Spring Sprouts!

I have recently been getting into growing my own fruits Herbs, and Vegetables. I didn't realize how fun and addicting this can be. To be fair I have had some help from people who are very knowledgeable about what works and what doesn't here in San Diego. I started recently with sprouts and have had some amazing results. They sell sprouting kits on eBay or you can make your own. The tools required for sprouting are:

1. A mason Jar or other glass jar, it's easy to just wash out an old spaghetti jar for new life as your sprouting jar.

2. Sprout seeds, any local garden nursery has plenty of them, call ahead just to make sure. For some reason the big warehouse stores don't seem to have much, if any. Online there are several great sources including eBay. For best results I recommend starting out with Alfalfa, if you like spicey sprouts Raddish sprouts are incredibly tasty and easy to grow.

3. On the top of the Glass jar you will need some way of straining water but not letting the seeds fall out, and it must be breathable. There are special plastic caps that have a plastic screen on them that you can find on eBay or you can use cheesecloth and a rubberband. One criticism of the cheesecloth is that it remains fairly damp and can cause some problems if it doesn't dry fast enough. I have had recent sucess by cutting holes in the original lids and attaching vinyl screen for straining the water.

Now your ready to sprout, the best part is it happens very rapidly:

1. put two tablespoons of sprout seeds into your Jar

2. Place the plastic strainer cap or cheescloth over the top.

3. add enough water to soak the seed for 8 hours initially.

4. Place the jar of sprouts on a window sill

5. Drain the water after the initial 8 hour soak, and then only rinse the seeds twice a day, making sure to swirl the water around the sprouts and then drain as much of the water out as possible. You want the sprouts damp but not sitting in water. Always place the sprouts on a window sill.

It should take about 3-7 days for most sprouts to start really going and about 7-10 days before you can start putting them in your salad, sandwiches, etc.

The above Photo was some extra snap pea sprouts that were growing in my Garden, with some Cheese and dressing and the morning paper. It's amazing how rewarding growing your own food can be.