WINTER VEGETABLES - Sprouting on a small scale for farmers markets, roadside stands, and market gardens.

Sprouts are a good way to add variety to your product line, and to extend the season for fresh vegetables. They're easy to grow with a minimum of equipment and facilities.

Traditional sprouts are usually the small seeds like alfalfa, clover, etc. and small seed mixes. A new trend is crunchy bean mixes that can include peas, lentil adzuki beans, mung beans, chickpeas etc. They can be sprouted in a similar manner to the small seeds, but require less time and yield less. Mung beans grown for Chinese bean sprouts need special techniques, beyond the scope of this article.

Shoots or wheatgrass type products are usually grown in soil, though they may be grown in bare trays with more care. Seeds like sunflowers, buckwheat, some pea varieties, Daikon radish, garden cress, and grains are used for this.

SANITATION - Important
Use clean seed, tested for salmonella and e-coli contamination.
Sanitize equipment, and use items that don't have crevices or scratches that are hard to clean.
Don't let sprouts or seed come in contact with manure, etc. that may have bacterial contamination.
Hands and equipment must be clean at all times for handling sprouts.
Water should be clean potable water, tested for bacterial contamination.
NEW INFORMATION - US EPA has approved 2% chlorine from calcium hypochlorite as a seed sanitation method before sprouting. Tests have shown no residual chlorine on finished sprouts (Dr. Rob Wick, Sprouters Journal of the the ISGA, Spring, 1999). Proportions are 85g (3oz) calcium hypochlorite in 3.75 liters (1 gal.) warm water. Mix thoroughly, and soak the seed for 20 minutes. Rinse seed thoroughly in clean water then finish soaking time in clean water. Avoid breathing the fumes of the chlorine - masks are available that will filter out the fumes if you must do this a lot.
This is a last resort, for commercial sprouters only, in my opinion.

New - Sprouted Seeds Good Manufacturing Practices Guidebook
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural affairs.
Available from K. Macdonald FPO@omaf.gov.on.ca at $25/copy.
A good resource for commercial sprouters in any province.

TRADITIONAL SPROUTS
To sprout 250g (8 oz) seed you will need:
- 2 to 3 clean 16 liter (4 US gallon) plastic pails with good flat lids (translucent plastic preferred)
- room or closet with dependable temperature (18-24C, 65-75 F)
- dark colored nylon wedding veil material (tulle) or other fine netting to generously cover pails
- bungee cords with hooks to hold netting firmly over pails.

The sprouts need:
-humid, not wet, conditions
-air circulation
-steady temperature
-light for greening (never direct sunlight)

WASH - Wash seeds thoroughly with cool water. Add enough water to cover and work through seeds. Add more water, agitate, and pour off floating debris. Cover pail with netting and bungee cord, hold at a slant over drain and flush with water from a hose until water is clear. Alternatively, add water, stir, and drain until water is clean.

SOAK- Soak the seeds for 5-8 hours in cool water and drain. Don't let the seeds sit in a warm "soup"; change the water a time or two, or have a slow trickle of fresh water through the soaking container,. Rinse and drain thoroughly. Lay pail on a slant for 5 to 20 minutes to drain, then rotate 1/4 turn and let drain again.

DIVIDE- Divide the seed into more pails as necessary during sprouting. The larger the quantity of seed in one container, the more frequent the rinsing must be. This prevents heat build-up. Cover the pails with the lids between rinsing leaving a small crack for ventilation.

RINSE- Rinse the sprouts at least 3 times a day with cold water (first thing in the morning and last at night are important). Break up sprout clumps by hand while rinsing. Large amounts of sprouts have a tendency to heat in the middle if not rinsed often enough (especially in summer). Cover pails with netting held in place by bungee cords. Let pail stay on side for 5 to 20 minutes to drain, then rotate 1/4 turn, and let drain again. Stand the pails up and cover them with the lids between rinsing. Leave a small crack for ventilation.

CLEAN & GREEN- About the third day, before rinsing, remove the hulls and hard seed from the bottom of the sprout mass. Skim the hulls from the top of the water when rinsing. Replace the screen and bungee, then cover pails with a transparent lid to allow greening from either artificial or indirect natural light. Polyethylene sheeting, plastic, or glass will work for this.

STORE- Use room temperature water for the last rinsing. Drain extremely well and let sprouts sit until internal heat has dried them well (7-10 hours depending on batch size and room temperature). Transfer to clean pails and cover with slight ventilation at fridge temperature. Do not use poly bags or similar for extended storage.

OPTIONS AND HINTS

-Use Hydrogen Peroxide 3% at 50ml to 4 liters or 1/8 cup to a gallon of water to soak seed, for final rinse, or stronger for cleaning equipment, especially if you have mold or rot problems. You may wish to clean all equipment with bleach on a regular basis.
-Add faster sprouting seeds such as radish (washed and soaked) on the 3rd day for mixes with red clover or alfalfa.
-A hose attachment for your tap is useful for rinsing and agitating.
-Coarser nylon wedding veil material may be useful after 2 or 3 days to help rinse out debris.
-Alfalfa and red clover should take 5-7 days, depending on temperature.
-Soak water from alfalfa stains everything yellow. Dispose of carefully and wipe up spills immediately.
-Sprouts can't stand to sit in water, either during sprouting or storage.
-You can also use a laundry tub, with a homemade screen outlet, for sprouting.

Experiment and develop your own variations.


SOIL SPROUTING (for wheatgrass, buckwheat, sunflowers, peas, etc.)

Fill pots, trays, or other containers (with drainage) 1/2 to 2/3 full of soil, compost, or potting mix. Ensure that the growing medium doesn't contain artificial fertilizers or chemicals. The soil can be very shallow if preferred.

Soak wheat, peas, or other grains 8 hr., buckwheat or sunflowers 12-18 hr., and spread on the soil surface just touching. Water the soil well and cover with plastic with one side left slightly loose for ventilation.

Mist or sprinkle daily; uncover after three days.

Put the container(s) in sunlight or bright light for 5-8 days, until the crop is 5-6" tall. Keep growing medium moist.

Cut as needed, but before plants become too old and tough.

Options and Hints

-Wheatgrass may be left for a smaller second crop. Buckwheat peas and sunflowers cut only once.

-Spent soil and roots can be composted, fed to earthworms, or dug into the soil.

-These crops can also be grown in baskets or tray type sprouters. Baskets may be more difficult to sanitize.


MARKETING TIPS
Concentrate on supplying greens or sprouts that aren't available locally, or that aren't available organically grown. Always strive to have fresher sprouts than the competition.