Growing your own sprouts

You can easily grow your own sprouts all year long right in your kitchen. They require no soil or even sunlight. There are many methods for doing this, some fancy and expensive, some cheap and easy. I sew simple draw string bags made from hemp or some other open weave fabric, and put my seeds in the bag. I buy organic seeds like clover , alfalfa , radish , buck wheat , red winter wheat , garlic and many other varieties. This will need some trial and error on your part. Some seeds to better growing in specially designed sprouting containers, usually plastic or ceramic/terra cotta. Those tend to require more work and money though. So I try growing various seeds in my hemp bags. After the seeds are placed in the bag, I put the bag into a bowl of fresh water , at least over night. Some seeds with hard shells, like wheat and buck wheat, require longer soaking times.

 After they soak, I hang them up on a string over my kitchen sink and rinse them twice a day and then re hang them. It's very simple. After about 5 days, the seeds start to sprout. You can keep rinsing and letting them grow for a few more days if you like or you can just eat them then. Once you are done growing them though, they need to be refrigerated or they will lose their nutrients quickly. You can put them in a glass jar and leave them on a window sill for a day or so to "green up", which means letting the sprouts gain chlorophyll. But it's not strictly necessary. I also add some organic liquid seaweed fertilizer to the bowl when I soak them initially to enhance their growth and nutrients. It gives them a jump start.

I like to buy my seeds as locally as I can so I use a great company called Sprout House. They have a nice web site :www.sprouthouse.com
I have always been very satisfied by the products and services.

You can also grow the sprouts in a jar from the start, but you need to be sure they are not clumped together, and are spread out a bit on the sides of the jar. You can put some cheese cloth over the lid to give them air. Do not screw down a lid on the jar.

There are many web sites that can help you get started and buy sprouters as well as seeds and guides to tell you which seeds grow better in bags or sprouters and a time table for each.

You will need to clean the bags in between new "crops."
I usually turn the bags inside out and clean out any leftover seeds, then get a pot of water boiling and put my bags in the water for about 10 minutes to disinfect them, you can also put them in a little bleach in a pail of water to clean them They tend to get stained after a while. But you need to wash them well after bleaching them.
When you go to the super market and see beautiful bags of sprouts for sale, understand that they might have Salmonella and they almost always are sprayed with anti-fungal chemicals, which is why they are so large and nice looking. I would rather grow my own and know they are fresh and chemical free.

We eat the spouts in salads and even use them in home made breads. ( I never tell the kids what is in the breads) I add flax seeds in many things we make, or you can buy ground flax meal, which is probably better utilized by the body to lower cholesterol.

I always grow extra sprouts so I can give our flock of chickens a treat in the winter when plants are non existent. They have a feeding frenzy with the sprouts. I just love to watch them run and waddle to the feeders. Our kids delight in feeding them sprouts and breads and especially diced ham or ground beef. ( you can see my posting on "Raising chickens" for more info on this subject. )    Written by Bill Scheps