Now that the Winter is upon us, I find myself searching for ways to bring life into my, well… life. In my office I have amaryllis and paperwhites blooming, along with Christmas cactus and a few dishes of succulents. They bring me peace and happiness, and some vitality amidst the paperwork and glowing computer screen. Now, in my kitchen I also have sprouts!
My home is in a small city, which offers many things, but not a variety of sprouts. In the warmer months there is a fantastic grower at the farmer’s market who produces sensation hydroponic sprouts. He has a few different mixes, one is a spicy version that I just adore. When I couldn’t get my own, I remembered an article I read (somewhere, who knows when), about using takeout containers to grow your own little counter garden. So here we are, my green thumb experiment.
How To Grow Sprouts
The process really couldn’t be easier. The first thing is to find a reliable container. I used some storage containers, those plastic shells from salad mixes, and I also used a little tin pail (seen below) that I had kicking about. I just thought it would look adorable on my counter- and it did! You just need something that will hold water- a cup, a bowl, really any vessel will do.
The next step was to decide on the base medium. I’ve actually grown sprouts in soil, which is perfectly wonderful if you have some extra kicking around. For city dwellers this may be hard to come by, so an alternative is to use cotton, paper towels, or what I did here- scrap muslin.
I’ve grown sprouts in jars before where you dump and rinse every few days. This is perfectly wonderful, but I had two issues with it. The first was I had a tipped leaning jar on my counter which made meal preparation precarious at times. You also end up with a jumble of sprouts. Perfectly fine indeed, but I like the organization and tidy look of little growing gardens to gaze upon during the day.
The idea behind the base is to allow the sprouts to gently receive moisture and give their teeny roots something to grab onto. I also tried a weary facecloth, and it worked great. I like the idea due to the fact that it allowed me to wash and reuse the cloth over again, and not waste. Either way, all work equally well.
For the next step I tried two approaches- soak the sprouts, or not. They both worked very well, but the soaking got the process going more quickly. Either way, whatever your fancy. To soak, place a few tablespoons of sprouts into a jar with clean cool water, stir and let sit overnight. Then drain. Before adding the sprouts to the growing container, thoroughly soak the base medium. Then sprinkle those babies on top….. and then wait. Just wait for the magic. Each day those little babies thrive and blossom. It’s so wonderful, and that’s all there is to it.
Within a day or so I got the first inkling of sprouts (see photo above), and within a week I was able to harvest. Take care to keep your medium moist. If you have your little guys floating in too much water they will rot, not enough and they will limp. So a sprinkle of water every day or so will keep your babies happy.
Oh! and they don’t really need sun either. The sprouts will thrive without sun, but after they get going, if you place them into the sun they will develop chlorophyll and add to their vitality.
Where to Get Seeds to Sprout
You have a lot of choices when it comes to what you can sprout, and you may already have them in your cupboard. The most traditional thing is alfalfa, but you may also sprout clover, lentils, mung beans, quinoa, radish, amaranth, cress and arugula. The list goes on and on from here. You may purchase seeds online from HERE
How to Enjoy Your Sprouts
Once your sprouts have reached the size you desire you can trim them from their roots, place them in an airtight container, and store in the fridge. For me, I kept one tub going on the counter and just pulled on them when I wanted them, and the rest I stored in the fridge.
There is a lot of vitality in sprouts. Depending on which you choose to grow, they can add a lot of flavor to your dishes too. Those radish sprouts are delightfully spicy. Gosh do I love them! Use them in your salads, on your sandwiches, mince into your salad dressings, top your omelets, and yep! toss them right into your smoothie. Bam!
Just keep them watered and bright. A word of caution: should they start to smell funky dunky, or get brown and limp- give them a toss. Sorry for the loss… there will be more where that came from.
A last word- I have a couple of containers going at a time. I grown different flavors, and I start them 5-6 days apart so I have a fresh crop at all times. Enjoy!
