Hello all. It has been a little while since I have been able to do a garden update as I have been very busy getting my cookie/baking business off the ground. (Yay me!)
We have been eating a lot of healthy and protein filled smoothies for breakfast lately so I decided to start some sprouts. A sample of a typical smoothie for us is banana, blueberries, Greek yogurt, flaxseed or chia seeds, almond or coconut milk and a handful of spinach, kale or a supergreen mix. Sometimes I'll throw in a scoop of pea proteins or mix up the fruit, but that is the basics. I LOVE sprouts and they are super easy to grow and are great thrown in a smoothie, tossed in a salad, or even just thrown on top of any ol' meal you happen to be eating. (I've also been known to just eat them on their own...especially pea sprouts.) Anywho...here is how I sprout:
I went with pea sprouts and broccoli sprouts this time. They are each done in a different way so it will give you a good idea. Pea sprounts, lentils, or any other "bigger" seed is done the same and any of the smaller seeds (like the broccoli) can be done in the same manner. There is also a method of growing them all in soil and letting them all come to green....maybe later...this is the easiest and fastest way to get awesome sprouts.
For the pea sprouts all you need is the sprout "seeds", a jar (such as an old pasta sauce jar), a rubber band, and a porous fabric or screen. For the broccoli, you need a rectangle or square dish, paper towels (good strong kind), and a water spray bottle.
Add about 1/4 cup pea "seeds" to the jar and fill the jar with water. Allow to soak 8-12 hours. At that time, you will drain the water thoroughly and cover the jar with your porous fabric and secure with rubber band. Every 8-12 hours, you simply remove the fabric, rinse the seeds/sprouts, drain very well and recover. (this is the same way you would do lentils) Continue this until your sprouts are at a desired length. You can generally begin to eat them within 2-3 days (just after you begin to see sprouts - they say this is when they are most beneficial) or let them grow to full long sprouts, remembering to rinse and drain every 8-12 hours. SUPER EASY!!!
For the broccoli sprouts you will take your strong paper towel and get it really wet. Place the paper towel in the bottom of your container and cover it with your sprout seeds. Lightly spray with water. Every 8-12 hours simply mist the sprouts with your water bottle. The sprouts will be ready to eat in about 6 days. They will grow to the top of your container and almost look grass like. When you are ready to eat them, cut them off at the base or just pull them up, give them a good rinse to get any excess seed casings off and enjoy!
Here is a little photo "catch up" from other parts of the garden:
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| Picked a few peas! Dare I say success this year?! |
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| Several peas are coming in!!!! |
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| Peas |
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| Tomatoes are coming along! |
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| Brussels Sprouts are trying to grow ;) |
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| Really need to weed...but cucumbers are growing! |
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| A couple snapdragons are blooming |
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| Gnome garden needs a little attention. LOVE my gnomes!!! |
I have a lot of work to do in the garden soon as I need to work with some squash, eggplants, and tons and tons of beans very soon! I will keep you updated soon. Happy Sprouting!
I found this picture in one of my Pinterest ventures. They say a picture speaks 1000 words and this one sure does speak! I'm not going to go on one of my lectures or rants...but take a good look at this picture. We were blessed with a beautiful planet full of wonders. We only get one mother earth...let's take care of her!
...and as always...
I WISH YOU
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| jojo |
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