Grains that don't sprout....

I am curious to know if it is safe to assume that if a grain doesn't sprout it is not raw or has been heat processed in some way? I bought some wheat berries and some rye and the rye for some reason will not sprout though it tastes delicious after being soaked and makes good rejuvelac. I don't know if I'm just not giving them enough time to sprout or if they just won't sprout? I gave them the same amount of time as the wheat berries which sprouted perfectly...I had the same problem with whole oats too. Also flax seeds I thought were not supposed to sprout for some reason but every once in awhile I find a few that I can see are clearly beginning to sprout. Has anyone else had this experience? Is it okay to use grain after being soaked a long time but before it has sprouted? TIA, any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated :)

Hi Analeah,

I have never sprouted Rye berries BUT from what I have read, Rye takes about 6-8 hours of soaking time and it takes about 3 days to sprout. I don't know how long you hav ebeen waiting?!?

Also, just a hint: I try to grow my own wheatgrass and I have noticed that by soaking the seeds an extra long time I get much better results. Books have told me to soak them for 8 -12 hours but mine do a lot better if I let them soak in the fridge overnight and sometimes even longer. It helps me prevent mold. I wouldn't leave them overnight outside of the fridge though! Hope this helps!
Raw JoJo

Hi Rawjojo, thanks so much for your reply. That was exactly the kind of answer I was looking for! I didn't know rye took so much longer to sprout and I think probably I was just not leaving it out for long enough. I have some in a plastic sprouter now that I soaked overnight and they have been in there for a little over day but no signs of sprouting yet. I think the problem was that I would see the wheat berries sprout and the rye wasn't sprouting at the same time so I thought something was wrong with them lol. Have you ever tried to sprout oats? I tried it once but they just ended up getting soury and going bad. Then again I did leave them out for more than a day or two but I usually do that with wheat berries which are fine. I rinse them at least once or twice per day but maybe with oats it might be better to do them in the fridge? Growing your own wheatgrass sounds great. Is it hard? When I let my wheat berries sprout sometimes if I don't eat them fast enough I can see them start to become wheat grass. Do you need to grow wheat grass in soil or can you just grow it like a sprout?

Well I grow in soil so that I can get a ton of grass to juice BUT I do know of a lady that grows in a jar with water. I really can't believe it because I would think it would get too moldy but she says that it works. I have never tried it tough. I have never sprouted wheatberries to eat. How do you prepare them or do you just munch on some like you would with alfalfa? Also, i forgot to tell you that You should really rinse your rye at least 4 times a day. It seems like a lot but thats what most of the articles have said.

Analeah,

I forgot to add that I have never sprouted oats. AND I wanted to ask you what kind of sprouter do you own. Is it fairly easy to use?

Hi Rawjojo, thanks for the info. I think sprouting wheatgrass in a jar would be possible just from my observation of grass starting to form from the wheat berries I leave either outside or in the fridge. I am curious about the nutrient content from soil wheatgrass versus sprouted wheatgrass... For the wheatberries usually what I do is soak them in a bowl overnight, then rinse and drain in the morning and rinse again before I go to bed. Usually during this day I munch on them because I am too impatient to wait for them to sprout lol but there is still plenty the next day that get to sprout which makes them taste really sweet and delicious. The sprout thing I have is actually really easy to use but its not an automatic one. It consists of three tiers which are just plastic with slats on the bottom and then another plastic container on the bottom which catches all the water and also there is a lid for the top. Basically each tier has a little hole in it with a red plastic plug over it which makes the water drain out slowly. So I pour water on the top container and it makes its way down to the last empty water catcher and then discard the water. I think it was about $20-30 but definately worth it. I think the brand is called BIO-SNACKY or something like that but I am in Switzerland so it might be available only here but I am sure no matter where you are you would be able to find something like this. Thanks so much for the tip on the rye too, I will try rinsing it more and see if this helps. Have you made rejuvelac before? I tried with wheatberries but couldn't get it to ferment or when it did ferment it had pretty much gone bad by that time. However I tried it with the rye and it makes delicious tasting rejuvelac every time with no effort. Maybe it's just not good to make it from wheat?

From what I know you are supposed to make rejuvalek from wheatberries but I have had the same experience with the sour yucky stuff. I have never had good luck with it. I don't see why you would be able to use any type of seed. I am going to try and use some rye. I'll let you know how it turns out. Very cool that you are in Switzerland. Is that where your are from or have you recently moved there. I'll bet its beautiful to see.