Winter is not a time of year when many of us think about growing our own vegetables but with just a little space, a little water and a little love you can have freshly harvested sprouts all year round.
I am going to focus on broccoli sprouts because they give a massive nutrient punch for such a tiny plant and as all seeds take different lengths of time to sprout they will all be different.
Broccoli sprouts are great for supporting hormone balance, liver health and immune health as well as helping you get in your 8-10 portions of vegetable and fruit per day.
They are also so easy to grow.
Day 1 — Soak your seeds
Pop 1 or 2 tablespoons of broccoli seeds in a clean jar, cover with water, put the lid on and leave to soak over night. I do 1 tablespoon at a time so that I ensure we eat all of the sprouts before the next batch it ready.
Day 2 — Rinse and water your seeds
Pour your soaked seeds into your sprouting tray (I use A. Vogel's 3 tiered sprouter) and rinse them once, allow the water to run through then pour clean water over them again, pop the water collection tray underneath and the lid on top. You won't see much action, just mostly plumper seeds. Put them in a room temperature place with access to sunlight (though ideally, not direct sunlight) and wait for the magic to happen.
Day 3 — Water your seeds
Empty the water form your collection tray and pour clean water on your seeds again, put the water collection tray under and the lid on. You will see that some seeds are starting to sprout.
Day 4 — Water your seeds/sprouts
Empty the water form your collection tray and pour clean water on your seeds again, put the water collection tray under and the lid on. Lots of action today! Notice the fine, hair-like roots coming off of the main sprout. Do not mistake them as mould those are tiny roots that are going to help your sprouts grow.
Day 5 — Water your sprouts
Empty the water form your collection tray and pour clean water on your seeds again, put the water collection tray under and the lid on. They are really starting to look like sprouts now!
Day 6 — Water your sprouts
Empty the water form your collection tray and pour clean water on your seeds again, put the water collection tray under and the lid on. The sprouts are starting to turn green. You can start eating them now if you want. I prefer to give them another day or two so they are taller and greener.
Day 7 — Water your sprouts
Empty the water form your collection tray and pour clean water on your seeds again, put the water collection tray under and the lid on. Look at these gorgeous nutrient dense tasty sprouts! You could definitely start harvesting today. I waited one more day with this batch.
Day 8 — Harvest and enjoy your delicious powerhouses of nutrients
They main difference for letting then grow for one more day is that they are taller and nearly all are lovely and green. Don't forget to continue to water your sprouts daily.
You can keep a steady supply of sprouts going by soaking another batch of seeds every three days so you get a new crop every three days.
They are delicious on salads, in sandwiches, sprinkled on soups and stews or just eaten straight out of the tray. I just pop the ready-to-harvest tray on the table at meal time and watch them disappear.
I hope you give sprouting a try as it really is that easy.
Do let me know how you get on.
To wellness!
April
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