Recently I’ve been growing indoor greens which I absolutely love growing and eating! My nails have never been stronger and I’ve never before loved eating salads so much.
I’m a girl who likes processes, a bit of alchemy and I’m happy. As a littlie I loved making stinky perfumes, mud pies, digging in the garden, planting seeds with my mum, and as a biggie I love making herbal tinctures, making homeopathic remedies, making potions of all sorts, working with energy, soaking grains, growing veggies and I now add to that list growing large sprouts!
I started because my veggies weren’t doing so well with all of the rain in London and needed an alternate crop (a miniature crop as it turns out). I’ve been growing Sunflower Sprouts and recently Broccoli sprouts (both pictured – the ones on the left are broccoli). I’m yet to try Buckwheat which might be my next crop.
So why bother? These giant sprouts are incredibly nutritious and you can grow them all year round, no longer being dependant on the weather to grow nutritious, organic greens. Yay! Sunflower seeds are rich in chlorophyl and are a great source of Vitamin D, something we all need loads of at the moment. Buckweat seeds are also rich in chlorophyl and in rutin (a natural blood builder) and lecithin (an artery cleanser). And you eat them as soon as they’re picked so they’re as fresh as it gets, full of the goodness of nature!
How? They’re grown just like wheatgrass and It’s easy but it helps to love processes. I bought my organic seeds from Sky Sprouts and the trays and compost from Brow Farm, both deliver so it’s super easy. Basically you soak the seeds in pure water for 12 hours (one cup of sunflower or buckwheat seeds for each tray or half a cup of broccoli seeds), then sprout them for 12 hours. Spread an inch of compost in the tray and spread the seeds evenly over the compost. Then cover the tray with another tray to make a dome and leave for 3 days. On the 4th day remove the cover and water each day until they’re ready to eat (this seems to take 3 or 4 days and they reach a height of as much as 20cm). To eat cut a bunch close to the soil, rinse, take off any seed hulls and enjoy!
The soil can be composted for re-use so it’s pretty waste less and cost effective once you have the equipment.
I like to pop the tray outside for a part of the growing process so that the sprouts receive a burst of the suns energy and vitamin D (which doesn’t pass through glass). That way when we eat the sprouts we’re receiving the suns light as well. Very important for healthy cells and strong bones.
If you wanted to read more about the process I recommend Ann Wigmore’s book Hippocrates Live Food Program which you can find on Amazon or Abe books if you dig.
