Seed sprouting advice please

Get a nice big, clean coffee jar or similar.
Pour in about an inch of mung beans.
Fill jar 3/4 with water and put a bit of shade cloth, or bridal tulle over the top, fastened with a big rubber band, and stand it in a comfortably warm spot with some sun (to make the sprouts green).
Soak beans for half a day.
Empty out water, then pour more water in to rinse the old water remnants out.
Tip out the rinse water. Stand jar in a comfortably warmish place.
When you next walk past or after a few hours, repeat the rinse of the beans.
Keep rinsing the beans for 2 or 3 days to keep them fresh. They should start sprouting after about 36(?) hours.
Start using them when you think they have enough sprout (how long is a piece of string?)
Keep rinsing them a few times a day, using what you want, when you want. They will take up more and more room in the jar as they swell, then sprout, which is why you start with a small amount of dried beans and a very big jar.
Get another jar going after a couple of days, so you have a continuing supply. Don't make your batches too big or they go off before you get to the bottom. Yuk.

This works with alfalfa sprouts too, but the mesh for rinsing needs to be really, really fine, or they will all go down the plughole when you rinse them. :-(

Has anyone tried sprouting flax seeds? What happens with all the slimy stuff???

Cheers

Louise

I forgot about my sprouts for a day and went online to see if it was ok it eat them and could not find a good site anywhere- and everything I read made it all sound so complicated I wouldn't have ever done it if I had read about it first (and I ate them by the way).

so here is what I do
1. organic seeds or beans (cuts down on bacterial risk - try lentils first)
2. sprout one kind of bean or seed at a time (I learned this the hard way trying to make a sprout "mix" that ended with the wheat sprout getting slimy at the bottom of the jar)
3. keep your soaking water it is full of nutrients (use in bread or soup etc)
4. I sprout in a very big glass jar with a mesh top (the size of your jar should determine how much seed or bean you use - and the size of the bean or seed matters too- if you have a big bean use less- I probably fill the bottom 10th of the jar).

now how to
1. rinse then soak over night
2. drain and gently fill the jar up with water and pour it off two to three times a day (depending on humidity- try to be pretty thorough with your pour off)
3. put jar in semi dark at an angle on it's side (I use a corner in the kitchen and prop the jar on a folded dish towel- this seems to keep them from getting slimy)
4. eat them when they have a nice sized root (1-2 inches) and a very small leaf

recipe
1. toss in at the end of soup
2. put on salad
3. eat with a little salt
4. put on a sandwich
5. toss in at the end of a stir fry

I mostly just eat mine right out of the jar

Good spouting ideas - thanks for this thread.

We used to sprout wheatgrass, but barley is supposed to balance hormones in a good way and tastes a little less like battery acid. My food co-op can’t get unhulled barley anymore so I found 25# sacks of organic, unhulled (hulled won’t sprout) barley on Amazon. Geez...everything is becoming so centralized out of Amazon! The sprouting is very easy, but then you have to juice it, which requires a special machine. I found a hand-turn grinder which works well and is pretty easy to clean. We mix the barley juice with a little bit of fresh orange juice (two oranges each) and it’s really quite tolerable - tastes kinda like grapefruit juice and is loaded with vitamins and minerals. I can’t deal with burping wheatgrass juice all morning, plus it’s pretty hard on the stomach when taken straight.

I bought several small cafeteria trays at a restaurant supply house. To sprout I soak one cup of barley overnight per tray - if you want to have sprouts every day, you’ll want to rotate planting of the trays - it just depends on how many you are juicing for. I keep three trays rotating, which works well for us. Drain and rinse the seeds. Fill the trays with organic potting soil and water well. Sprinkle the soaked barley seeds on top and spread them out so that they’re not too jumbled up. Spray with water and cover with another tray of the same size. Place in a dark place for 24-36 hours. Uncover, spray again, and place in a sunny location where they won’t get scorched, but have good light. We sprout under grow lights. Keep spraying twice a day and water when the soil gets dry. Sprouts are ready to juice when they’re 5-7 inches high.

:) Christine

The big mistake I used to make was to sprout too much at once and then they would get away from me and I ended up guiltily binning lots. I live alone, so now I only soak 5 tsp chickpeas every other day. This gives me 5 tsp sprouts to mix into my breakfast cereal every day. They give it a delicious crunch. Chickpeas and mung are very easy, you just can't stop them growing whatever you do. Mung are better in savoury dishes.

Put the dry beans into a largish glass jar (coffee jar? - brown glass is best to preserve B vitamins in sunlight.) Cover well with water. Cover with muslin held on with a rubber band (in the UK the postman always leaves these on the front path free of charge)- or a lid with holes punched would do. Leave 12/24 hours. Drain. Rinse thoroughly. Drain again. (I upend the jar on the washing up rack after drying the breakfast dishes.) Leave to stand anywhere away from direct sunlight. In winter a warmer place is better, but don't worry - these beans will sprout anywhere. Rinse and drain morning and night - but if you forget sometimes it won't matter too much.

In about 4 days the sprouts should be ready. You don't want very long sprouts, or leaves, on the chickpeas. Little white sprouts are fine. If they are growing too fast for you, you can try keeping them in the fridge, but that won't stop them.

VERY IMPORTANT - soaked uncooked beans are dangerous to eat unless they have sprouted, so before eating you MUST sort through and only eat the sprouted beans. Unsprouted ones can be kept longer - beans don't all sprout at the same speed - but eventually there are always a few that don't sprout and have to be put on the compost heap. If the whole batch doesn't sprout, don't blame yourself, it's the beans that are dead - too old or perhaps dried too fiercely. I had a whole batch of expensive organic chickpeas that didn't sprout - and then bought some very cheap ones that did fine. Good luck!

Christine,

Can you re-use the potting mix? How many times? What about adding weak seaweed emulsion every few batches?

Why can't you just put the sprouted barley in a blender with the orange juice? The hulls would be pretty sharp, I guess.

L

Alix, what is in the soaked chickpeas that don't sprout, that is so dangerous? I wonder if it is a problem with other seeds? I have eaten lots of unsprouted mung beans amongst the sprouted ones, particularly at the bottom of the jar, with no problems. Probably alfalfa too.

L

Hi Louise,

No, you can’t reuse the soil...interestingly, there’s hardly any soil left after seven or so days of sprout growth. They take all the minerals up to the blades of grass and what’s left is a thick mat of roots. It peels right off the tray and you can just throw it in the compost heap after you’ve harvested the grass.

You certainly can blend the sprouts in water or other liquid, but that’s not nearly as efficient at extracting the barley juice. You cut the grass just above soil level and juice just that - the hulls had long since fallen into and been covered up by the mat of roots.

Watering the trays with seaweed emulsion - like kelp powder - is a great idea.

:)

Hi potential and actual Sprouters

I found an amazing little book yesterday, right under my nose at our local secondhand book store. It is called Successful Sprouting, by Frank Wilson, ISBN 0 7225 0440 3. It was originally published in 1978 and has six impressions listed in my copy, printed 1987, so must have sold quite a few copies. It is only 64 pages, of which half is recipes.

It has chapter headings on health benefits, history, seed development, nutritional values of different grains and seeds sprouted, methods of sprouting, species you can sprout, commercial sprouting, and recipes.

It has very comprehensive info on how you sprout each species and optimum times of harvest.

I found about ten different copies with a quick google. There are bound to be more copies out there.

I'm off to try sprouting some parsley seed which I harvested at home last year. It tastes kind of like celery seed but is full of little sharp bits of peduncle which are hard to pick out, so I'll try this alternative use. Parsley is not listed in the book, but it doesn't seem to cause me digestive problems in seed form.

There are no cautions in the book about not eating the seeds that do not sprout, and there are no cautions listed about species whose seeds that you should not eat sprouted, ie are toxic. I'll do a bit more googling on that and report back.

Cheers

Louise

Later...

www.growyouthful.com/sprouts.php has some cautions on particular sprouts for particular people, eg cancer sufferers and people with fair skin.

www.providentstorehouse.com/docs/grains_pt1_seminar/sprouting_handout.doc also has some cautions.

http://www.living-foods.com/articles/sproutdigestion.html is good on intestinal wind and ways to cut down on it. Ayurveda is mentioned a fair bit.

Sally mentioned the complicated instructions and complexity of information that are given on the Net. Yes Sally, I just found the same thing. The consensus seems to be that, with the exception of kidney beans and large quantities of alfalfa sprouts, you can sprout and eat any seed of an edible plant as long as you know that it is free of contamination and poisonout seed treatments, and that it does not interfere with other health issues, eg photosensitisation. BUT ensure that you do a bit of research before trying anything not mentioned in the lists of common sprouting species, observe the cautions mentioned, and try new foods in small quantities before eating a lot of it. I guess moderation is everything enables us to reap benefits without problems. One of the above documents does point out that anything is toxic in large enough quantities, even safe foods.

Cheers

Louise

My googling also uncovered a way to sprout flax seeds, which is interesting. Will try it and report back.

Hint: Don't try and soak them.

Yes Sally, I am old enough, just, to remember farthings as well. I think he just wants his little book to go to a good home.

After finding this book, there seems to be no limit to what you can sprout. Bellybutton fluff sounds like a good challenge. I might try sprouting socks too, after the barley grass season. There has to be an easier way to get grass seeds out of socks than picking them out one by one before they go in the washing machine!

Cheers

Louise

does anyone know of any good websites with recipes for wholefood treats like cakes and puddings, so that I can indulge my need for occasional breastfeeder treats (surely I'm entitled??!) without backing up the old colon and causing exit challenges?

I made a wholemeal flour teabread yesterday. It would not have won any awards. Some old sock grass seeds could only have improved the flavour. And it's so dense I suspect it has a half life of at least 50years; perhaps I should cook up a few more loaves to put in store for after the oil runs out.

anyway, any suggestions gratefully received, esp if they don't involve nuts (my 3yr old has a nut allergy; though it would mean there was more for me...)

PS apols if this is outside WW remit - only excuse is that an occasional treat would surely make living with prolapse more fun

Mumtogirls London

Hi Sally

Please post it. It is food after all. Post it in the POP and Menopause Forum if you would prefer. It would probably be 'on piste' there. (I guess this is a skiing term. Forgive me if I have it all wrong.) We women around menopause need as many affirming and creative ideas as we can get for dealing with the downside of menopause.

Let's face it, there are a few upsides too, like no more periods, and not having to deal with consulting the calendar to work out what sort of body we are going to live in today, and no more contraceptive hassles.

Today, give me cake!!!

Cheers

Louise

thanks sally for sending me the cake recipe offline- i agree with louise that it's worth posting onsite under menopause or food/lifestyle. It's quite hard to find recipes for wholefood treats that are moderately good for you - most of them are so worthy and fibrous you might as well eat the book instead.

good things - be that the act of baking or eating the results - in moderation of course;-), are all part of being able enjoying life, and I reckon we POPpers need that as much as anyone.

I might also invest in a copy of christine's diet book as I saw from the DVD there's some recipes for wheat free cookies which sound up my street. Not sure what's behind my current sweet treat obsession. Greed, probably.

cheers ladies

Mumtogirls London

Thanks for the thorough info here. Just went to our local organic store and found lots of seeds especially for sprouting and eating. Looking forward to try them. They also sell a clay tray thingie for sprouting, should I buy one or just go with the jar? Experiences?
Liv

Hi Liv

I was given a clay sprouting tray about 15 years ago and could never figure out how to make it work. Mine is in the form of a flat hedgehog. It has a glazed bottom, unglazed top surface and a slightly raised edge, with the spines scratched into the surface, so it could hold about 2mm of water. I presume you let the seeds down into these little trenches. He is quite cute.

I read an article recently that said you could use it for sprouting seeds like flax that make mucilage if you soak them, then they just turn into gluey muck instead of sprouting. You are supposed to soak the clay tray overnight, then put the flax seeds on it. I guess you moisten them first, but don't soak them. The seeds then absorb water out of the clay tray. That's the theory. I haven't tried it yet. I also thought I could use it with potting mix and grain seeds for oat grass etc. I will be interested to hear if anyone else has used one.

Cheers

Louise

Only just noticed this thread. A warning about alfalfa sprouts - they have been linked to triggering lupus (SLE), obviously only in susceptible people as lots of healthy types eat lots of alfalfa with no ill effects. But if you have anyone in your family with lupus or you have other autoimmune (which means there is already a possibility of developing other autoimmune diseases), then I'd recommend being on the safe side and not eating them. This isn't just a fringe alternative medicine thing, it's in orthodox medical literature, I've seen a couple of research papers. Judith