Last week I got a craving for an egg salad sandwich. But in my book, no egg sandwich would be complete without a thick slice of onion and some sprouts. So I decided to pull my Victorio 4-Tray Kitchen Seed Sprouter out of the cupboard, and get growing.
If you have never tried to grow your own sprouts before, you should give it a try. Not only are sprouts SUPER easy to grow, but growing your own sprouts are ridiculously inexpensive as well.
Day 1
Before you can actually start your sprouts you’ll need to disinfect the seeds by placing them in a mixture of 2% bleach solution {1 cup water to 1tsp. bleach} for 15 minutes. From there you simply rinse the seeds thoroughly, and you are ready to go.
After placing about a 1/2 tablespoon of seeds on each tray, I stacked up the trays, added 2 cups of water to the top of the tray, and placed the tower out of direct sunlight. Then, I simply waited for the water to drain through the seed trays into the collection tray below.
I disposed of the water once it had drained, then repeated to “water” the seeds with fresh water every 12 hours until it was time to harvest them.
Day 2
On the second day you can really see the seeds start to bust open.
Day 4
By the fourth day the sprouts were ready to eat, but we were all out of eggs, so I let them grow a little longer.
Day 5
On harvest day I weighed the sprouts and was surprised to learn that I could grow 5 ounces of fresh, organic sandwich sprouts with just under 2 tablespoons of seeds. I’m not sure how much they sell sprouts in the stores for, but growing your own is totally worth it! Plus, if you have kiddos in the house, it’s a fun “learning” project on these cold, rainy, winter days.
Have YOU ever grown your own sprouts before?
If so, what are your favorite kind to grow?
~Mavis
Victorio 4-Tray Kitchen Seed Sprouter
Sprouts – Sandwich Mix
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Leanna says
I think I need to put that on my Amazon wish list. I love fresh sprouts but am never sure how fresh they are at restaurants or at the store.
Amanda says
I’ve never had sprouts. What do they taste like?
Dor says
Shipping costs I’d 7.00 for a 3.99 package of seed is too high
Heidi says
Howdy, homegrown sprouts are amazing and the best on sandwiches. I have a different type of sprouter, a plastic cup with a drain on the bottom. You don’t have to buy anything, a Mason jar will do. Also, your sprouts will be even tastier if you get rid of the seed casings. Just put sprouts in a bowl or glass, fill with water and stir the sprouts with a fork. The casings will float to the top and you can spoon or pour them out. You do lose a few sprouts when you do this, but the sprouts taste yummier.
Lisa says
Have never had onions and sprouts on my egg salad sandwich before, but it sounds mighty tasty and I’m going to try it next time I have some sprouts!
Gail says
Without a special sprouter, how do you grow sprouts?
Laura ewton says
You can use a wide mouth mason jar. I use a special lid with a screen that i bought at the haelth food store but you can also use cheese cloth and rubberband it to the top of the jar. Broccoli seeds and mung bean seeds are my favorite that I have tried so far.. After you rinse each day, shake as much water out as possible then turn the jar upside down at a 45degree angle. Place in a dark area out of direct sunshine. At day 4 or 5 when the are ready I place mine in sunshine to help green them up a bit more. This method works great. We eat our sprouts on eggs, in salads, blend them in smoothies, eat them plain, – you can pretty much add them to anything you feel like! Have fun sprouting. The are so healthy for you!
Evonne says
Why do you have to disinfect them?
Annabel Lee says
We just have always used a mason jar on its side with a cap that I bought probably 30 years ago. Green plastic mesh. I don’t remember having to disinfect seeds. Is that if you just use your garden seeds? I just buy sprout mix in the bulk foods.
Elizabeth says
We do this all the time with lentils instead of buying sprout seeds. You can use any container that you want so we use a large yogurt container and lid that we punched holes into the top. You add a single layer of lentils, soak in water for 24 hours and then drain. Every day after that you simply give the lentils a rinse once a day. About 5-6 days later, you have sprouts to eat!
Annabel Lee says
Make any difference if brown , red or green lentils? Just the dried lentils from the bulk will work? I have got to try this.
leslie says
ok, so using a mason jar is great! Any legume you sprout gives you a kick in the pants dose of enzymes that is great for your body! Better than a daily vitamin pill!! I sprout my raw almonds, lentils, wheat, you name it. Even chickpeas can be sprouted for more bang for your buck!
Gail says
Are the sprouts more nutritious than the grain itself??
Annabel Lee says
I have heard they are supposed to be.
sharon says
Mavis could you give your recipe for an egg sandwich? it looks yummy.
Thanks
Mavis says
I’ve never written it down before. I’ll do it next time I make it and post the recipe. 🙂
Melanie says
Just found your blog today LOVE it! I’ve been reading all your back posts! I actually have mung beans in my victorio seed sprouter now. I’m curious if you don’t mind me changing the subject how did your potato towers do?
Mavis says
Major fail. 😉 But I’m going to try them again this year. The seed sprouter is awesome.
Suzanne says
Why and how do you disinfect them?
I was going to try them once, but I read about the bleach and was confused as to how to do it, so I never bothered, but now I want to try again. I love them in my salad.
Fiona says
You disinfect ebcause they may be contaminated with e.coli (it’s a possibility with all seeds not just sprouts). Soak them for 20 minutes in a mix of 1 tsp bleach and 1 cup hot tap water. Rinse VERY well then “plant”.
lARRY says
I think Mavis is doing the right thing disinfecting the seeds prior to sprouting. You may want to check out the following link on food safety with sprouting seeds for human comsumption
..http://www.foodsafety.gov/keep/types/fruits/sprouts.html
Larry
Rogdice_Inc says
it’s all new to me, but I want to give it a try,
so just go to the garden center and look for packets of sprouts?
and it doesnt require direct sunlight? How do you store them afterwards to stay fresh?
Joana says
Great tips here, especially about rinsing away the hulls and treating the seeds with bleach first. My own favorite sprouts are sunflower, clover, or alfalfa. They taste so bright & green & fresh on sandwiches, quesidillas, and salads. Sprouts seem to give an energy blast somewhat like a cup of coffee from all that good nutrition. Appreciating the info and the reminder.
Sprouting fresh sprouts from seeds is a project I’ve wanted to do for many years…. several times, have gone shopping for the equipment & come home empty-handed. Of course then, i forget about it for a few more years…time to try again soon. Buying sprouts at the grocery store is costly and they’re not so good as homegrown.
Felicia says
I’m loving your site, which I just found today through Nourishing Roots FB page. I’ve been reading up on sprouting and most of the sites say not to use bleach on seeds. Bleach is toxic and contains dioxin which polutes the planet and is a known carcinogen, and that it destroys the good bacteria on the seeds….what are your thoughts on bleaching seeds?
Mavis says
When I first started growing sprouts I would bleach the seeds. Now I don’t even thought the packets say to. I think it’s a personal thing I guess. 🙂
Felicia says
Thanks Mavis, there is so much information “out there”, what’s a girl to do? Anyway, I just ordered the Victoria Sprouter and I can’t wait to get it and to get to sprouting! Thanks!
Rogdice_Inc says
what is the reason they suggest washing with bleach?
Mavis says
To disinfect the seeds. 🙂
Rogdice_Inc says
my Victorio Seed Sprouter arrived yesterday, I didn’t do the bleach rinse so hopefully that wasn’t a mistake not doing so, thanks for all your info.
I’ll write you in a few days to give a report
signed,
excited to be apart of the sprout club,
Rogdice_Inc says
I am wondering , it’s now day three, are there suppose to be white fuzzy hairs on the sprout, looks odd
Mavis says
What kind of sprouts are you growing? Yes, white fuzzy hairs are normal. 🙂
Rogdice_Inc says
I bought the Organic Sprouting Seeds- 1 Pound Broccoli, Crimson Clover, Red Radish, Alalfa.
there’s also a pinkish color.
Michelle says
Nowadays everything is bad for you! I’d rather die from eating “dirty” sprouts rather than from “clean” ones. 😀
Candice says
Victorio VKP1014 4-Tray Kitchen Seed Sprouter
It’s $12.96 today on amazon if anybody is thinking about buying one.
Scott says
Please oh please don’t bleach your seeds!! Use vinegar. it works just as well and it won’t leech anything funny. You’re talking about something that absorbs liquids to live and then is eaten early in it’s life cycle long before it could expel any absorbed toxins.
Carol says
When i have tried growing my own sprouts, they’ve molded. Yuck! Any suggestions? What am I doing wrong?
Mavis Butterfield says
I change my water 2 -3 times a day.
Audrey says
We have the same sprouter and we’re sprouting as we speak as well 🙂
Right now I am using up, clover, broccoli, radish and I can’t think of the last one… (I’m telling you, farmers dementia is real!)
I haven’t found a local place for sprout seeds since we’ve relocated, time to start figuring it out. Now I’m craving a sandwich!
Rosaleen says
Audrey-
If you bought your sprouting seeds from Todd’s Seeds via Amazon.com (I did), they may be radish, alfalfa, broccoli, and clover mix. They have a bright zing. I add them to salads and sandwiches, plus sometimes eat them as is. There are suggestions abouit disinfecting seeds, which I have yet to do. Vinegar, hydrogen peroxiide, or citric acid sounds like a better way to go than chlorine bleach. Some cleaning sites recommend a peroxide/vinegar diluted spray as a safer and more effective disinfection method than Clorox. For years, I used any clean jar with a piece of nylon net for sprouting, but recently discovered the vented cap for my NutriBullet jar works great. I use the cover with the drink cup/jar so i can still use the main blender jars as intended.
Audrey says
I got our sprouting seeds local but am due for more and will have to order online since we’ve moved and I can’t find any here.
I had great luck growing them in mason jars and once I bought the sprouter, I maybe got 1 good batch, ever since they’ve been molding. What gives? So frustrating. I’ve gone through 3 batches and finally packed it up. Anyone else have this issue?
I miss having our yummy sprouts around.
Kevin says
Williams Sonoma has the sprouters on clearance for $9.99, less 25% (Code is SAVENOW) and free shipping. Comes to ~$7.50 shipped for free.
Jason says
Thank you for blogging this. I got that seed sprouting kit as a gift, and found the directions that came with it to be intimidating. Yours is much easier to handle. 🙂