Freshlife Automatic Sprouter

[sionkali]

Hey all!! I've wanted to start growing my own sprouts, but because I'm not usually home during the day I never have the change to rinse and drain the seeds/grains/beans/etc. the number of times they need to be rinsed and drained.

I'm wondering what you all think of the Freshlife Automatic Sprouter? I've wanted to invest in one to help with my sprouting (mmm...mock tuna), but I'm hesitant. I would love to hear your experiences with this product!! :)

[Arky]

If you must go for an automated sprouter that uses a static water supply, then I'd suggest you avoid the Freshlife and go for the slightly-more-expensive EasyGreen:

easygreen.com


The Freshlife recycles all its water which means that many of the unwanted enzyme inhibitors that would otherwise be removed (to a certain extent) from sprouts during the sprouting process, are continually re-applied, lessening the efficacy of this process. Obviously, some breakdown will, of course, still occur, despite the recycling of the water but its still a far-from-logical or ideal approach.


Even better than the EasyGreen (and far more economical if you are growing decent quantities of sprouts and greens) would be to use a mains water supply and build yourself a nice big automated sprouting system from Val:

http://www.eatsprouts.com/

which is exactly what I did (although I haven't yet rigged it up to a water supply - all in good time, all in good time..!


J.

[Revvell]

I've got the FreshLife. I love it. Just rinse out the water thingy and refill before going to work and when you return home. No biggie. :)

Revvell

[Arky]

The parts become significantly more economical as your desired sprouting output increases. If you only want to produce a tiny quantity, you may not find the outlay worthwhile. Personally, I wish to grow sunflower and buckwheat greens in worthwhile quantities (for the sake of arguement, say A4-Letter sized tray per day), in addition to standard sprouts and maybe even some wheatgrass (off the top of my head, you need to grow approximately A4-Letter sized tray for 2-4oz of whetgrass juice). These kinds of quantities would be totally unviable in a Freshlife or EasyGreen unless you bought multiple units, at which point, the cost would be astronomical, since they are so overpriced. However, if you only wish to grow a handful of standard sprouts per day then you'd probably be happier with a Freshlife or EasyGreen. You pays yer money and you takes yer pick. All I'm saying is that the relative costs of Val's kits should not be taken at face value - they should be interpreted within the boundaries of the daily sprouting quantities required, at which point Val's kits can become extremely economical.

The pricelist for the kits may be found here:

http://www.eatsprouts.com/order/vitem-kit.html

Basically, you need to order a Large or Small 'Mist Kit', and then, if you require any additional sprouting capacity, you can add as many 'Basic' Mist Kits to the preliminary Large or Small foundation kit as your requirements dictate. I chose to buy a Large Mist Kit + 1 Basic Mist Kit. This allowed me to comfortably build three automatic sprouting containers (linked together as one system) with a combined sprouting area equivalent to approximately 15 A4-Letter pages. In total, this set me back somewhere in the region of $300. The equivalent sprouting area, made up of Freshlife or Easygreen sprouters, would have cost approximately double this much!

Note that Alissa also links to Val's site on her main links page.


J.

[jaurequi]

I'm big on customer service and I received *horrible* service from the makers of the product; so that was that :). Mine (FreshLife Sprouter) got sent back -- well, the incomplete product that arrived got sent back.

[rawjojo]

I just ordered the easy green last week, so I'll let you know as soon as it gets here, but it looks great and sound even better!

[sionkali]

I just ordered the easy green last week, so I'll let you know as soon as it gets here, but it looks great and sound even better!

Awesome!! Definitely let me know how that works for you!! :)

[NoGMO!]

I've got the FreshLife. I love it. Just rinse out the water thingy and refill before going to work and when you return home. No biggie. :)

Revvell

Revvell,

About the Freshlife- or sprouting in general. It takes quite a bit of water.
I don't drink tap water- I try to avoid it when I can.

So, I would really like to know if is it okay to use plain city tap water to grow sprouts (in the Freshlife)?

I have had one of these machines since last year and barely use it, only because the gallons and gallons of water it takes are too expensive for me to keep buying at the store. Funny, the seeds are almost free! - but the water...

I really like the convenience and simplicity of this auto-sprouter and definitely want to start using it regularly.

I'm thinking that since organic produce probably isn't grown with fancy bottled water... tap water might be safe for sprouting too, or would the water only contaminate the sprouts?

anyone know?

thanks~ :)

[rawjojo]

Just reposting sionkali, I did get my easy green and I do love it!
rawjojo

[dahgluvr]

I have a freshlife sprouter on the way...it looks like something I could easily use and don't have to think about too much....

[exurb]

noGMO, I am reading about how carcinogenic bottled water is. Whod'a thought. It is a very unregulated industry. You have to be very careful with it.

I know people who use an inexpensive Brita filter system on their municipal tap water for their sprouts. Many experts say at least municipal tap water is regulated, tested, etc...

Maybe this helps with your question. Here's a good article about Dasani being rejected from the UK. carcinogenic bromate, etc...

http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=10450


http://www.polarisinstitute.org/pubs...he_bottle.html

[Beanie]

Arky, is that sprouter hard to put together? Does it need to be connected to a facet? Is that one good for an apartment and also mung bean, broccolli, etc? Is it easy to clean and do they give good customer service info if you can't figure out how to put it together?

I love sprouts! Especially wheatgrass, sunflower, mung, soyabean, and broccoli sprouts. But my small sprouts get moldy alot since its so humid in my apartment.

[Arky]

Arky, is that sprouter hard to put together? Does it need to be connected to a facet? Is that one good for an apartment and also mung bean, broccolli, etc? Is it easy to clean and do they give good customer service info if you can't figure out how to put it together?

I love sprouts! Especially wheatgrass, sunflower, mung, soyabean, and broccoli sprouts. But my small sprouts get moldy alot since its so humid in my apartment.

It's very easy to put together. It is intended to be connected to a faucet, yes. Basically, you have a sprinkler timer whose output is connected to an electric solonoid which opens or closes the water supply (solonoid needs replacing once a year according to manufacturer's guarantee). However, I am currently devising a pumping solution for mine, using a high pressure 12v pump, so that I can do away with the need to be permanently tethered to a faucet and instead use a water reservoir, much as the EasyGreen does (although the EasyGreen's pumping and spraying procedure is different and less efficient in mist coverage).

Irrespective of how you choose to connect the water supply, the sprouter is excellent for all sprouts (although you may need to use some teracotta 'bricks' in order to sprout mucilagenous seeds such as flax and arugula, but this would be the same situation regardless of the sprouter unit you decide to buy/use.

The instructions for the unit are superb - really, they are incredibly detailed and informative. If you wish to read the instructions before purchasing a sprouter from them, they'll sell the instructions to you for only a few dollar$.

The unit is easy to clean - it's just a case of wiping out the plastic tubs periodically. Another excellent benefit, over the EasyGreen, is that it is extremely easy to place an icemaker water filter cartridge in the water supply line so that the water is automatically filtered upon demand.

There is not a sprouter on the planet that is absolutely perfect and free of any issues whatsoever, but this is undoubtedly the best I've seen and is cheap as chips in the longrun.


J.

[rawpriestess]

Dasani has sulfites in it and therefore is highly toxic.


Dragggon is highly allergic to sulfites, and he reacts instantly to them,
he took one drink, and threw up all over the place, thank goodness he reacts so quickly, or he might have chosen to drink the entire bottle YIKES!!

[Arky]

Dasani has sulfites in it and therefore is highly toxic.


Dragggon is highly allergic to sulfites, and he reacts instantly to them,
he took one drink, and threw up all over the place, thank goodness he reacts so quickly, or he might have chosen to drink the entire bottle YIKES!!

I vividly remember the RAPID withdrawal of Dasani from UK supermarket shelves, only weeks after it had been released. Glad I took one look at it, realised it was filtered water, not true mineral spring water, and put the bottle back on the shelf, rather than trying a bottle.

Actually, it's a great pity but I recently found canned young coconut juice (from Thailand) in my local cash and carry, but it has sulfites in it, thus wrecking any potential health benefits. WHEN WILL THE FOOD INDUSTRY EVER LEARN TO RESPECT NATURE RATHER THAN SCUPPERING IT AT EVERY TURN?!?!

Now, before anyone says 'eat whole coconuts instead', YES, you are absolutely right and I agree with you! I DO eat whole coconuts and drink the juice/milk from them. The only issue for me is that I am (At least, as yet)unable to obtain young green coconuts in my part of the world (UK), so the canned stuff looked appealing to bvegin with, given that it is explicitly stated as being obtained from young green coconuts.

Still, at least I can now easily obtain unsulfated dried fruits - just recently, the supermarkets in my area seem to have taken this on board, to my relief.

...Anyone know where yooung green coconuts may be obtained, in the UK..?


J.