Trying to sprout flax seeds. I didn't soak (advised not to), just rinsed twice a day. They seem to sprout reluctantly, but the seeds remain gooey and firmly stuck to the sprouter (I am using the GEO terracotta sprouter). I have to pull the sprouts with some force to lift them out, and the taste is a little bitter.

Is this just how flax sprouts are, or is there anything I can do to improve things?

I use terra cotta too (the saucers from flower pots) and did not have luck with flax. Some things work well, like buckwheat, wheat, lentils.... But many things cannot be accomplished like sprouting small seeds and gelatinous seeds like flax. I saw some advice to sprout these kinds of seeds on wet paper towels. That still was not workable for me.

I purchased an EasyGreen sprouter and it just arrived this Tuesday. I put some flax seeds in one of the trays and within 1 1/2 days they are sprouting! I have not touched them or smelled them yet, and actually do not know what flax sprouts taste like. But I can let you know how they turn out!

The major difference in sprouters is the EasyGreen mists the sprouts every 3 hours, so they are not handled at all during the growing process. I am sprouting some small seeds - Day 3 - and they are growing like crazy. I plan to grow them into micro-greens, which is something I could not do in the terra cotta saucers.