More on Sprouting

[Guest guest]

Hi Deanna,

 

I used to get raw, unhulled sunflower sprouts in the bulk section of

Wild Oats... Now they only carry raw, hulled, sunflower sprouts...

I have not tried sprouting these just yet, and I have put in a

request to Wild Oats... Hey, if enough people request them, maybe

they will bring them back?

 

But if all we have is the unhulled, then I would try the same

technique and see where it takes us... I think the shallow pans

could be great... Sprinkle a layer of dirt on the bottom of the

pans, place seeds on the soil, and cover with more dirt... Water

well, but don't drown them!! Keep them in a relatively sunny spot

and water every day...

 

With unhulled seeds it would take just about a week for the sprout

to grown and throw off the shell, leaving a two petaled sprout...

If the sprouts are a yellowish green they are not ready and will

taste very astringent... Unlike the fully grown, dark green

sunflower sprouts that will be sweet.

 

If you wish to mix seeds, consider varieties that can be sprouted in

a jar- like an alfalfa, cabbage, radish mix. It is important to

keep in mind the number of days it will take for the seeds to sprout

when choosing blends. Which is another way to say, size does

matter. Alfalfa, cabbage and radish seeds are all pretty much the

same size- very, very small, so they should all be finished

sprouting at about the same time. If however you throw in lentles

or mung sprouts, then the smaller sprouts, which usually require

less sprout time, would be ready before the larger sprouts. And if

you wait until the larger sprouts are done, there is a good chance

the smaller sprouts would have gone off by that time...

 

To sprout from a jar, place the seeds (or blend of seeds) in enough

water to cover, with an additional inch or two of water. Play with

this, you will learn which seeds soak up more water than others...

For smaller seeds there will be a shorter soak time (6-8 hours),

larger seeds require a longer soak time (8-12 hours). After this

time, drain, and rinse well. Make sure to rinse, and drain every

day, better yet- a couple times a day. Draining should also entail

tipping the covered but well vented jar upside down and placing at

an angle for the day. This will make sure the sprouts don't sit in

water, and that fresh air can still circulate in the container. The

best way to tell if a sprout is done is by the taste... For

example, I like my green pea sprouts much more mature than the

sprout books recommend...

 

Now if you want to mix with sunflower seeds, I can suggest this...

Buckwheat sprouts can be grown in soil just like the sunflower

seeds. So divide the tray into two parts, one reserved for the

sunflowers, the other side for the buckwheat, and follow the same

protocol as listed above. The reason you want to separate the two

is that buckwheat greens are very fine, delicate sprouts... Too big

for a jar, but not hardy enough to intertwine with the sunflower

greens. But planting buckwheat along side sunflower greens is a fun

way to begin to appreciate the variety of sprouts available...

 

I hope that helps...

Be Well,

Misty L. Trepke

http://www..com

 

 

, " Deana Smiel "

<rsmiel@h...> wrote:

> Misty,

>

> After tasting your sunflower sprouts, I want to try growing them.

Do I just

> put the seeds (where do I get them?) in water and wait for it to

grow? Do I

> just sprinkle some more water on them every day? I have two great

trays I

> thought I could use - they're shallow - or I have a mini-

greenhouse thing -

> two feet long, 3 " wide, 3 " tall, with a clear top. I wouldn't

mind mixing

> the sprouts if that's ok to do either. Can you give us a

tutorial? Is

> there a good place to go buy the stuff in ABQ? Thanks!