Sprouting Seeds - An Important Part of Your Food Storage Plan

Sprouts are the young shoots from the germinated seeds of vegetables, beans, and grains. Some sprouts are eaten fresh and raw, others including all grain and starchy bean sprouts should be cooked before eating. For example, avoid sprouting kidney beans for raw eating. They contain a toxin that causes nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea in many folks. If you do choose to sprout kidney beans, make sure to boil the finished sprouts for at least 10 minutes before consuming them.

Sprouts are a source of vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, folate, flavonoids, amino acids, and minerals such as calcium, iron, magnesium, and zinc. Sprouting increases the concentrations of vitamins and minerals within the seed, making them more available and absorbable.

Sprouts are one of the easiest foods you can grow indoors. They require barely any space—if you can fit a Mason jar on your counter, then you have enough space. You don’t need any special equipment. WikiHow provides step-by-step instructions on how to sprout seeds.

1. Soak the seeds in a jar overnight with filtered water.
2. Drain the soak water and rinse your sprouts twice a day.
3. Maintain the proper environment for germination. (Keep your sprouts between 50 and 70 degrees F.)
4. Use fresh sprouts right away. Most sprouts are ready to eat in 3-5 days (see table below).  

There have been outbreaks of salmonella and e.coli associated with sprouts in grocery stores. You can walk into the grocery store and pick up a bag of lentils, and chances are, they’ll sprout fine. BUT, we recommend buying sprouting specific seeds for two reasons:

In the United States, many seeds / grains that come in from other countries are irradiated to stop sprouting before they hit the grocery store shelves. This means that no matter how well you take care of your seeds, they are never going to sprout.

Sprouting seeds are all tested and verified to be free of e.coli and salmonella. Growers of sprouting-specific seeds take great care to make sure the seeds they sell are very clean—meaning they are free of harmful bacteria and other pathogens that can thrive in the sprouting environment. That bag of lentils you picked up from the grocery store? The packagers of that were assuming your plan was to boil them at high heat—which would kill any pathogens. Sprouting seed providers know that isn’t the plan for their seeds and adjust their growing and packaging processes accordingly.

• Adzuki (Vigna angularis): sprouts 3-5 days; the bean and root are mild flavored.
• Alfalfa (Medicago sativa): sprouts 5-7 days; the leaves are mild flavored.
• Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum): sprouts 1-2 days; leaves are mild flavored.
• Cabbage (Brasscia oleracea, Capitata group): sprouts in 3-5 days; cabbage flavor.
• Chives (Allium schoenoprasum): sprouts 10-14 days; shoots and roots are onion flavor.
• Clover (Trifolim pratense, T. incarntum): sprouts in 4-6 days; tangy flavor.
• Cress (Lepidium sativum): sprouts 3-4 days; leaves have tangy flavor.
• Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum): sprouts 6-8 days; leaves are bitter flavored.
• Garbanzo (Cicer arietinum): sprouts 2-4 days; bean and root are hardy eating.
• Kale (Brassica oleracea, Acephala group): sprouts 2-5 days; leaves have strong flavor.
• Lentil (Lens culinaris): sprouts 3-5 days; bean and root are hardy eating.
• Mung (Vigna radiata): sprouts 3-5 days; bean and root are mild flavored.
• Mustard (Brassica nigra): sprouts 3-5 days; leaves are peppery flavored.
• Peas (Pisum sativum): sprouts 5-7 days; bean and roots are mild flavored.
• Radish (Raphanus sativus): sprouts 3-5 days; leaves are peppery flavored.
• Rye (Secale cereale): sprouts 2-3 days; leaves are nutty flavored.
• Soybean (Glycine max): sprouts 3-5 days; bean and root are hardy eating.
• Black Sunflower (Helianthus annus): sprouts 6-10 days; leaves are mild flavored.
• Turnip (Brassica rapa, Rapifera group): sprouts 2-5 days; strong flavored.
• Wheat (Triticum spp.): sprouts 2-3 days; grain flavored.