anybody sprout??

[chewie]

a while ago i asked if anybody grew anything green for winter use, on a windowsill. someone suggested sprouts. we looove sprouts, but can't get them much here, and if we do, ouch, the price is insane!

i have been doing lots of looking online about sprouting, and found plenty of info. and have now just ordered 5#, yes, 5# of seed!! the ratio is around 6:1, which means for every pound of seed i have, i will get 6lb of sprouts! the one i decided on is alfalfa/broc/radish mix. i cannot wait to get it! green fresh salad in the winter!

i wonder if anyone else does this, or has done it in the past, i see many places say a jar is fine, but then i see a nice sprouter thing and wonder if it does any better? i can see it would drain better, but anybody know about all this?

i also planted lettuce in a windowbox, inside. we'll see how that comes on, too. replanted herbs as well, so it may be middle of a south dakota winter, and here i am, gardening!! i'm not much of a gardener, but its more of a health, self-reliance and cost savings thing. lettuce here is not cheap, and sprouts, hahaha. i sure hope this all works, i just spent plenty on a bunch of seeds!

but if it does, and i think it will, it will mean i will get 30# of salad for about 1/3 the price. and fresher too.

[Kelly]

I use the jar method myself and sprout hard wheat berries and mung beans mostly. If I forget to rinse them out (it has happened a few times) or I've sprouted too many, I then just feed it to the chickens (they love sprouts).

I throw them in my green smoothies that I try and make daily. Good way to eat them!

I don't have a store bought "sprouter". I save the netting from avocado and lemon bags and cover a large quart or 1/2 gallon canning jar (folding the netting so the holes aren't too large) and I adhere with either a rubber band or a canning ring lid. Works for me!

[lonelyfarmgirl]

I have one of those little tray things some one gave me as a gift. I have tried a few times, with poor luck then gave up. they always got moldy.

[Rick]

We sprout a similar mix- zesty sprouts from " Now " company. We grow lettuce in a cold frame in Winter. We also picked all of the green Maters at first frost. We still have 20 or more left.
We bought 50 pounds of Kennebec Taters in fall as the ones we planted died in the dry summer.

[Harry Chickpea]

We sprout. Changing the water regularly is a must, and sometimes we rinse with a GSE (grapefruit seed extract) rinse if the sprouts seem to be getting mushy. The sprout water that you rinse out is high in available nitrogen, so use it to water other plants (in moderation).

[Wildwood Flower]

Good idea! I haven't sprouted in many years, but when my kids were small I always had a jar going. I just used a gallon jar with screen over the opening. I can't remember what kind of screen I used, but I think it was nylon.

It is a MUST to rinse them every day. Then just lay the jar on its side, maybe in a small dish rack. It doesn't take very long to have lots of sprouts this way.

If I recall, I usually had one sprouting and one eating all the time. I really liked alfalfa sprouts the very best--but the others are good too. I would often just open the jar and graze on them.

I think I'll take up sprouting again.

[Tracy Rimmer]

I have an article on it here.

I've also done sprouts in a large square tupperware with a lid. Line it with paper towel and wet it, dumping off the excess water, then sprinkle with your sprouting seed.

You don't need the fancy sprouters -- you can grow sprouts just as easily in a jar or a tupperware. They're VERY easy!

[hotzcatz]

I've had much better luck sprouting things in a half gallon size or larger container. If they are much smaller than that for some reason it just doesn't work well.

[glazed]

We are avid sprouters, too.

My youngest miracle loves them ... she calls it "hairy" and eats it by the handful.

"Mama can I have some hairy for a snack?"

We eat hairy on everything ... hamburgers, sandwiches, tacos, etc .... yum.

[NickieL]

I use the jar method. It's how I keep my grocery bill costs lower in the winter since produce in the store cost a LOT. I used diffrent seeds to mix it up a bit.

[maddy]

Anyone have experience using softened water for rinsing? Seems like the salt might be a problem.

[ceresone]

OK, this will sound like a dumb question--But, do you eat the whole thing? sprouts, seed and all? or remove the sprouts and throw away the seed?
And I've seen warnings on ecoli-how do you avoid this?

[lisa's garden]

You eat the whole thing, rinse at least once a day and more often if you are home and think of it. The e coli problem with store bought stuff is a problem because they are growing huge batches and cleanliness is more difficult in a factory. You will be much safer with your homegrown sprouts and lettuce.

I used to use a jar and that worked fine. I bought a couple of special lids for a small mouth quart jar, but a friend later told me that the plastic mesh that people use for cross stitch crafts works just as well. Then my hubby gave me a plastic sprouter for Christmas last year and I think the nice thing about that is that the water drains better and you don't lose any sprouts while pouring the water off.

Good luck!

[beaglebiz]

We are sprouters too!! I got rid of my fancy sprouter, took up too much space. I made a circle from plastic canvas to top a canning jar, with a regular canning ring.
We sprout all kings of stuff...you can sprout regular dry organic beans too, much cheaper than buying "sprouting seeds" (I buy mine in bulk at the health food store). you eat the whole thing, but the "shells" will come off in the rinsing of the larger beans.

[Rusty'sDog]

If you ever have a surplus, or they are going 'over the hill' just toss 'em in the hen house and watch the girls fight for them...especially in winter when fresh greens are so scarce. Dump your nitrogen rich drainings on house plants, or the compost heap.

[Tracy Rimmer]

Originally Posted by Rusty'sDog

If you ever have a surplus, or they are going 'over the hill' just toss 'em in the hen house and watch the girls fight for them...especially in winter when fresh greens are so scarce. Dump your nitrogen rich drainings on house plants, or the compost heap.

The bunnies love them, too!

[mustangsally17]

I do mostly alfalfa sprouts. i use a big pickle jar with holes in the lid, rinse twice a day..when I remember.
I never thought of using the the water drained off on my plants..good idea.

[TheMartianChick]

I sprout. I have one of the little sprouters because I got it for free. I have only had a problem with mold once, when I neglected them for a day. Lots of folks say that you don't need a sprouter and they are probably right. I just find it easier to rinse and drain them.

[chewie]

thanks for the replies! good to know others do this too. just makes so much sense to me, if it works. fresh greens for pennies a day, in winter?! who wouldn't want to do this??!

i have lots of jars, and have found using those sheer curtains, cut into the right sizes and using fray-stop on the edges, work great for my cheese and milking, so these will also work great for draining sprouts.

i have wheat berries on hand, and i sprouted those. wwhooeee, them's tastey!!! i put them into my own goat's milk yogurt, with a blob of homemade preserves to sweeten and that is so good!!! i had been using nuts, but those are expensive, so this is a great alternative!

tracy, that is a nice link, thanks for that!

now i can't wait for my seeds to come. the wheat berries are just sprouted enough to have small tails. we've been sprouting them for a couple years for the bird my DD15 has and i starting thinking, hmm, why ain't WE eating those?!!