Enjoy Tasty (and Healthy!) Homegrown Sprouts

When it comes to raising homegrown produce, patience is required—unless you grow sprouts. A snap to cultivate indoors, these tasty germinated seeds provide you with fast good-for-you food.

“Unlike many homegrown crops, sprouts need only water and the right temperature for a few days in order to grow and be ready for eating,” says "Sprout Lady Rita” Galchus, author of Homegrown Sprouts: A Fresh, Healthy, and Delicious Step-by-Step Guide to Sprouting Year Round.

Grow your own and you can enjoy a wide variety of sprouts you might not have the opportunity to try otherwise.

“Most people are familiar with mung and alfalfa sprouts, but there are other seeds that can be sprouted for a variety of tastes,” says Galchus, who writes the blog Welcome to Sprouting. “Clover is a nice sprout with a mild, sweet taste. Lentils grow quickly and are easy to digest; marrowfat peas are crunchy and sweet; sprouted garbanzo beans make a great hummus; and broccoli sprouts taste just like the vegetable.”

Raising organic sprouts right in your kitchen also guarantees that you get as much nutrition as possible. High in fiber and vitamins and minerals and generally low in calories, sprouts are a super food that can be incorporated into just about any diet. Galchus suggests eating a wide variety of sprouts to experience different types of nutrition, flavors and textures. She offers these tips for successfully growing your own.

Choose a sprouter. Sprouts won’t grow in standing water. They need to be kept moist by rinsing and draining them on a regular basis. This can be accomplished by growing them in a sprouter, of which there are several kinds. Mason jar sprouters are the most widely known, but you can also find tray type sprouters and hemp bags.

“A good sprouter will possess a way to drain out the excess water, as well as offer good air circulation and sufficient space for the sprouts to grow,” says Galchus.

Provide proper lighting and ideal temperatures. Avoid exposing growing sprouts to bright light, as this can cook the baby sprouts. Provide indirect light for a few hours when the sprouts reach maturity, and they will green up and be ready to eat. Most seeds sprout around 65 degrees F.

Practice safe food-handling. People often equate "organic" with "bacteria-free," but that is not correct, cautions Galchus. “Organically grown food can become contaminated with harmful bacteria such as e. coli and salmonella,” she says. “With this in mind, it’s important for home sprouters to follow safe food handling practices when sprouting.”

Purchase only high-quality sprouting seeds that have been tested for these bacteria, and prior to use, always wash your sprouter in warm sudsy water and rinse in hot water. Mason jars can be sterilized in the dishwasher. Also wash your hands well before handling the seeds and sprouts.

Prevent mold and fruit flies. Both of these problems can be solved by lowering the temperature in the room where the sprouts are growing, as well as using less seed so that the sprouts have sufficient air circulation. Creating air movement with a fan also keeps mold and fruit flies away.