I'm growing bean sprouts

[Sherryh]

I saw this on Pinterest and decided to try it. Has anyone else ever done it? Can you tell me how you went about it and your experiences?
The site I found used Lentils and did them in a canning jar. You soak the Lentils over night in a bowl of water, then rinse and drain them. Fill the jar 1/3 full of Lentils, cover tightly with cheesecloth, and place the jar on your windowsill. Then you just rinse and shake them out through the cheesecloth twice a day. Once they are sprouted it says to put them in a paper towl lined container in the fridge, and they will keep for a week or so.
I see that you can use them in salads and on sandwiches... what else have you used bean sprouts in?
It also says you can do other typs of beans for different flavors... what others can be sprouted?

[Durgan]

I tried various methods several times, and finally gave up for now. It is tedious and often failure occurs. In my experience nobody carries on the process for very long.

[Spirit Deer]

I've grown sprouts for years. It's so simple! Success is practically guaranteed, and caring for sprouts only takes a few seconds a day. Sprout seeds bought in bulk also provide a lot of bang for the buck, compared to other fresh produce and especially compared to buying sprouts already grown.

I use a couple containers for mung bean sprouts, our favorite. We had a mung bean sprout salad for supper last night, in fact. I use a small enameled coffee pot that holds about a quart, which makes rinsing and draining easy. I also use a ceramic candy dish with a net strainer I sewed to make draining easy.

You want a container that does not let in light, because light will allow the sprouts to make chlorophyll, which you don't want. Mung bean sprouts should be white, not green. Other sprouts, like alfalfa, should be sprouted in a clear jar so they can grow green. I grow those in quart jars with a screen across the top for draining, and keep the jar tilted with the top down so the seeds don't sit in water. Be sure the jar is at an angle so air can get inside.

For the mung beans, I leave them in the container in the kitchen window sill above my sink so I remember to rinse them. I add 1-2 tablespoons of mung beans (a third of a quart of beans would make a LOT of sprouts!) to the sprouting container, then cover with water and let stand overnight. Rinse and drain in the morning. After that, just rinse each morning (or whenever as long as it's once a day) and drain immediately. They will be ready to eat in less than a week. Some people pick the little husks out, but I'm too lazy for that so we just eat them.

I get sprouting seeds at a whole foods co-op. You can sprout radish seeds, broccoli, and a variety of others. I haven't tried many yet, because mostly we eat mung bean sprouts. Be sure whatever seeds you use are intended for sprouting. You can't, for example, use a packet of garden seeds, which may be pre-treated for growing. I haven't tried lentils but I think I will. Thanks for the idea!

We like mung bean sprouts in a lot of things. Mostly we eat them raw in salads, but I've used them in stuff like sloppy joes where they stretch the meat and add a little crunch when added at the end.

[Sherryh]

Wow, thank you Spirit Deer!

Where do you get Mung beans? I had a hard time even finding Lentils here!

[Spirit Deer]

I get them in bulk at a whole foods co-op. A pint of them is pretty reasonable and will grow gallons of sprouts.

[tervsforme]

I have been wanting to try this, I already have the seeds and the jar, just need to try it. There are tons of videos on youtube.

[Spirit Deer]

It's really not complex. I hope you give it a try!

We discovered we really don't like alfalfa sprouts. Too grassy. I sorta like them on a sandwich though. After all, lettuce is pretty grassy-tasting too.

[Sherryh]

I just found this site.
Sprout People - The Grooviest Sprouting Seeds on Our Planet!
They have beans, seeds, and sprouting containers for sale... but the best part are all of the step by step sprouting photos and videos!! Lots of info!

[Spirit Deer]

Check a whole foods co-op for prices first. You might be able to do better.

[Durgan]

Check a whole foods co-op for prices first. You might be able to do better.

Your enthusiastic response has encouraged me. I will give the mung beans another try. Can you post some pictures of the finished product? I would like to see how long the shoots are when you harvest them.

[ama]

I'm so going to try this. I just decided to give vegetarian a go of it and this looks amazing.

[IntlMom]

I;ve done this before too...... ok, may have to do it again....

[leighcat]

I have many different things that I can sprout here:

Beans- mung, adzuki, lentils, chickpeas, and various regular old run of the mill beans.

Seeds-alfalfa, broccoli, red clover, chia, radish, flax.

Grains-popcorn, millet.

The chia just got all goopy in my sprouter. I want to try them again but I will probably use my sprout jar with a piece of nylon instead of the sprouter.

The ones we have had so far are alfalfa, lentil and mung sprouts. They came out really well in my sprouter but I wasn't overly thrilled with the jar method. The sprouter has more room for them to spread out so they don't clump so much. This is the sprouter I have:

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Sprout-Garden-Tray-Family-Sprouting/dp/B000N8ESHU/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1335478788&sr=8-10"]Amazon.com: Sprout Garden 3 Tray Family Sprouting Kit - Includes: Sprouter, Drainboard, Covers, 3 Sprouting Trays, 2 Oz of Certified Organic Alfalfa Seed, Instructions. Grow Healthy Fresh Sprouts in Your Own Kitchen!: Kitchen & Dining@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/519lbsqiQWL.@@AMEPARAM@@519lbsqiQWL[/ame]

I got mine at a co-op for about half the price they want on Amazon. It is bigger than I expected but it works pretty well. They just stack right on top of one another, they don't snap together or anything so they can fall easily if bumped. The seeds I also ordered through the same co-op but I don't think they are selling the seeds this year. I know you can order seeds through Amazon or buy them at health food stores.