does anyone sprout? Help!

[sugaraddict]

Hi all, I have been reading a lot about sprouting and am wondering what some of you reccommend for sprouting; the jar with mesh screens, sprouting bag or just plain soaking them in a bowl? What are your experiences and what do you recommend? HOw many of you just buy your sprouts? I am really confused, I do not even know what to buy for the seeds. Help!

[levamssg]

I've purchased seeds from our local Wild Oats store. But I have the best luck ordering from www.sproutpeople.com
They have a huge variety and good prices.

As far as containers ... I've used mason jars with plastic and/or cheesecloth "lids" - and they worked just fine. Rinse them twice a day and dip at an angle in dish strainer so they get air circulation.

I've since switched to some small stackable sprouting trays purchased from the sproutpeople ... the main reason for the switch was space. The trays fit on my windowsill easily - take up a lot less room that a multitude of jars.

I've never tried sprouting in a bag or a bowl, but have seen the results of other's ...and it seems to work well, too.

As for what kind of seed to buy ... well, one way would be to try some sprouts from a store and see what you like ... then buy that kind of seed. My fav seed is radish, followed by alfalfa ... broccoli is good too. I like seed mixtures as well. There are soooo many kinds ...

have fun with it!

[JinxieKat]

You can use anything that will allow airflow to the sprouts, airflow and rinseing are the two keys to keeping mold off of your sprouts. I recomend using a bag or just a collander and a bowl to set the collander into if your in a humid area. If not then the easy sprouter is a nice simple set up to use or you can use a glass jar and a mesh screen or cheesecloth. I don't like using the glass jar, but that is just a personal preference there. I am not as vigilant as some are and end up with moldy sprouts when I use a jar. The bags are great for that! I love my sprout bags, but really.. sprouting is really easy. You don't have to grow the big long tails that you see on sprouts in the stores, soak them, let them get a little tail and enjoy. Also experiment to find out what tail lenght tastes the best to you. The taste, particularly of beans, will change with the length of the tail. Have fun with it! And yes www.sproutpeople.com are the best folks on he net to get your sprouts from. They are friendly, have great customer service, ship quickly, and have very clean sprouts at a good price.

Jinx

[exurb]

I am a veteran sprouter and sprout all sorts of stuff successfully, especially to get nice fresh organic produce in winter.

After many methods, my preferred method is mason jars (canning jars) with plastic screen mesh under the lids. Then after you rinse, put them downward on a 45 degree angle to drain (I just use my dishrack). I have no problems at all with mold, and I sprout so many different types of sprouts.

It works better IMO than any gadget sold for sprouting that I've tried.

For stuff like wheatgrass, pea shoots, buckwheat lettuce, sunflower greens, I prefer to just do them outside in the garden.

BTW, I can't imagine buying sprouts - they're so much fresher and cheaper to do them yourself. Even if they weren't cheaper I would still sprout them myself just for the quality.

[rawfigure]

I always have a batch or two cooking. I have the Hemp Sprout Bag and the Tube with the various tops, double air flow. Like both.

[sugaraddict]

Thank you all for your responses, I will try some of the things you all recommended. :)