Sprouting

[harpy]

i've had success in the past and recently dragged the sprouter from the back of the cupboard and tried some aduki beans (soaked them overnight first) after 10 days odd they started sprouting slightly but then i thought they'd been out far too long and i threw them out. thougth 3-4 days for beans?? did i do something wrong?
what is the best temperature to keep them at does anyone know?

Maybe your beans were not in the first flush of youth? I usually do mung beans and they start sprouting in a day or two I think, but I do notice a difference if I don't use the packet up fast enough.

Temperature-wise, room temperature seems to work OK but I think they may sprout faster if you put them somewhere warm like an airing cupboard, at least to start with.

With mung beans, I pour boiling water on them for the initial soak - they have tough skins and so that's meant to speed things up a bit. I can't remember whether that works for aduki beans as well but it might.

[journey]

So for things like radish seeds, salad mix, alfalfa seeds, etc - I paid 90 cents an ounce (or $17-18 a pound) at my health food store. Is that a reasonable price?

I'm trying to figure out how much I'm saving by sprouting myself rather than buying the expensive little boxes of sprouts ready to eat in the gourmet section of the grocery.

[harpy]

Without having done any calcuations, it sounds reasonable, journey - you may be pleasantly surprised how many sprouts you get out of an ounce of seeds.

[whalespace]

Soya beans have gone up from five dollars to ten US dollars for a sixty pound sack.

Be shocked.
I'll be looking for a sack importer... I previously bought my sacks for between thirteen and twenty five UK quids per sack [at 25 kg].... depending on source and organic status etc..

Holland and Barret UK retail at roughly equivalent to fifty UK quids per sack [lentils and soya].... but they did put them in a small plastic bag for us.

International supermarkets and "wholesale" can be cheaper, but if you have got a dry place for a bean bag, then why not ship some spare time?

[ellaminnowpea]

60 lbs of soy beans?!?!

[whalespace]

60 lbs of soy beans?!?!

Yep. Thats two cushions, or a big pillow....or a dry box under the floorboards [depending on rodents and house chemicals].

...plus a saving of between 60 and 90 dollars per 60lbs
.
Four sacks per year for a working man [ with some other pulses or grains etc.].
So thats between twenty and fourty dollars per year. How much were those burgers again?

[Risker]

Where do people (in the UK) get their seeds for sprouting? And can anyone give me an idea of what they cost?

[whalespace]

I've got a two kilogram pack of methi seeds [fenugreek] on my desk which cost about three quid.
whole bajra / bajari seed [sproutable millet, chewy] one point five kilos ...was cheaper than the flour...two or three quid.
Lentils at two quid eighty nine per packet of three kilograms.
Yellow gram [chick peas with testas {seed coats}]....might have been five kilos per six quid.

These were "East End" and "Heera" products from an "asian supermarket" in Leicester.

Since the two wholefood shops nearest to me closed down, I have not found another place which would sell me sacks of peas, lentils, beans, and wheat grain. I think their minimum order was about two hundred pounds. I'm up for co-operative purchasing if we can get it together.


"East End" have recently aquired a large building site near Birmingham.

Might be worth contacting dockyards and shippers, since most shops will protect their custom.

[Anastazee]

i've been sprouting for a while now and I love it. I use sprouts for everything, a standard favorite is sprouts, spinach, tomato, horseradish, hot pepper, and mustard in a wrap... AMAZING.

I was hoping someone could help me, I have wonderful success sprouting, although, I can't seem to figure out how I keep killing mustard seeds. I bought extra spicy oriental mustard seeds and can't get a sprout to save my life. Has anyone heard of misting small seeds to prevent drowning? I just can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. Any tips?

[Anastazee]

p.s. I can't wait to get my hands on some corn, I never dreamed of sprouting it but it looks DELICIOUS... Thanks for the idea Ogi

[Ms_Derious]

I think a lot of the mustard seeds you buy for cooking have been treated so they won't sprout. Are you buying spouting seeds?

[Daffodil]

i've had a go, not much success so I bought a book on it a few months back....not read it yet tho.

[snivelingchild]

currently sprouting mung beans, a spicy sprout mix, temperamental broccoli seeds (hope to do better next batch) and making rejuvelac. boyfriend loves sammiches with the mung bean sprouts!

[Anastazee]

I think a lot of the mustard seeds you buy for cooking have been treated so they won't sprout. Are you buying spouting seeds?

yea i got them from 'thesprouthouse' everything's sprouting beautifully but they do nothing but look like they are drowning

[Roxy]

currently sprouting mung beans, a spicy sprout mix, temperamental broccoli seeds (hope to do better next batch) and making rejuvelac. boyfriend loves sammiches with the mung bean sprouts!

How are they coming along?

[snivelingchild]

everythings going well except the broccoli seeds died. Forgot to rinse a couple times. About to start more today, actually. mmmmm... LOVE bean sprouts!!! Boyfriend keeps getting on me..."WHEN are you gonna sprout MORE???"

[fiamma]

I haven't sprouted for yonks... not after attempting to sprout buckwheat only for it to come out like an extra from a John Carpenter film (slime - and lots of it - for those who don't know what I'm on about).

I bought a ton of seeds 'n' beans a while back - better get sprouting!!!

Anyone had any luck with wheat???

[ogi]

Ogi - it looks like grains? What is it that you have sprouted?

It's my organic wheat

[ogi]

My sprouting mix from organic corn, bean and wheat
I eat this every day in a big quantity
Boiled for short time
Next year I will have my organic barley for the first time

[ogi]

p.s. I can't wait to get my hands on some corn, I never dreamed of sprouting it but it looks DELICIOUS... Thanks for the idea Ogi

Did you tried?

Only it must be boiled in water for short time
Boiling on steam is not good, it get acid taste

[timberly]

ogi- that looks so good! You've inspired me to try sprouting!

[whalespace]

Sprouted green lentils. These almost never go wrong for me.

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[Risker]

I have to sprout loads of varieties of seeds for work, life is hard.

Alfalfa sprouts first, used these today together with home made bread from my newly acquired bread maker to make 'bugsy' sandwiches with hummus, grated carrot and watercress.





Next up, beetroot.

[harpy]

They look quite successful, Risker.

The most vigorous of the ones I've been doing lately are radish seeds. After a few days you practially have radishes in your sprouter I have been mixing them with others, usually broccoli and clover.

[whalespace]

Turnip seeds are similarly fast Harpy... and producing the seeds is much less effort than weeding around the roots . Just put the dry seed cases in a cloth bag, and rough them up a bit... the seeds come spilling out.

[harpy]

Still sounds a bit like hard work compared with opening a packet but I do like the idea of sprouted turnip seeds

[whalespace]

Sure thing, if you can persuade someone to supply packets of seed to you .

[harpy]

Well I would have to do that in practice, seeing I haven't got any turnip seed cases to hand I haven't seen them on sale specifically for sprouting but I suppose ordinary ones would do. You apparently have to be a bit careful about using ordinary commercial seeds for sprouting but organic ones would probably be OK

[bellybuddha]

I've been trying to sprout some onion seeds for the past week and they just do not seem to want to sprout. Some have but it has taken such a long time. What am I doing wrong? I've got them in a sprouter box and water twice a day as instructed and I sit it on the window sill. Time to abandon and try again do you think?

[harpy]

I didn't know you could sprout onion seeds, but I just read this http://www.sproutpeople.com/seed/onion.html which says they take 10-15 days so perhaps you just need to wait a bit longer? I know other sites mention a shorter time but I imagine it's worth persevering... Will be interested to hear what happens.

[whalespace]

Leek flowers certainly taste good.

[Vivien]

I dont understand the sprouting thing- do you just eat what sprouts out of the beans/peas, or the bean and the sprout? Sounds interesting though!
thanks, Viv x

[harpy]

Hi Vivien. If it's a bean you normally eat the whole thing, bean and sprout. You might have had bean shoots in a Chinese meal? What's being discussed here is similar though homegrown ones are usually tastier in my opinion.

With sprouted seeds, you really don't have a seed left, just a sprout (and a seed case which isn't really noticeable except in the case of the beetroot seeds I'm currently sprouting which have very chewy seed cases).

Anyway, try it, you might like it!

[Risker]

I can't seem to be able to sprout beetroot, I'm on my second attempt now and though it sprouts a bit it's not enough and just forms a ball in my jar.

How did you sprout yours harpy?

I need a photo of some beetroot sprouts for work if you or anyone else can help (I can pay in more seeds)

[harpy]

Hi Risker -

I did my beetroot with other seeds - possibly clover and broccoli. They did produce little red shoots in due course but the (very) chewy seed cases were still attached and I couldn't wait any longer because the other seeds were ready. I think I might try doing them on their own next time then I can wait for them to be in a more attractive state.

I didn't do anything special - just soaked them overnight and then put them in my sprouter (tray). Maybe doing it in a tray stopped them getting tangled up in a ball? Wonder whether these ones would work better in earth, then you could snip the tops off and leave the seedcases?

Sorry I can't help with the photos at the moment because I emptied my sprouter before going away for the weekend. How long can you wait, I could start some today but they took a few days last time.

[Risker]

Thanks, I can wait, I've got to do pictures of all the sprouting seeds we sell so will be a fair while before I get the rest done anyway.

I think you're right about using a tray, I thought as much myself, will have to buy some.

[loveganism]

I love sprouting I have a mini 2-tier sprouter and a sprouting jar, used to have a 3-tier BioSnacky which was excellent at draining the sprouts but I broke it.

My faves are fenugreek, mung bean/lentil mixes, alfalfa and broccoli. The mung bean mixes taste nice mixed into spicy cous cous. Broccoli sprouts are super healthy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broccoli_sprouts.

I've sprouted hemp (very difficult), amaranth (even more difficult) and sunflower seeds too. The hemp and amaranth are so difficult to sprout without the sprouts going musty, and you don't get a lot of sprouts for your effort either.

The first time I tried little radish sprouts, I got a shock. I was expecting them to be hot, but not 'arghhhhh' hot.

I also like growing wheatgrass, but I grow that outside in organic compost. I've read that growing all sprouts in a little organic compost makes better sprouts, but I imagine it'd be a pain in the backside rinsing it.

[harpy]

Thanks, I can wait, I've got to do pictures of all the sprouting seeds we sell so will be a fair while before I get the rest done anyway.

I think you're right about using a tray, I thought as much myself, will have to buy some.

I've put some in to soak and will try and get OH to take some pics when there's some action. Think the last lot probably would have looked a mite unappetising on account of their horny exteriors but will see if I can tart these ones up a bit somehow.

A saucer with blotting paper would probably work - although a perforated tray certainly makes the rinsing bit easier.

Loveveganism, I haven't found the radish ones as hot as all that - perhaps it depends on the variety? I have just started trying to sprout some mooli seeds for the first time, will be interested to see how those turn out. I have got some rapeseed for sprouting at the moment, that seems to be quite easy.

Yes I think sprouting in compost is probably a bit more trouble than in a sprouter but I am going to try doing my peashoots that way after taking advice here

[Ms_Derious]

Currently eating a lot of brocolli sprouts. Its very tasty.... I just use a sprouting jar.

[whalespace]

I have got some rapeseed for sprouting at the moment, that seems to be quite easy.

I heard that rapeseed oil contains five percent erucic acid... which is on the toxic side.
I heard that "canola" was related to the rape plant. I didn't follow up the information though.

[Risker]

^ Canola is rape, it's short for "Canadian oil, low acid" because they didn't like the word rape. It's PC gone mad I tell you!!!!

[harpy]

I'm not too worried about rapeseed, particularly in small quantities. I think some of the rapeseed information "out there" may be a bit exaggerated, as discussed here: http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/canola.asp

"Brassica napus oil" would be a catchy name for it

[Risker]

Daikon Radish, these only took 3 or 4 days to grow.

[harpy]

Yes radishes seem to be really quick to sprout don't they? Also reliable. A few of the beetroot ones I started on 19th have sprouted, but not many yet.

[whalespace]

Those radish sprouts are doing a satisfying green colour.

I wouldn't worry about a few brassica seeds either, but as with flax seed I would try to calculate the toxic amount.

The "low acid" part of "canola" is thirty times less erucic acid than rape. This is definitely worthy of a different name. I should check what is meant by "30 to 60 percent erucic acid"... ie percent of what exactly?

I heard of canola when searching for sources of omega 3 oils. I thought I was on to a winner when I found that canola was related to oilseed rape because the fields are full of rapeseed around here. No good for humans as an oil though.

[whalespace]

Righto, impressions:
Brassica campestris seed yeilding forty percent oil.
Thirty to sixty percent of the fatty acids being erucic acid.
Bear in mind that most of the rapeseed crop in the world is now thought to be canola...the fatty acids of which are about one percent erucic acid.

Forty percent of forty percent is sixteen percent of original seed mass.

No Observable Effects Limit [NOEL]: established using animal subjects.
Provisional Tolerable Daily Intake [PTDI]: for average human is 500mg per day.

The PTDI was calculated with "an uncertainty factor of 100 [10 for extrapolation to humans, 10 for variation within humans]"... meaning the NOEL for pigs is approximately one hundred times higher.

I won't give the numbers for pigs and rats considering where we are.
The toxicity issues in the documents I found were related to myocardial lipidosis [which was not necessarily permanent], and lesions.
There was a suggestion that low doses of erucic acid might stimulate the liver into action.
The following site has interesting documents [number 21 for erucic acid]
Obviously dissections were involved... though not described in the document.
http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/scie...tserie1338.cfm

Apparently nasturtium seeds contain 80 percent [of fatty acids] erucic acid.

[whalespace]

Sorry, got sidetracked.

So 100grammes of the old style oilseed would yield 16, 000 mg of erucic acid;

but 100 grammes of canola seed would yield between 200 mg and 800 mg erucic acid.


Please correct my casual arithmetic. EDIT: and correct my shallow skim of literature.
This could be relevant to some people whom eat a lot of related "wild" seeds, or seed from remote places.

[harpy]

A few of the beetroot ones I started on 19th have sprouted, but not many yet.

I'm afraid my beetroot sprouts still look a bit repulsive, Risker. Now I'm doing them on their own I can see that the germination rate is quite low so there's a mixture of a small amount of long red spindly shoots with a large amount of gnarly seed cases

I've stuck the tray in a plastic bag in the airing cupboard to see if that makes more of them germinate though it may be a bit late for this batch.

[Risker]

Seems they're quite tricky. If you think it's the seeds I can send you some of mine, they all seemed to germinate ok, it just went wrong after that.

[harpy]

Thanks for the offer, Risker. I'm slightly going off the idea of beetroot shoots but I don't mind trying again with yours to see if we can get a photogenic result. Let's see what's in the airing cupboard tomorrow morning shall we?

Did most of yours germinate at the same time then? I'd say only about 50% of mine are showing any signs of it, at a very rough estimate.