|
|
Soooo much water used during sprouting - ways to reduce?
Posted by:
eemiller
()
Date: April 22, 2008 04:12PM When I sprouted my first set of sprouts this last week there was a LOT of water used to get those soaked 3x per day. That's fine for now, but I would like to know ahead of time how I may reduce that.
Could I soak as usual, and then spread them out on a papertowel or newspaper over a cookie sheet and then spray them with a spray bottle maybe 6x per day instead? Would that work to reduce the water, yet still grow the sprouts? Re: Soooo much water used during sprouting - ways to reduce?
Posted by:
frances
()
Date: April 22, 2008 05:48PM You have a lot of options when sprouting. Even when your methods do not create the ideal growing environment, life is good at dealing with small problems. By all means, experiment! Pay attention to your germination rate and water use. Maybe even do both methods at the same time to compare your yield by weight, by flavor...
At the worst you might waste a tablespoon or so of seed. If you come up with a successful method that conserves water we'll all be interested to hear about it! Re: Soooo much water used during sprouting - ways to reduce?
Posted by:
davidzanemason
()
Date: April 23, 2008 12:37PM Better to use too much water....then expose to air contamination for any extended period (although I understand your concern).
-David Z. Mason WWW.RawFoodFarm.com Re: Soooo much water used during sprouting - ways to reduce?
Posted by:
SquarePeg
()
Date: April 28, 2008 03:25AM I've sprouted by spreading soaked seeds on a wet paper or regular towel on a cookie sheet, then keeping another towel wet over them. It depends on the seed type; I have terrible luck with the bottle/screen for a lid method. This method has worked wonderfully well with grains like wheat or rye when I'm sprouting for rejuvelac; it also works well with legumes like lentils or peas. I also use trays for radish/fenugreek/alfalfa seeds, but they are the specially made sprouting trays with drainage holes in the bottom. I hear your concern about the water use; have you thought about catching and re-using the water for plants, etc.? Re: Soooo much water used during sprouting - ways to reduce?
Posted by:
eemiller
()
Date: April 29, 2008 01:44PM That would be a lot of watering of plants. I'm thinking along the lines of if I ever had to live on my water storage and had to minimize water usage, then the sprouts take way too much water and wondered how I could considerably reduce that. Especially using the easy sprouter, it takes a lot of water to fill it up over the sprouts to give it a rinse and then I have plants, but most of them are supposed to stay dry for a while before watering them. Re: Soooo much water used during sprouting - ways to reduce?
Posted by:
frances
()
Date: April 29, 2008 02:40PM Some of the automatic sprouters use less water. Most of the automatic sprouters recycle the same water over the sprouts repeatedly. The EasyGreen automatic sprouter is the one I own, and it never re-uses water but still uses less than half a gallon per day (it's configurable, so you might need to set it to run more depending on your climate). It operates by misting the sprouts rather than thoroughly washing them. This works because it mists much more often - several times a day. The result is a noticeable decrease in total water usage.
I would be interested to know how much water some of the automatic sprouters that do recycle water, like the FreshLife, require. I'll bet it's less than the EasyGreen does. Re: Soooo much water used during sprouting - ways to reduce?
Posted by:
Anonymous User
()
Date: May 03, 2008 06:28AM Try one of Steve Meyerowitz's Sprout Bags. They're made from a hemp based material, have a handy hook for hanging up and you just need to dip the bag - sprouts and all - into a container of water a couple of times a day to keep them moist. You can either re-use the water each dip or use it for one of your plants. They're really handy and great to take on the road if you need to.
You can see them here [www.sprout.net.au] The other great option like frances mentions above, is the Easygreen Sprouter - low water use and automatic misting! [www.sprout.net.au] Cheers! Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.
|
|
