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Old January 23, 2008   #1
felpec
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Default Anybody Grow Their Own Sprouts?

My DH had a crab tower salad at a restaurant, and loved the alfalfa sprouts. I bought the seeds, but he didn't like the tangled mess in the canning jar method of sprouting.

We're thinking of getting the BioSet one from Johnny's - does anyone have a better suggestion?
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Old January 23, 2008   #2
Raymondo
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Use a terracotta saucer (the drainage saucer you get with terracotta pots). Soak it in water overnight, spread your seeds, spray them with water and keep the spray bottle handy, cover them. Keep them moist using the spray bottle. Once sprouting has begun, remove the cover, and again, keep moist. Harvest them when they're the size you want. The terracotta saucer will stay moist if you stand it in another container with a little water in it.
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Old January 23, 2008   #3
cosmicgardener
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Great tip Raymondo, I'll try that - I grow mouldy sprouts most of the time!

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Old January 23, 2008   #4
felpec
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Great idea - I just knew there was a solution out there that didn't require buying another specialized piece of equipment.

I'll run out to the garden shed tomorrow to find a terracotta saucer - I know I have a few non-plastic ones out there somewhere.
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Old January 23, 2008   #5
babylark
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That sounds REALLY easy! Off to get a saucer tomorrow. Then I need to find seeds. I love sprouts.
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Old January 25, 2008   #6
Earl
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Sprouts are easy. Put seed in a quart jar or etc., add seed, cover with water, let soak over night. Pour off water next morning, sit jar in dark place. Next day rince with cool water a couple times, and keep doing that for 3-4 days then sit in a well lighted area so the sprouts tips will start turning green.

Here's some I have going right now, alfalfa and mixed.
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Old January 26, 2008   #7
Tania
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we grow lots of sprouts at home - alfalfa, red clover, lentils, sunflower seeds, arugula, broccoli, canola, radish, broccoli raab.

Our favs are radish and arugula sprouts, as they are spicy

This is an excellent vendor we buy sprouting organic seeds from (they ship internationally): http://www.sprouting.com/canstore/enter.html
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Old January 26, 2008   #8
kktwahoo
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Earl and Tania,

Thanks! How fast do you go through the seeds? E.g. how long does 1 kg last, or 5 kg, or whatever you buy?

Thanks again!
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Old January 27, 2008   #9
Tania
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kktwahoo View Post
Earl and Tania,

Thanks! How fast do you go through the seeds? E.g. how long does 1 kg last, or 5 kg, or whatever you buy?

Thanks again!
I buy 1 kg of each kind (costs me around $80-100), and 3 tablespoons of each kind of seed (8 varieties total) gives us a week worth of nice fresh sprouts salad for 2-3 people. We eat the sprouts almost every day, mixing different variaties to get different flavors. This works great when there are no fresh tomatoes available and when it is too cold to grow anything outside .
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Old January 27, 2008   #10
mresseguie
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Earl,

Approximately how many seeds do you add to the bottom glass jar? (1/4 full? 1/2 full? etc. etc.) The picture looks great.
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Old February 8, 2008   #11
felpec
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I got a sprouter for my birthday - so much fun! Here's dinner last night. (Would have been so much better with fresh tomatoes, but the home canned ones were pretty darn good, too.) Stir fry tonight with fresh mung bean sprouts.
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Old February 8, 2008   #12
Earl
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I think I used 1 T. of alfalfa and 1/4 cup of mixed seeds.
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Old February 11, 2008   #13
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I recently got a sprouter and haven't had the best results even though I followed the directions precisely. I've only done the snow peas and red cabbage so far and did like the red cabbage. The snow peas just looked a little gross, LOL! I think I grew them too long when I should have rinsed and put in the fridge.
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