When it’s still winter in Montana and I’m craving something green and growing, I plant a tray of sunflower sprouts. Soak the seeds for 24 hours, let them sprout, then spill them out onto a tray of either soil or vermiculite. Warm and cozy inside your house, they’ll reach up a few inches in a week or so–snip with scissors and add them to your dinner!
Thank you to my friend Janice and her husband, Paul, for introducing me to this method. Their original post is here, with meticulous instructions. My short-cut version is below.
Here are the items you’ll need:
- sunflower seeds for sprouting, I use “Sunflower, Sprouting–Black Oil (organic)” by Handy Pantry (in Bozeman, find at Planet Natural)
- a quart-sized canning jar
- optional: a “sprouting lid” that fits the canning jar (in Bozeman find at the Co-Op and Planet Natural)
- a rectangular planting tray, 3 parts: outside plastic rectangle, inner “drip tray”, ventilated clear cover (in Bozeman find at Planet Natural)
- potting soil or vermiculite, enough for a 1/2″ deep layer in the planting tray
- optional: organic liquid kelp fertilizer
- optional: a spray bottle to use for misting the sprouts with water
Here are a few photos of the process: soak, sprout, plant:
Sprouting Phase: laying on my counter in a quart-sized canning jar with mesh lid–this setup provides ventilation and makes it easy to soak, rinse, and drain the seeds
Scattering the sprouts over the vermiculite (you can use soil instead)
After gently spreading the sprouts out into a single layer
Adding the ventilated cover to keep things moist, but not too moist
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