How to Grown Your Own Sprouts
Growing your own sprouts is not just a fun and interesting activity, by the end of it, you’ll harvest your own sprouts, which are very good for your health. Here are the steps to grow your very own sprouts.
Tools
Sprouts
Sprouter
Water
Jar
Old nylon stocking
Citric acid
Choose Your Sprouts
If you don’t already know, there are many types of sprouts you can choose to grow. Mung beans, Buckwheat, Millet and Alfalfa are the most common sprouts out there, but there are also so-called bean mixes like spicy bean mixes and even leafy mixes. You can easily purchase any of these in the grocery, a health food store or even online.
Once you’ve purchased your sprouts, make sure that there are no sticks or debris stuck on the beans.
Homemade Sprouter
After purchasing and cleaning the beans, you may have bought a sprouter along with your beans, and all you have to do is follow the instructions. If not, read on how to make your own sprouter.
Use a wide-mouthed glass or plastic jar. Clean well.
Make a porous cover by using an old nylon stocking, or a netting as fine as the stocking to be placed on top of the mouth of the jar and secured with a rubber band.
Put the beans in and soak in water. Again, the amount of water should be two to three times the amount of sprouts. Leave for eight to twelve hours. This is usually done best the night before.
In the morning, turn the jar upside down to have the water drain away completely. Leave it upside-down or propped near the sink to make sure that the water has been drained.
After draining, give the beans a little shake to redistribute inside the jar and set aside. Leave for around six to eight hours.
After six to eight hours, soak in the same amount of water. Repeat this cycle for four to six days, keeping an eye out for dried beans or molds that may develop inside the jar. You may have to lessen the water you soak them in as they grow and develop.
When you observe the sprouts sprouting and leaving their bean hulls, you can opt to take off the netting and have them get some morning sunshine, around 30 minutes to an hour before eight o’clock in the morning.
Ones the sprouts have discarded their hulls fully, place in a large bowl with clean cold water. Add a teaspoon of citric acid as a preservative.
Swish the sprouts around to get rid of the brown hulls. Drain well and put in a ziplock bag. Consume as soon as possible. Sprouts are best at their freshest!