Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Sprouts Alive


I had mentioned previously that for Christmas I received a Mr Fothergill's kitchen seed sprouter from my wonderful mum, and thought you might be interested in how it turned out. Well it has been fantastic! We have had an endless supply of sprouts for salads and sandwiches ever since.

I did attempt growing sprouts a month or so earlier just using a glass jar. I had perforated the metal lid with tiny holes using a hammer and nail. I did this to make draining the water quick and easy without losing the seed. But I was quite disappointed when it didn't work. The seeds sprouted but quickly died. It wasn't until reading the instructions from the kit my mother had got me, that I realise the simple yet devastating mistake I had made... Must be kept shaded. I assumed the process would have required direct sunlight, so I had placed the jar in the window sill. The new kit now sits on top the fridge with no direct sunlight, and works a treat.

The great thing about this tool is it enables a continuous supply of sprouts by having 4 stacked trays. It takes about a week to go from seed to mouth, thus if you top a tray up with seed every 2nd day, by the time you come around to that tray again it has had 8 days to grow. I have found rotating the trays upward to be the best, that way the tray at the top is the one that you harvest from.

The other thing that has impressed me is the minimal effort required regarding watering. Even during the hot periods watering once in the morning and once in the evening has sufficed. I even wonder if the evening watering could be missed. And it is great how you only have to pour water into the top tray then walk away, despite the watering system being imperfect.

The theory behind the watering system is that it uses a set of valves that hold the water in the tray until it is about a centimeter deep before it drains down into the tray below. This gives the seeds/sprouts in each tray about a 30 second soak. In practice I have found it doesn't quite work. It works for a new clean tray, but once the valve has residual water the siphon process kicks in the moment water runs into the tray. The net effect being the water you pour in at the top pretty much runs straight through all the layers. Amazingly this doesn't seem to be a problem.

I give it one and half cups of water.

The cost of this tool is only 20 Australian dollars, and if you consider the price of sprouts at the store, it pays for itself in no time. I have also managed to source cheap seed from my local organic store. I now only need to find a source of human hair seed for the top of my head.

12 comments:

  1. Hi Jason, Love receiving your updates.
    Would you happen to know where your mum got the sprout farm? Would love one. Trying to use the jar system from diggers but can't grow enough or a constant supply.
    Keep up the good work.
    Grace

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    1. You can get them at Bunnings hardware stores or buy online direct from Mr Fothergills.

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  2. Sounds great! And Grace, I've seen them in the big green shed type stores.

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  3. I've never had any success with sprouts, but then I thought they needed sunlight too. I like the idea of a steady supply.

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    1. No direct sunlight just doesn't sound right, does it! Maybe the direct sunlight causes the sprout to consume more water or nutriance, that it doesn't have.

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  4. Hahaha I can just imagine a hair sprouter for blokes. I tried sprouts in a jar a few months ago and they went all mouldy. I think I packed too many seeds in. I'm tempted to get a sprouter after reading this... But then I think they'd go to waste at my place cos I'd get sick of them after a couple of days. Do you just have them in salads and sandwiches or have you got creative cooking ideas.

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    1. Nothing creative yet! But as we have so much salad ingredient coming out of the garden we are eating allot of them and the sprouts are a perfect accompaniment. BTW in the trays I only put one teaspoon of seed.

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  6. Hi Jason ,found your blog checking out the net for any tips on these seed spouters (got one for xmas) I seem to have to manipulate the caps a lot on different levels , early days yet only started kit few days ago , How is yours going any tips. cheers Grantley.

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    1. I have issues with the flow through the caps as well. However what I have learnt is to not get too fussed about it. If you are finding they are not flowing, add more water - the more water the more pressure. And sometimes it takes hour or two. If you are finding they running too quickly, don't worry about it. Surprisingly my sprouts still grow fine even when the water flows straight through the whole system in a flash. I think it works because the layers trap moisture. As long as fresh dry seeds get a good soak to start them off it seems to work. My tip to achieving that is to run every new tray of seed under the tap for a few a seconds.

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    2. Thanks Jason for your tips, enjoying my crunchy sprouts, now just need to find a cheaper seed supplier other than buying Mr Fothergills packs. cheers

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    3. I get my sprouting seeds from our local organic food store. I have even bought mung beans from regular fruit & veg stores. They are usually sold for soups but work fine for sprouting.

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