15ml

400ml
20ml

500ml
25ml

600ml
30ml

When To Harvest?

Generally in the warmer seasons.

When your pond\ container is full, 20cm deep and the concentration is below
3cm.

Early morning is the best time of the day for harvesting, because at this point
protein levels are high, plus it gives you time to dry it properly.

If growth is good, you can harvest your Spirulina every day, but more likely
you can expect to harvest 2-3 times a week.

Dont harvest when cold weather is expected, as it slows down her growth.

If you're planning a long trip away, it is recommended to harvest before you

leave. Make sure to cover it to give it 80% shade. You can leave her this way
for up to 1 month without harvesting.

Checklist for The Harvesting Stage

1st observe- if the concentration is below 3cm you can begin harvesting. If
not, stir and wait for tomorrow.

2nd filter- take out 1\4 of your Spirulina and filter it either with a bucket or a
pump, which should take between 30-60 minutes.

3rd press- move the Spirulina into a ball in the middle of the cloth, and press
out all the water back into her pond or container. You can then wash the

21

Spirulina with fresh water to reduce the salty taste, but keep in mind it won't
last as long.

4th- weigh the soft, cheese-like Spirulina.

5th- replace the nutrients with twice the weight of the fresh Spirulina, or 3
times the weight if your urine is not very strong (e.g. if you're a vegetarian).

6th wash the cloth in the pond and then again in a bucket of fresh water. This
can be added to the pond to compensate for evaporation.

7th record the details as you did in the growing stage.

Microscope observation, like in this photo,

allows you to better monitor her growth, and
have a more personal relationship with your
Spirulina. It will assist you in understanding
her needs and looking after her properly. We
recommend a 400X microscope.

Part E- Spirulina Healthcare

Especially when you're first starting out, you may experience difficulty in keeping
your Spirulina healthy. You will know she's unwell if she starts changing her color or
smelling bad. Luckily, most problems can be solved with tender loving care, agitation
and shade. This chart will help you find out what is wrong with your Spirulina and
how to make it better again:

Issue
When starting a new tank, Spirulina
turns yellow\brown and clumps at
the bottom
Culture doesnt grow and stays pale

22

Solution \ diagnosis
Wrong water source used
Temperature is too high or too low
Wrong nutrient proportions
Inadequate light, or a lesser version

green

of the above problems

Culture suddenly (within 24 hours) turns

yellow and thin, and clumps appear

Extreme weather event has occurredshe's either too hot or too cold- balance
her temperature by adjusting your water
heater
Culture slowly becomes yellow, clumps
Medium is old or imbalanced- renew it
and doesnt grow
immediately
Clumps appear, either floating in your
Use a strainer to remove the clumps. You
tank or stick to its sides
may need to empty and clean your tank.
If culture thins dramatically, check
temperature and renew culture.
Foam starts forming at the top
Add more ash water
she groups together like gelatin, forming She is low on nitrogen and needs more
a skin on the top, and is difficult to mix
urine (or urea if you're using chemical
substitutes)
Culture is military green and smells like
Too much urine has been used in the
ammonium
mix. Dilute with 1cm of fresh water and
stir well.
Culture is lime green
She's had too much light and may need
more nutrients.
Culture is thin and Spirulina hides at the This could mean she's too cold at night,
bottom of the tank
or that the mixing wasnt done properly.
There are a lot more brown bits than
usual
Her strands are short (in microscope
observation) and she passes through the
filter more than usual
Strands have turned from curly to
straight (in microscope observation)
Another algae has grown in the tank

Culture is thick and jelly-like

She's looking great and healthy

Tap water has too much calcium, dilute

with fresh spring or rain water.
Too much agitation- lower pump
volume. Make sure you have been
feeding her properly.
Dump culture and start over with a
healthy starter culture.
If possible, remove clumps with a
strainer and raise the PH to 11.5 until all
unwanted organism die.
Harvest more often.
She's happy . Fill a bottle with culture
and keep it in reserve.

Eating Spirulina
30g of fresh Spirulina per day would be a sufficient amount for an adult. Note that
dried Spirulina weighs less, so 5-10g would be the equivalent of the dried version.
When eaten fresh, there is almost no taste at all, so you can add it to literally
anything!

23

We recommend adding Spirulina to yogurt, muesli and fruit shakes, pastes and salad
dressings. To enhance the experience, we have gathered some innovative Spirulina
recipes bellow, but for those who are less into cooking, you can also just eat it with a
spoon!

Eating fresh Spirulina is definitely the best for your health, but drying it means that it
will be preserved for about one year, so if you're going away or if you want to give
someone a healthy gift, dry it and keep in a sealed container, as described below.

Drying Spirulina
100 grams of fresh Spirulina are equal to 20g dry, so consumption is between 5-10g
per day (1 teaspoon):

Place fresh Spirulina in a meat grinder and gently place the spaghetti- shaped
strips on a tight mesh or mosquito net.

Leave in a warm place with good air circulation, but never under direct sun.

Wait 3-5 hours and its ready!

This would make a crunchy snack or salad garnish, but can also be used with fresh
Spirulina recipes.
Dry Spirulina tends to taste more strongly and have less nutritional benefits, but if
you're looking to preserve large quantities, drying could easily keep your Spirulina
fresh for about a year. Alternatively, freezing will keep it fresh for approximately 1
month.

Spirulina Recipes
Spirulina Seasoning Salt
4 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon Spirulina powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

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1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper or to taste

Sprinkle this seasoning salt over any type of savory food. We love this recipe because
it doesnt involve any special preparation and is tasty with anything.

Simple Spirulina Salad Dressing

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon Spirulina powder

Juice and zest of lemon

1-2 cloves of mashed garlic

Sprinkle of black pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together and pour over your favorite salad.

My Favorite Spirulina and Dates Drink

Take a handful of dates, with their stone taken out, and mash wish a hand blender in
a cup of water. Then add some raw sesame paste (AKA Tahini) and Spirulina, and
carry on blending until smooth. Thanks to the dates, you can add lots of Spirulina to
this drink, and it would still stay nice and sweet.

Spirulina Ice Cream

An indulging yet highly nutritious recipe for
those hot summer days you will need:

3 cups of cut up fruit

2 teaspoons of fresh Spirulina

1\2 glass of water

8 seedless dates

4 fresh mint leaves

Mix everything in a blender until smooth, then place in a box and freeze for several
hours.

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Quick Spirulina Ice Cream

If your children are asking for "normal" ice cream, you can be clever and make the
Spirulina invisible by blending it into very dark colored chocolate ice cream, with
about 1 cup of water for each 100g. This way, even the worse kind of industrial ice
cream can be made somewhat nutritious, and since those contain a lot of sugar- you
children will not know the difference.

Raw Spirulina Energy Bar

Mix in a blender: dried coconut meat, any type of nuts and dried fruits, chocolate, or
whatever else gets you going, a bit of olive oil and quality honey.
Mix all of them together until you reach a peanut butter texture.
Add Spirulina and mix again until the color is uniform.
Place on wax paper and leave it to cool, then cut into portions and enjoy!

Spirulina Guacamole

2 Teaspoons of fresh Spirulina

1 large, ripe avocado

Juice from 1 lemon

1 crushed garlic clove

1 bunch of chopped coriander

1 tomato, cut to small cubes

Optional: spicy pepper or union, finely chopped

Squash avocado with a fork, add everything else and mix well. Serve as a side dish or
with rice crisps as a healthy snack.

Spirulina Yogurt Drink

Mix 1.5L of Yogurt with 2-3 tablespoons of fresh Spirulina, add some fruit jam for
flavor, shake well and drink!

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Spirulina and Tahini Paste

This is a particularly nutritious recipe for those in need of extra calcium in their diet.
It's delicious too! It can be spread on toasts and sandwiches or added as a dressing
for many vegetarian dishes. You will need:

1\2 cup of raw, whole grain Tahini paste

Juice from 1\2 a lemon

1 tablespoon of fresh or powdered Spirulina

1 crushed garlic clove

A bunch of fresh herbs like parsley, coriander or basil, finely chopped

1 glass of warm water

Mix well with a spoon and its ready!

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Records chart
Print and place next to your tank for observation.

Date

28

Weather

Low
Temp

High
Temp

Concentr
Added
ation
CM so far

Culture
volume

Observat
ions

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