When are they ready?

[hankyknot]

I'm a total newbie when it comes to sprouting so forgive me if this is an obvious one, but how do you know when your sprouts are ready?

What should they look like? How long should they be?

[DebB]

It depends on the sprout - they're all different. Sproutpeople.com have some really great pictures, instructions and info on their site!

Did you have a particular sprout in mind? *Ü*

[hankyknot]

Well I kind of went a bit mad. I currently have;
brocolli
radishes
mung beans
wheatgrass
a "zesty mix"
some more mung beans
and some alfalfa

[DebB]

Well I kind of went a bit mad. I currently have;
brocolli
radishes
mung beans
wheatgrass
a "zesty mix"
some more mung beans
and some alfalfa

I'll help you out best as I can! I'm currently sprouting broccoli and I imagine I'll let them sprout 5 days at least.

Alfalfa - about 5 days.

Mung beans - Sproutpeople says 2-5 days. I let mine go closer to the 5 day mark. I look at them every day and judge how they're doing (I know - that doesn't tell you much, does it?) Interestingly enough though - I recently watched a YouTube video that said to weight down the mung bean sprouts and that will make them look more like the ones we buy in the store, all nice and straight.

The zesty mix - 5 days.

wheatgrass - that all depends what you're going to be doing with it. Can you tell us your plans?

Sprouting is very easy and so enjoyable! I sprout in glass mason jars and I've never had a problem with mold or spoilage. HOw are you going to sprout? Right now I'm sprouting a 50-50 combo of alfalfa & clover and then another small jar with broccoli sprouts. I also grow sunflower greens (I sprout them first) and 2 trays of wheatgrass (which I soak and sprout first) - but the latter 2 are grown in soil. *Ü*

[hankyknot]

Thats a good question lol.

I was planning to just juice the wheatgrass, but I read something the other day about making bread with the sprouted wheatgrass rather than letting it grow so might give that a try once I've read up a bit more about it.

Otherwise everything else will most likely end up in a sandwich, a soup or a salad.

I have a couple of tray type sprouters on the go at the moment as well as three jars and a freshlife sprouter. Its all a bit disorganised but the plan is once I have essentially tried all three methods I'll get organised and start recording things like start dates and due dates etc either on the sprouters themselves or in my diary. I did try sprouting a while back but mistook the hair roots for mould and binned everything which led me to leave it alone for a while but this weekend I went a bit nuts and started everything I could find in everything I could find to start it in lol.

[DebB]

If I don't eat up my sprouts quick enough, then I add them to my green juice.

I just made my first batch of rejuvelac out of wheat berries last week. It's pretty much just sitting in my fridge - not sure how to use it up. It's a fermented sprouted wheat berry drink.

Growing wheat grass is a whole other story - different than sprouting alfalfa and such. It sounds like you're having fun with all your sprouts! Good for you! *Ü*