Interested in puchasing sprouting seeds for sprouting

Hi . does anybody have an idea what the seeds I should get and where. I am interested in buying trying sprouting seeds and where to buy them from. Teresa

Here are some ideas: http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/495/

I have used this site to purchase wheatgrass seeds. I haven't done the sprout thing but they seem to be a good reliable company to deal with and reasonably priced. Broad selection of sprouting seeds and gear.

http://www.wheatgrasskits.com/sprouting/sprout_seed.htm

Z

If you happen to have one close by, health food and organic supermarkets usually have bulk seeds.

I sprout regularly in the winter. My favorite sprouts are sunflower, red cabbage and broccoli. These are good for beginners and usually available.

Wheatgrass is yucky but considered healthful. I think it is necessary to mix it with large amounts of other stuff to eat. I also do not like alfalfa.

Be careful when you go looking of sprout supplies. For example, it's a lot easier to sprout sunflower if you can find quality naked sunflower seed, but even the specialty companies will deceive you on this one. They will sell you a dead sunflower seed that is naked (no seed coat) for sprouting, but what they actually want you to use them for is a "soak" not a sprout. [Soaks are soaked in water for a day or two until they swell. Sprouts are alive and will generate the embryo plant - typically nuts are soaked - dead naked sunflower seed if not properly handled can grow bacteria] I suggest you buy the minimum amount of seed you can from a vendor then test for quality. Nichols, Thompson and Morgan, and Pinetree come to mind as sources for quality seed for sprouting and I have used them all.. There are a couple of companies out there that specialize on selling seeds for sprouting - If you d-mail me privately, I'll let you know the name of the one that sold me the dead sunflower so you can watch out for them- It is unwise to purchase seed that is not specifically labeled for sprouting as you do not know if the young plant is toxic or if the seed has been treated in some way (organic seed could still produce a toxic plant depending on plant variety). Nevertheless, if there are good health food stores near you that sell raw, live seed, you may want to go that route but you may want to do research first to make sure the the sprouted embryo for the seed you purchase is edible - there are many poisonous plants that produce edible seed.

I use mason jars for sprouting - you can find sets of sprouting lids for them in a lot of places. It is essential for health that your seed be properly cleaned and that your equipment is kept clean and sanitary. If you google sprouts and sprouting on the web, you will find instructions on how to clean the seed for sprouting.

For sunflower, I use either the jar method if I have high quality seed. However, you can also get good results by spreading sunflower on the surface of a sterile absorbent medium(I use a small tray with holes in the bottom) and letting the seeds germinate into tiny plants - cut the plants when they are about 2" tall and greening up, leaving the root portion in the medium. Mulch the medium when all the sprouts are cut, then clean everything and start over.

For broccoli and red cabbage, use the jars. Rinse at least twice daily and refrigerate all the sprouts when ready. Separate hulls from sprouts by putting the sprouts in a bowl of water. Sprouts will sink (or float under the surface) while hulls will float and can be poured off.

Bean sprouts are productive and easy to do, but I find it necessary to steam them after sprouting as I do not like the raw sprout taste.

Wow.. I didn't realize sproutign was such an involved process. I have thought abotu tryign it, but haven't tried it yet.

Topcat, would dmail Krowten too and find out the good sources and the bad. Seen alot of sunfower sprout places and some of them didn't look to cool even though the prices were great.

Starlight, I hope I did not turn you off from trying it. It is not as difficult as it sounds. The rinsing only takes a few seconds a day. The final cleaning takes a couple of minutes but produces a small baggie of sprouts that can be used for up to a week if properly stored in the fridge. (that's the jar method)

Not at all, but think when I get the time to try to do it, will dmail ya if ya dont mind and learn from you all what I need to do and how to do it right. Sproutign is another whole world of gardening, maybe if ya feel like it, you could start a seperate thread, and kind a give a tutorial for everybody and introduce them to the world of sprouting.