I used to sprout a lot more often and I thought I used 1 Tbsp. per half gallon glass jug. It would make quite a bit to the point where it seemed to grow to half the jar at maturity (around five days). Granted, this was only one seed in the jar--either alfalfa or clover.

Last week I soaked 1.5 Tbsp. (listed on packet directons) in a quart jar. After rinsing for about four days, I "harvested" it and it barely grew to the top of the jar (maybe only halfway). This was a combo of clover, alfalfa and daikon, so I am not sure if that made a difference.

Do you think the size of the jar determines how much yield you can get? The quart jar didn't seem to crowd them.

Lots of things can be done to get a better yield, so lets cover some powerful techniques.

1). Jar sprouting is never going to get optimal results, because regardless of whether the jar is big or not, crowding will occur and the sprouts will be stunted, will fight for light (they are not equal opportunity sprouts when in a jar, they are liked caged hens, and sprouts don't like that).

To get a big yeild you need to do tray sprouting. They grow taller and more robust, and all get good amounts of sunshine and air. They grow how plants are meant to grow, with equal opportunity and not in crowded jail conditions.

2). Use ascorbic acid to soak the seeds. According to Dr Finney's science thesis on sprouts this will increase the robustness of sprouts about 30%.

3). Use fuvic acid to soak the seeds. I don't have time to look up my past research collection, but l do recall being very impressed when reading about the effects of fuvic acid on sprouts.

4). Soak sprouts in mineralised water. Dr Finney reports on great nutritional enhancement to the sprouts when this is done. For eg, Sproutman produces scientific testing to show that alfalfa seeds soaked in zinc and calcium rich water to increase zinc content by almost 400% and calcium 200%.

If the water is lacking in various mineral salts it will lower the mineral content of the sprout for that particular mineral. Therefore l would suggest filtered mineralised alkaline water for soaking seeds.

5). Suez recently mentioned soaking in kelp due to growth hormones (I think) helping growth. Funny enough, in the past, l used to soak wheatberries in kelp to grow wheatgrass and the grass was always extra strong tasting and extra bright green.

6). Using electromagnetically energised water that forms a vortex. I recall my sproutarian friend saying it does help alittle bit according to his or other people's experiments. I use energised vortexed water constantly. And even shaking the water is supposed to help.

This is just some of many things that can be done.

www.thesproutarian.com



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/12/2014 10:12PM by The Sproutarian Man.

Hey Sproutarian, thanks for the tips. I have tried the citric acid route with broccoli, as they are difficult to get going. They rot easily and I threw in the towel.

I am going to do an experiment using kelp in purified water as my soaking water. I will also use the bigger jar. I have never sprouted in dirt before. Could I just plant them in a planter and set it somewhere inside rather than buying trays?

banana who Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hey Sproutarian, thanks for the tips. I have tried
> the citric acid route with broccoli, as they are
> difficult to get going. They rot easily and I
> threw in the towel.


Broccoli grows better in fair - warm weather with regular water. In cooler weather they can easily rot, especially if watered too much (happened to me recently).


> Could I just plant them in a planter and
> set it somewhere inside rather than buying trays?

Yes, but note, you don't need to grow on dirt when using trays. I grow brocolli on trays without dirt. Look!
[www.rawfoodsupport.com]


Easier. Better. Most hulls fall off to the bottom of the trays and don't get twisted in the sprout tangle as in jars, so only a 2 minute dehulling time needed on the day.

www.thesproutarian.com

The Sproutarian Man Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> banana who Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Hey Sproutarian, thanks for the tips. I have
> tried
> > the citric acid route with broccoli, as they
> are
> > difficult to get going. They rot easily and I
> > threw in the towel.
>
>
> Broccoli grows better in fair - warm weather with
> regular water. In cooler weather they can easily
> rot, especially if watered too much (happened to
> me recently).
>
>
> > Could I just plant them in a planter and
> > set it somewhere inside rather than buying
> trays?
>
> Yes, but note, you don't need to grow on dirt when
> using trays. I grow brocolli on trays without
> dirt. Look!
> [www.rawfoodsupport.com]
>
>
> Easier. Better. Most hulls fall off to the bottom
> of the trays and don't get twisted in the sprout
> tangle as in jars, so only a 2 minute dehulling
> time needed on the day.


Wow! I didn't see that post. Okay, can I use a glass bowl instead? What about a collander? I also have nut milk bags. I sprouted buckwheat that way. I wasn't crazy about it because I felt they dried out too easily.

banana who Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The Sproutarian Man Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > banana who Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > Hey Sproutarian, thanks for the tips. I have
> > tried
> > > the citric acid route with broccoli, as they
> > are
> > > difficult to get going. They rot easily and I
> > > threw in the towel.
> >
> >
> > Broccoli grows better in fair - warm weather
> with
> > regular water. In cooler weather they can
> easily
> > rot, especially if watered too much (happened
> to
> > me recently).
> >
> >
> > > Could I just plant them in a planter and
> > > set it somewhere inside rather than buying
> > trays?
> >
> > Yes, but note, you don't need to grow on dirt
> when
> > using trays. I grow brocolli on trays without
> > dirt. Look!
> > [www.rawfoodsupport.com]
> >
> >
> > Easier. Better. Most hulls fall off to the
> bottom
> > of the trays and don't get twisted in the
> sprout
> > tangle as in jars, so only a 2 minute dehulling
> > time needed on the day.
>
>
> Wow! I didn't see that post. Okay, can I use a
> glass bowl instead? What about a collander? I also
> have nut milk bags. I sprouted buckwheat that way.
> I wasn't crazy about it because I felt they dried
> out too easily.


A collander sounds good. If the seeds fall through the holes you can put a cloth or fly mesh on the collander (see my pictures in link).

Glass bowl? Probably not so good because it won't drain water and seeds could rot.

Sprouting on nut bags and drying = best to keep in a greenhouse to stabilise environment from wind.

Greenhouse = a box covered with clear lastic with some air holes
Greenhouse = trolly shelves on wheels covered with clear plastic with some air flow
Greenhouse = a little square structure covered in clear plastic etc
Greenhouse = a bucket with the top covered with clear plastic and some air flow etc


Sprouting broccoli seeds in cold weather - put in plastic bag...doesn't even need much air flow for 2 days of sprouting before moving to a bigger greenhouse area. Look at pictures in that link.

In cold weather...water broccoli, alfalfa, fenugreek greens every second day or they can rot. But start out with a daily watering until the greens get more developed after 5 or 6 days.

www.thesproutarian.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/13/2014 01:27AM by The Sproutarian Man.

Hey, Sproutarian Man! Do you think my having sprouted them in distilled water retarded their progress?

banana who Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hey, Sproutarian Man! Do you think my having
> sprouted them in distilled water retarded their
> progress?

Oh yes, BIG TIME!!! Never ever do that.

www.thesproutarian.com

The Sproutarian Man Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> banana who Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Hey, Sproutarian Man! Do you think my having
> > sprouted them in distilled water retarded their
> > progress?
>
> Oh yes, BIG TIME!!! Never ever do that.


LOL! D'oh! I will be using reverse osmosis, though.

banana who Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The Sproutarian Man Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > banana who Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > Hey, Sproutarian Man! Do you think my having
> > > sprouted them in distilled water retarded
> their
> > > progress?
> >
> > Oh yes, BIG TIME!!! Never ever do that.
>
>
> LOL! D'oh! I will be using reverse osmosis,
> though.

Oh dear. You might want to read a recent comment l wrote on my site regarding distilled water. This will also apply to RO.


Why isn't it a good idea to use distilled water for sprouts?



According to Dr Finney’s science thesis devoted to the science of sprouts, he reports that sprouts do potentially absorb quite a lot of minerals from the water as they grow. The uptake of minerals from water depends on the mineral content of the water. The more regular rinsing of the seeds can mean a higher mineral content. For eg, Sproutman reproduces science studies in his book that showed alfalfa sprouts increased zinc levels by almost 400% over the original seed and that calcium increased over 200%.



If you read pages 262 - 263 of Dr Finney’s sprouting thesis under the heading `Effects of germination on mineral content’ he mentions the advantages of using mineralized water and the problems with distilled water.

[www.sproutnet.com]


When making ferments the process is different again, and RO water can be used effectively under certain conditions, but the initial soaking of the seeds should be done in mineralised water before ferments are made with distilled/RO.

Be careful banana who...don't want to rob your sprouts of nutrients, because if they aren't in the sprouts they won't be in your body.

www.thesproutarian.com

Then what do I use--Evian water? Perrier? How about I use my kelp powder in distilled?

Some type of mineralised water such as filtered alkalised mineral water with the rocks sitting on the bottom of the filter. You could also try kelp.

"Some type of mineralised water such as filtered alkalised mineral water with the rocks sitting on the bottom of the filter."

Where would one get quality mineralized water?

Kelp powder was a good suggestion by bananawho, I have a huge bag of it from [www.seaweed.is]... I think I'll try this. Does distilled water remove minerals from seeds when soaked?

jtprindl Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> "Some type of mineralised water such as filtered
> alkalised mineral water with the rocks sitting on
> the bottom of the filter."
>
> Where would one get quality mineralized water?
>
> Kelp powder was a good suggestion by bananawho, I
> have a huge bag of it from
> [www.seaweed.is]... I think I'll try this.
> Does distilled water remove minerals from seeds
> when soaked?

I am assuming that was the gist of it, which would make sense. I can't remember what sort of water I used in the past to soak my seeds. I doubt it was tap but I am not sure.

jtprindl Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

>
> Where would one get quality mineralized water?


Try to find a water filter that has rocks in the bottom of it. It is filtered mineralised alkaline water.



> Does distilled water remove minerals from seeds
> when soaked?

Yes.

Even tap water lacking in various mineral salts can leach those from the water too, eg, if tap water is low in calcium, that mineral will be leached from the seeds and will lower calcium level in the seeds. However, if the tap water is high in calcium salts, the seed will be calcium enhanced after the soaking.

www.thesproutarian.com

Hi

Realise I am coming to this several months after the original discussion, but is a lack of minerals the only problem with using distilled water, or are there other reasons not to use it?

If it is the only reason, could it be overcome by using distilled water with liquid kelp added to it?

TSM- is it possible/safe to soak sprout seeds in a diluted organic seaweed plant food solution? Or would that be overkill?