Seed Sprouting

Do you sprout your own seeds? I have sprouted in the past, but I am trying again because I love fresh bean sprouts. I am also reading about and hope to experiment with Microgreens. Again, because I like the idea of having the freshness on my window sill. Do you have any tips on growing these? Please let me know.

Today, I bought a cheap little seed sprouter from Virginia Nursery in Adelaide. It is a Mr Fothergill's Kitchen Seed Sprouter and I am going to show you how easy it is to sprout seeds and use them.

I have taken the sprouter out of the box and I have washed it thoroughly in soapy water and made sure it is completely dry. I have chosen the Hot and Spicy Mix seeds which consist of Radish and Radish Red Arrow, Kale Red Russian and Broccoli, high in Vitamin B and C.

I have only used a few of the seeds to start with because I wanted to see how long they took to sprout and what the ratio was of sprouted to non sprouted seeds. I wasn't entirely sure whether I would like them all anyway. Here are a selection of sprouted seed photos which will show you how quickly they became edible. On day 1 they really didn't do anything, but I continued to wash/water them 3 times a day.

Day 2. The seeds are just beginning to open. I can see the creamy shoots growing.

Day 4. Today I think I could have eaten the Radish sprouts. They have lovely fluffy looking shoots on them. The others seeds have started to sprout but as you can see from the photos the black seeds (Kale) have only just started to open.

Day 6. I almost ate these sprouts with a salad today, but decided to give them one more day. There is just enough for two people to have a scattering. I will definitely be putting in another lot but twice as many this time. The spouts are quite hot and will make a nice additional flavour to my salad. I have just got to wait for the others to open fully so I can taste them and see how they are.

Day 7

Finally they have all opened. What an explosion of sprouts and don't they look amazing? The are still only small and if I leave them one more day they may get bigger. What do you think?

Day 8.  I couldn't wait any longer, here they are, in my salad!  They tasted amazingly fresh, crunchy and very, very healthy. The broccoli seeds were so amazingly crispy and tasty and the radishes had a nice bite. See how easy it is?