I remember my grandma growing alfalfa sprouts in a tray on her kitchen counter when I was a little girl.  I LOVED them and would stand at the counter and just eat handfuls.  I had completely forgot about those sprouts until a few years ago when a friend gave my girls sprouting lids with a little bag of seeds.  My girls love them too, they are easy (and fun) to grow, more frugal than buying them at the store, and best of all they are some of the most nutrient dense foods you can eat.

Growing Sprouts

You will need:

  • sprouting seeds.  We have been experimenting with different kinds of seeds.  The sprouts in these pictures are an organic mixture of alfalfa, mung bean, radish, lentil and broccoli.
  • wide mouth mason jar.
  • sprouting lids, or I have read that cheese cloth works with a rubber band.  You just need something that will let the water drain out and hold the seeds in.
  • tablespoon.
  • small casserole dish or something that can be used to prop up the jar to let the water drain out.

The first step is to let the seeds soak for 6 to 8 hours by putting 2 tablespoons of seeds into the quart jar and filling it about half way up with water.  I just let them soak over night.

Sprouting Collage

After the seeds have been soaking for 6 to 8 hours, drain the water through the lid with the smallest openings (or cheese cloth), then prop the jar with the lid on it in a dish upside down (like the picture below).  This allows any excess water to drain out into the dish.  Keep it on the kitchen counter out of direct sunlight.

sprouting seeds day 1

Now all you have to do is rinse the seeds 2 to 3 times a day.

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This is one full day after soaking.

I usually rinse them when I make coffee first thing in the morning and then again when I’m making dinner.

sprouts
This is two full days after soaking.

They will grow fast.

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This is three full days after soaking.

By day 4 you should have a full jar of yummy sprouts.  What an easy way to grow your own super food!!!

Grow your own sprouts

Store them in the fridge for up to 5 days.  Sprouts should smell fresh and not be slimy or brown.  I keep mine for about 2/3 days (they rarely last that long) and after that if there are any left I feed them to the chickens.  I’ve also been using this method to sprout wheat kernels for my chickens this winter.  When everything is covered with snow and ice this is a great way for them to get some greens.  The sprouted wheat is much easier for them to digest than the whole wheat kernels and they LOVE it.