Thursday, May 9, 2013

Survival Gardening: Sprouts!

What do you do when you want to grow nutrient dense food with little or no space?  Is time a factor?  Sprout it!  I've talked about sprouts before and I've shared my own experiences.  In "To Sprout or not to Sprout"  I shared the health benefits of sprouts.  There is so much more to sprouts!
What are the benefits of sprouting?

No Dirt?  No problem!
No yard? No problem!
You can sprout in little to no space.  All you need is a jar, a screen, water and seeds.

Sprouting is cheap!  Once you purchase the essentials you're ready to go.  All you will need to replace are the seeds.

It doesn't take a lot of time.  Many nuts and grains can be sprouted in as little as 24 hours and then used in just about any recipe.  Broccoli, Fenugreek, Alfalfa , Hard Red Wheat and Mung Beans are ready in 1-6 days depending on personal preference. 
Mung Bean Sprouts

Sprouts use very little water compared to growing a full-sized veggie such as a radish which takes 29 days to grow.  Sprouting water can be re-used in a shake, soup or to water other plants.

I think of sprouting as a nutrient dense mini-garden.

From The Nourishing Gourmet:
"The process of germination not only produces vitamin C, but also changes the composition of grains and seeds in numerous beneficial ways. Sprouting increases vitamin B content, especially B2, B5, and B6. Carotene increases dramatically-sometimes even eightfold.” Sally Fallon, Nourishing Traditions, pg 112
Sally also mentions how the Chinese used to carry mung beans when on long journeys at sea. They would sprout and eat the mung beans as they contained sufficient amount of vitamin C to prevent scurvy. Who doesn’t need a little extra vitamin C in it’s natural absorb-able form?  This is a great benefit for all of us."
Broccoli Sprouts day4

The shelf life of most sprout seeds is 5 years.  However, you may extend the possible shelf life by keeping them in a cool, dry and dark place (not a freezer).  As far as a long-term food storage item, I recommend sprout seeds!

If you're interested in purchasing Sprout Seeds, please consider Mary's Heirloom Seeds.  We are a small "mom and pop" online store.  If you leave me a comment that you found me from my blog I'll throw in an extra 2 ounces with your purchase of seeds.

9 comments:

Resh said...

We love sprouts but never tried growing them at home! They are healthy and yummy at the same time.. thanks for sharing!
-Reshama
www.stackingbooks.com

mail4rosey said...

I think it's great that you're sharing the info.!

PinkOddy said...

Oh thanks for sharing this.

I'd love you to motivate/inspire someone else to grow sprouts by linking up with Motivational Monday please.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing!

Please join us again Thursday at:
The HomeAcre Hop

~Ann

Becca said...

Cool that sprouts can actually have more nutrition than the regular way we grow them. Thanks for sharing at A Humble Bumble :)

AG said...

I love sprouts so much! :) As one of the co-hosts from the My Favorite Posts Weekend SHOW OFF Party! I wanted to personally thank you for linking up with us & to invite you to add me to your G+ circles or follow me on Twitter or Facebook as I’ve done the same with you. Also, I run a link party on my food blog, Anyonita Nibbles where you can link up recipes or food related posts. This week’s party is here: http://www.anyonitanibbles.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/tasty-tuesdays-10.html

Jessica @ The Wondering Brain said...

I love sprouting! We used to do this when I was younger. Thanks for sharing this @ The SHOW OFF Weekend Blog Party :)

Jessica
The Wondering Brain

April said...

What a great tutorial. Thank you so much for sharing this fantastic tip with Saturday Spotlight. Hope to see you at this weeks party!

April
Angels Homestead

Lisa Lynn said...

Great info! Love sprouts :)