Grow Sprouts?

I have a sprout tower, 4 trays plus bottom water collector dish and top cover.  Here are my winter sprout growing tips:

Cover the sprout tower, or jar if you use the traditional jar and screen method, with a tea towel to keep the spouts warmer if your house is chilly.  The towel will also keep the seeds in the dark during sprouting stages.  You may want to let them have a day of light to increase their green chlorophyll content when they have tiny leaf buds.

Start with the best quality sprout seed you can get.  Even if your seed is organic, rinse it and clean out any visibly damaged seed.  I also rinse my seed a few times after soaking.
When you are soaking the sprout seeds at the beginning of the process, keep them covered and dark as they probably would be in nature.  Don't forget you have soaking seed or sprouts to water!  That's why I like to keep them on the counter, covered, instead of in a dark kitchen closet, where they may be forgotten.  Even in the dry desert, this time of year I can get away with watering my sprouts twice a day, morning and night.  I try to time the watering to 12 hours apart.  When I am off schedule  my sprouts have been forgiving.

Those of you who have been following my posts for a while know I started as a sprouts in the jar traditionalist.  I used the cotton "cheese cloth" and rubber band over the mouth of the jar to strain the water out of the sprouts after watering.  I propped the jar on the side of the sink for a while to let the water drip out.  After a while, you can set the jar on its side, on a counter, and wrap it in a clean cloth or tea towel to keep it warm and dark.  The seeds grow pretty well if drained, yet kept moist.  You may modify watering frequency for your climate and time of year.  I find I need to water more often in the summer.  I also find that the seeds like to stay close together the first day or two, away from the screen.  It seems to help them stay moist in little groups.  Judge your climate.  You may need keep moisture controlled differently than I do.

Most important of all, clean your sprouting jars or trays very thoroughly between crops.  Hot water and pure soap, a brush to get in corners or crevices (cheap toothbrush or dish brush may do), a clean cloth to clean the surfaces... Because the water drips down through the 4  trays of sprouts in my tower, after the soap and hot water, I clean the sprouting tower with rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide on a cotton ball or little piece of paper towel to be sure there are no lingering evils.  If there is any discoloration in the corners, I use a toothpick to rub it out.  I also use a toothpick to dislodge any tiny seeds stuck in the tray water drip holes.  When all that is cleaned and rinsed, dry it or let air dry, and you have a clean start.

Glass jars are usually dishwasher safe.  Some plastic sprouting equipment is not.  Feedback from users of some brands of sprout towers and trays report that the equipment can withstand a few washings in the top level of the dishwasher, but after several dishwasher episodes, the sprout equipment may start to lose its quality.  Check manufacturer cleaning instructions for your particular brand.

I cannot stress the importance of keeping your sprouting equipment very clean.  It is your food you are growing.  If the sprouts look bad in any way, or smell bad, or if you are in doubt for any reason, do NOT eat them.  Just toss them, clean you equipment very well, and try again.  Even the old Southwest Desert Blogger has had a few bad batches.  Chalk it up to learning, and do better next time.  I have seen bad sprouts in the store on several occasions, so I happens to pros too.  If you see bad, slimy, or brown tipped sprouts in the store, report it to the produce manager so they can remove these potentially dangerous items from the shelf.

Check other internet sources for sprout safety, growing, and cleaning tips.  

Sprout on,
Southwest Desert Blogger
C. (c)2013

Got a Sprouter?

I got a new 4 tier sprout tower.  I had been growing sprouts in a jar for years, but decided I would like the sprouts to grow straight up instead of in a cylinder the way they do in a jar.  I chose a 4 tier plastic model with cylinder shaped trays.  The trays are translucent plastic.  I just water the top tray and the water drips down into the trays below and finally into a fitted collection dish.  Just empty the collection dish before the next watering and the sprouts grow.  The four tray system produces a rotating crop of salad and soup sprouts.  I find the fine sprouts (salad sprouts such as alfalfa, broccoli, radish, clover) are easier to clean when they grow straight plus I prefer the aesthetics of the straight sprouts. 

Inverted sprout tray on top allows the sprouts to grow taller -- water collects in the bottom tray.

I enjoy using this vertical sprout growing system.  It saves counter space, looks good, works well and only requires watering twice a day.  I water the sprouts first thing in the morning and again about twelve hours later.  I soak the sprouting seeds about 8 hours.  The cool weather requires a longer sprouting and growing time than the summer.  I wrap a dish towel around the sprouter if the temperatures in the house are particularly cool.  The towel also creates a darker environment for the first few days of sprouting.  I rotate the sprouting trays so that the newest seeds are in the lower trays.  When the sprouts get as tall as the trays are deep, I just prop an empty tray, up side down, over the tall sprouts thus creating a higher ceiling.  That way the sprouts can grow a bit taller without being cramped.  If all four trays are in use, I  just prop a light plastic bowl over the top tier in lieu of the flat cover that comes with the sprouter.  See the photos.

Just one teaspoon of alfalfa, radish, broccoli sprouts produced the tray on the left.  I harvested some from the middle of the tray this morning. The extra tray is on the lower right of this photo.
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The photo below shows mixed lentils, peas, and adzuki beans in two phases of growth. Discard any beans, lentils, or seeds that do not sprout or appear unhealthy in any way.
I like lentil, bean, and pea sprouts in miso or other soup.  They add a nice, chewy, alive quality.

A mere teaspoon of alfalfa, radish, and broccoli seed is soaking in the little glass bowl on the right of the above photo.  This evening I will drain and rinse these seeds in a fine strainer and they will be placed in the empty extra tray (stacked below the alfalfa tray in this photo) before I water the tower.

It is important to clean the sprout trays after harvest as well as cleaning the bottom water collection tray every few days.  This is as simple as just using a brush, sponge, or dish cloth with soap and hot water. Some sources say to clean the sprouter with a solution of bleach or something like that to kill any potentially harmful organisms that may be growing in the humid environment of the sprouter.  Some sources say to use vinegar to clean the sprouter.  Always rinse any cleaning products off the sprouter before you use it.  The tiny holes in the trays, that allow the water to flow through to the tray below, may get clogged with a tiny seed or root from time to time.  A tooth pick or pin can be used to clear these water drainage holes as needed.  Of course, with any food preparation area, the sprouter should be kept very clean.   This is not a hobby for the slothful or slovenly.

The only down-side to this and similar plastic sprouters is that they may not be dishwasher safe.  I have heard that some similar sprouters only tolerate 3 or 4 washings in the dishwasher.  I have not put mine in a dishwasher.  It only takes a minute or 2 to wash it by hand.

Watching seeds sprout in the winter,
Southwest Desert Blogger
C. (c)2011