Growing sprouts on a small budget

With just a few pennies and a few minutes a day you can have a very healthy serving of very yummy vegetables every day.  You don't really need to buy those kits with special jars and special lids with the "right" size holes in them for sprouting. 

I live in Ohio so the gardening season doesn't last as long as I would like.  Because there are more than 6 months without ready-to-pick fresh produce growing in the garden, I like to use sprouts in the winter.  I can't afford to buy sprouts in the store so I grow my own.  Even with the cost of buying the seeds, there is significant savings involved in growing your own sprouts.   $30 worth of seeds bought online, this includes shipping, will last more than a single winter for me.  I buy them separately and mix them in a pint jar.  They are kept in the freezer.  So for pennies a day you can have a daily serving of the freshest veggies possible.

Since I have canning jars available these days, that is what I use for growing my sprouts.  I simply cut the end out of knee high nylon stockings to put over the jar, then screw the ring on over the stocking.  If you only have the small mouth jars that is ok, the only difference between them and large mouth jars is that you have to pull the finished sprouts out, but it is an easy thing to do.

This is a small mouth quart jar with a square cut from a nylon stocking held on with a canning ring.  I stretch the nylon as tight as I can.

Alternatively, if you don't have canning jars, you could use jars that have been emptied of other stuff like peanut butter, mayonnaise, pickles, salsa, etc.  Only use the ones with plastic lids unless you have proper cutters to cut a metal lid.  I wouldn't want to use a metal lid anyhow, it could cause a cut on your fingers or hand.  Use a good sturdy knife to cut around the edge of the lid, cutting the top off and leaving the ring to hold the stocking on tightly.  I have used one of my ginsu knives on plastic lids.

Also, instead of a ring or other type of lid, you could use a strong rubber band to hold the stocking in place on the jar.

To begin, measure out your seeds and place into the jar, put in water to more than cover the seeds, cover the jar, and give it a shake.  I use a little less than 1 tablespoon of seeds in a quart jar.  Leave the jar sitting upright for about 24 hours, then rinse several times and set it upside down to drain.

Most directions I have read say to rinse your sprouts three times a day.  As far as I am concerned, that is the minimum requirement.  I keep my sprouts upside down on a saucer on the kitchen counter or in the dish drainer, I do dishes by hand so the drainer is usually on the counter top anyhow.  Every time I go to the kitchen, no matter what else I need to do there, I give each jar a rinse.  My sprouts grow in around 5 days.  I use a blend of red clover, alfalfa, broccoli, radish, and fenugreek.  You should find a good source for your sprout seeds and choose your own custom blend.  I buy mine from mountain rose herbs.  They are organic and kosher certified.

 

A jar in the dish drainer.  There is a north facing window here so there is no problem with direct sunlight from that one.  There is also an east facing window so I cover the jars at night with a dish towel before I go to bed so they won't get direct sunlight in the morning and become overheated in the jars.

Some directions say to keep the jars in the dark away from sunlight.  This is fine for the bigger bean and pea seeds that you want blanched white for those special recipes.   For the smaller seeded varieties, you should keep them on the counter where they are exposed to light but not direct sun.  This will cause the little plants on the outside to have green leaves, at this point they are loaded with nutrients including chlorophyll.  

This jar is about a day away from readiness :)

As you pour the water from the jars, the water might stop flowing, this is because of the nylon stocking.  It is holding back the water, just lightly slap the stocking with your fingers to release the surface tension and the water will flow again.  It works best when you hold the jar at an angle instead of completely upside down.

To have sprouts every day I keep two jars going at the same time, one is a few days behind the other.  Sometimes it happens that they are both being "harvested" on the same day but that is ok, the sprouts will last for a week or more if properly stored.

To store your sprouts, first you must rinse out the seeds.  I simply put the sprouts into a big mixing bowl, cover them with water, swish them around and pull them apart to loosen them up.  Then I hold onto the sprouts and pour the water with the seeds into a wire strainer.  Swish and drain several times until there are no more seeds left behind.  The seeds in the strainer go into the compost heap.  You want to get all the seeds out because they will start to spoil before the sprouts will and cause the sprouts to start spoiling.  Besides, I don't like running into a seed when I am eating my sprouts.

After a good rinsing, let your sprouts drain very well before storing them in a lidded bowl or a zip lock bag.  Excess moisture is an enemy to stored sprouts.  Sprouts will mold if there is too much moisture on them when they are stored.

I use my sprouts every day on sandwiches, or as a salad with a little vinaigrette on them.

Each variety of seed you use in your mix will give you some very healthful nutrients in your diet.  Many of them fight free radicals as well as having specific health benefits due to their vitamin content. 

New toy

I bought myself a Christmas present for the garden.  It is an Earthwise TC70001 11-Inch 8-1/2 Amp Electric Tiller/Cultivator.  I tried it out today, Dec. 3rd.  It is over 55 degrees and earlier it was not rainy but now it is.  

This tiller worked great, I am most happy with my purchase.  It was on sale on Amazon.  

Here is a little patch that it tilled up in just a few minutes.  I could have kept going but the garden needs to be cleared of the piles of dead plant material first.  The tiller can't be used on long vines or branches because they will wind around the axle.  I will save the tilling for spring.  At least I know it works like a charm.  I love it.

My plan for early spring is to till the entire area then cover some parts of it with the old hay I have waiting.  This will keep the weeds from growing, then I will remove it to the compost heap, or to mulch tomatoes or other plants, when I want to plant.  The areas that will have wide spaces between rows like the corn and pole beans will be left uncovered.  These will be regularly tilled throughout the summer to help keep weeds down, along with a little hoeing.  

The garden will be expanded next summer to 50' X 25'.  This should be enough to supply one person with vegetables for a year, and then some, weather and pests permitting.