Wheat not sprouting

CarolynRenee · #1 02/12/11, 10:13 PM

I've sprouted wheat (for us to eat) before and really liked it. I tried to sprout some more this week with no luck. I soaked it for a day, drained it, rinsed & drained it again. I then rinsed / drained it twice a day for five days now & no sprouting. I also noticed that the rinse water is a bit cloudy.

It was driving me crazy why nothing was happening, then I checked the bag the wheat came from & think I may know why. We bought a bunch of wheat in 2003 and sealed it in 10 lb. mylar bags with a desicant and oxygen absorber.

Is it because of the lack of moisture & oxygen that my wheat won't sprout? And, if it renders wheat "dead", what does it do to the nutritional content of it? I've ground it & made bread from it & it seemed fine, but I'm a bit concerned that I may have "killed" a bunch of wheat.

IowaLez · #2 02/12/11, 10:22 PM

Your wheat is just too old. Plain and simple. It's dead from old age and not-so-perfect-for-staying-alive storage.

ksfarmer · #3 02/12/11, 11:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IowaLez

Your wheat is just too old. Plain and simple. It's dead from old age and not-so-perfect-for-staying-alive storage.

Sounds like the best answer to me.

CarolynRenee · #4 02/12/11, 11:11 PM

So I guess next you're going to tell me that the urban legend you hear about wheat found in the ancient pyramids in Egypt was still good & sprouted........that they LIED to me????

au natural · #5 02/12/11, 11:29 PM

I had this happen to me also. I discovered that for me, it wasn't because it was too old but because it had been in a #10 can. Once I used wheat that hadn't been nitrogen packed, I had no problem with it.

Windy in Kansas · #6 02/13/11, 07:57 AM

Try sprouting some more of it without drowning it. Between damp paper towels would be best for a trial.

buffalocreek · #7 02/13/11, 08:42 AM

I've got wheat I store in gallon ziplocks for over ten years that still sprout.

chickenmommy · #8 02/13/11, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CarolynRenee

So I guess next you're going to tell me that the urban legend you hear about wheat found in the ancient pyramids in Egypt was still good & sprouted........that they LIED to me????

Hey---you asked the question. Now you're going to stab the responders?

Geeze.
Ok, I'm getting ready for the response to my answer:
Did the ancient Egyptians put desiccant and oxygen absorbers in the wheat that was found in pyramids? Maybe that is the problem. Yours were saved differently. Or the attempt at sprouting should have included less water and less touching of the seeds. Between two wet paper towels undisturbed except to add more moisture is what always works for me.
Go ahead. Fire away. I've got my foil hat and undies on.

Txrider · #9 02/13/11, 12:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CarolynRenee

So I guess next you're going to tell me that the urban legend you hear about wheat found in the ancient pyramids in Egypt was still good & sprouted........that they LIED to me????

Umm yeah I think they did.

oregon woodsmok · #10 02/13/11, 01:30 PM

Are you keeping it at exactly the right temperature for germination?

Windy in Kansas · #11 02/13/11, 02:32 PM

Wheat has a very wide germination temperature range. Wheat doesn't need much moisture to sprout and I am of the opinion that it was soaked too long.