One of my favorite blogs to follow is
Garden Therapy. It is a great resource for wonderful DIY garden projects. My interest was peaked when I read a posting about "Mason Jar Sprouts".
She was offering a Kit that included everything you would need to grow tasty sprouts right on the countertop. Since my Vegetarian daughter and grandbaby were here for an extended stay, I decided this would be a fun and timely project for us to do together.
The kit came complete with a ball, jar a sprinkle lid, seed packets and great directions that made Sprout Growing fun and worry-free. Plus a cute chalkboard label and pen to mark each new batch.
There were three different combinations of seed mix.
The Sweet Mix which includes Alfalfa, Broccoli, and Clover Alfalfa.
The Crispy Mix, which includes Green Peas, Green Lentils and Red Lentils and the last one was
The Spicy Mix, consisting of Clover and Radish Clover. We started with The Crispy Mix and it was delicious!! We have now moved on to The Spicy Mix. There are enough seeds in each packet to do multiple sprouting sessions.
The directions were so easy to follow. But first we, of course, made sure all the components were totally sanitized. We then filled the jar with 2TBLS of seeds. Added enough water to cover them and then replaced the sprouting lid. This is the part that my grandbaby enjoyed...we swirled the seeds around inside to rinse them and then drained the water out through the lid. The first night we then covered them with 2 to 3 inches of warm water and let it soak overnight on the countertop.
The next morning we drained the seeds and rinsed them again and drained the jar. I did this another time later in the day. The directions said to follow this procedure for 3 to 7 days. By the end of the 3rd day, we could see the seeds starting to sprout.
It was so fun and great for Lulah who is 2 1/2 to see the results so quickly, but equally as wonderful for us to have this nutritional treat for topping on salads.
The jar filled up quickly for the next couple days and soon we were tossing yummy nutritional bits of goodness into salads, sandwiches, stir-fries, on veggies, or in soup.
They recommend when the jar is full to slow down the growth by moving them to a salad spinner and storing in the fridge. They recommend using the sprouts within 5 to 7 days. I kept stirring them to keep them from clumping together. We did not have to worry about them going bad, they were happily consumed way before they expired.
If anyone has purchased the small containers of sprouts from, in my case, Kroger for almost $4.00 you know how quickly they turn rancid. Not the case with the homegrown sprouts.
Thanks so much to Garden Therapy and the site www.Garden Trends.com Please check this out Seed Collection, plus the other offerings. This was such a tasty and fun project. %100 Satisfaction and I will definitely be ordering again.
