Sprouts!

earlnabby
earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
edited November 8 in Food and Nutrition
Anybody here grow their own sprouts? What seeds do you sprout? What kind of sprouter do you use?

I recently started raising sprouts and have a mix of broccoli, alfalfa, radish, and clover. I just bought some Russian Red kale seeds and have a batch sprouting right now that is half my regular mix and half kale. I use a quart canning jar with some fine mesh nylon netting over the top.

Mostly I add the sprouts to my sandwiches and salads. What do you do with yours?

Replies

  • drrayne
    drrayne Posts: 5 Member
    I love sprouts! Your mix sounds awesome. Where did you find the russian red kale seeds? :) I am only growing alfalfa (my favorite) right now, but I also love broccoli sprouts.

    I usually eat sprouts on sandwiches, salads, and boiled eggs.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    edited November 2014
    drrayne wrote: »
    I love sprouts! Your mix sounds awesome. Where did you find the russian red kale seeds? :) I am only growing alfalfa (my favorite) right now, but I also love broccoli sprouts.

    I usually eat sprouts on sandwiches, salads, and boiled eggs.

    I ordered them from Todd's Seeds seeds.toddsseeds.com/wholesalesproutingseeds/
  • Lynn_babcock
    Lynn_babcock Posts: 220 Member
    Currently. I buy 10#at a time. Just doing alfalfa now. I keep 2 jars going at a time about a tablespoon of seeds in each quart jar. I really liked radish sprouts. Broccoli were OK, didn't much care for amaranth. I just eat mine on sandwiches.
  • Kristinemomof3
    Kristinemomof3 Posts: 636 Member
    I love sprouting seeds. Right now I've been sprouting a 5 seed mix. I have this sprouter that I found at a garage sale for .50 it's from Burpee.
    82b72sx98a6n.jpg
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    edited November 2014
    Kristinemomof3 wrote: »
    I love sprouting seeds. Right now I've been sprouting a 5 seed mix. I have this sprouter that I found at a garage sale for .50 it's from Burpee.

    I have seen sprouters like yours with 4 trays on Amazon and was wondering how well it worked. amazon.com/VICTORIO-VKP1014-4-Tray-Kitchen-Sprouter/dp/B005FVPP04/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416754310&sr=8-1&keywords=sprouter

  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    Lynn_babcock wrote: »
    Currently. I buy 10#at a time. Just doing alfalfa now. I keep 2 jars going at a time about a tablespoon of seeds in each quart jar. I really liked radish sprouts. Broccoli were OK, didn't much care for amaranth. I just eat mine on sandwiches.

    What do you top your jar with?

  • drrayne
    drrayne Posts: 5 Member
    earlnabby wrote: »

    I ordered them from Todd's Seeds seeds.toddsseeds.com/wholesalesproutingseeds/

    Thank you! I will definitely try them, they sound delicious.

    I got that four tray sprouter from Amazon; so far, I've only used two at the same time, but that works fine.

  • mygnsac
    mygnsac Posts: 13,413 Member
    Never sprouted, but I'm inspired now! Don't know why I never thought to do this.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    drrayne wrote: »
    earlnabby wrote: »

    I ordered them from Todd's Seeds seeds.toddsseeds.com/wholesalesproutingseeds/

    Thank you! I will definitely try them, they sound delicious.

    I got that four tray sprouter from Amazon; so far, I've only used two at the same time, but that works fine.

    They take longer to sprout than my regular mix so I will be doing them separately and mixing when I eat them. It was a great idea, but the timing doesn't work out as well. This might be where a multi level sprouting tray would help . . . you can do seeds that take different lengths of time in each tray and remove them as they are ready.

  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    Hmm, I am intrigued by this idea. I've never sprouted and don't eat many sprouts but I love growing things, so I may check this out. Do you know if you have to have "sprouting seeds" or if I could sprout seeds leftover from Spring and Fall planting?
  • jugjonesmfp
    jugjonesmfp Posts: 3 Member
    earlnabby wrote: »

    I have seen sprouters like yours with 4 trays on Amazon and was wondering how well it worked. amazon.com/VICTORIO-VKP1014-4-Tray-Kitchen-Sprouter/dp/B005FVPP04/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416754310&sr=8-1&keywords=sprouter

    I have the same sprouter, bought it recently. I highly recommend it since it sprouts overnight soaked seeds in 6-7 hours and is relatively cheap. Also since it has 4 trays you can sprout different seeds together.

    Tip: I stay in a cold climate, so I place the sprouter of top of the refrigerator. Trick works wonders.

    Also, try sprouting moong seends and bengal black garm. Perfect for salads.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    Hmm, I am intrigued by this idea. I've never sprouted and don't eat many sprouts but I love growing things, so I may check this out. Do you know if you have to have "sprouting seeds" or if I could sprout seeds leftover from Spring and Fall planting?

    It is my understanding that you can sprout any viable seeds.

  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    earlnabby wrote: »
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    Hmm, I am intrigued by this idea. I've never sprouted and don't eat many sprouts but I love growing things, so I may check this out. Do you know if you have to have "sprouting seeds" or if I could sprout seeds leftover from Spring and Fall planting?

    It is my understanding that you can sprout any viable seeds.

    That's what I'm hoping for. I always have leftover seeds and usually just toss them out.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    earlnabby wrote: »
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    Hmm, I am intrigued by this idea. I've never sprouted and don't eat many sprouts but I love growing things, so I may check this out. Do you know if you have to have "sprouting seeds" or if I could sprout seeds leftover from Spring and Fall planting?

    It is my understanding that you can sprout any viable seeds.

    That's what I'm hoping for. I always have leftover seeds and usually just toss them out.

    Try it. Since you were planning to toss them anyway, if they don't sprout you are not out anything.

  • Kristinemomof3
    Kristinemomof3 Posts: 636 Member
    If you do sprout seeds for planting, make sure you wash them well. I've always been told that you should use sprouting seeds, as other seeds sometimes contain chemicals.
  • MichelleV1990
    MichelleV1990 Posts: 806 Member
    I absolutely love sprouts in my salads and on my sandwiches. I thought about starting some myself, but never tried it as I heard it was easy to get salmonella. Maybe I should just quit being such a chicken and try it.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,997 Member
    I grow my own pea shoots. I use the technique below, but have heard you can also do them on a damp tea towel.

    http://www.verticalveg.org.uk/how-to-grow-pea-shoots/
  • Cedarwren
    Cedarwren Posts: 73 Member
    Sorry to be so naive, but do you "plant" new seeds every day in order to have sprouts every day? Do the seeds sprout only once and then they're discarded? I've only bought alfalfa sprouts at the store and they always go bad before I can finish them.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    MichelleV1990 wrote: »
    I absolutely love sprouts in my salads and on my sandwiches. I thought about starting some myself, but never tried it as I heard it was easy to get salmonella. Maybe I should just quit being such a chicken and try it.

    You are more likely to get it from the sprouts you buy at the store. This is why I do my own.

  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    Cedarwren wrote: »
    Sorry to be so naive, but do you "plant" new seeds every day in order to have sprouts every day? Do the seeds sprout only once and then they're discarded? I've only bought alfalfa sprouts at the store and they always go bad before I can finish them.

    I do one jar every three days or so and it takes me about that amount of time to eat a batch so I always have a new batch ready when I finish off the old one. It generally takes about 3 days for my mix to grow enough. Yes, the seeds sprout and you eat the sprouts, seed pods and all, nothing gets discarded. You can vary the amount that you do in a batch to make sure none go to waste.
  • Cedarwren
    Cedarwren Posts: 73 Member
    Thank you!
  • mygnsac
    mygnsac Posts: 13,413 Member
    Got my jar and seeds now, so gonna give it a try!

    bpgmbryq1x5f.jpg
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    mygnsac wrote: »
    Got my jar and seeds now, so gonna give it a try!

    Cool! The "Broccoli and Friends" is my basic mix. What is in the little packet?

  • mygnsac
    mygnsac Posts: 13,413 Member
    earlnabby wrote: »
    mygnsac wrote: »
    Got my jar and seeds now, so gonna give it a try!

    Cool! The "Broccoli and Friends" is my basic mix. What is in the little packet?

    Alfalfa. I was thinking I would cut my teeth on the alfalfa and see how that goes, then try the other mix in my second batch.
  • mygnsac
    mygnsac Posts: 13,413 Member
    My alpha sprouts are done (and they taste great!) and I'm on to the Brocolli and Friends now. This is so cool! Question...do you put your sprouts out in the sun to green them up, or just eat them as is?

    095fmhvipqdu.jpg
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    mygnsac wrote: »
    My alpha sprouts are done (and they taste great!) and I'm on to the Brocolli and Friends now. This is so cool! Question...do you put your sprouts out in the sun to green them up, or just eat them as is?

    I usually eat them as is. I really don't have a good place to put the jar where it will get sun this time of the year but will sometimes put it out on the balcony for a few hours in the summer.

    Oh boy. I am known as a bit of an enabler in another forum. I have now enabled my first MFP person >:)

  • amandarawr06
    amandarawr06 Posts: 251 Member
    I have never sprouted my own at home, but I did work in a sprout factory for 5 summers while in university. We grew alfalfa, broccoli, baby onion, pea (which were my favourite), and radish.
    So yummy. And such a fun alternative to lettuce.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    edited November 2014
    amandarawr06 wrote: »
    I have never sprouted my own at home, but I did work in a sprout factory for 5 summers while in university. We grew alfalfa, broccoli, baby onion, pea (which were my favourite), and radish.
    So yummy. And such a fun alternative to lettuce.

    LOL, I never thought of a "sprout factory" but I guess they have to mass produce them somehow. One of these days I will get some more seeds and I am going to try peas.

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