Sprouting

We have an abundance of lettuce growing in our greenhouse and in the beds outside of the greenhouse now. But this past fall and winter when we didn't have much, we grew sprouts by the gallon to add to our salads and sandwiches.

We use glass gallon jars and 6"x6" squares of double cheesecloth. I put 1/3 of a cup of alfalfa seeds in the jar, cover them with warm water and secure the cheesecloth on top of the jar with a rubberband. I let this sit overnight to soak. In the morning I drain all the water out and rinse until the water runs clear. I let the upside-down jar in the sink to drain until after breakfast. Then it goes on the counter on its side. I rinse the seeds/sprouts about 3 times a day and I make sure they are drained well. This is important otherwise they begin to decompose. After the brown seed hulls begin to come off of the sprouts it is important to scoop them out. I have found they are the biggest culprit of sprout failure. If they are not removed, they decompose also and begin to break down the sprouts. I carefully pull the sprouts out of the jar and put them into a big bowl. I fill it up with cool water and swish them all around to loosen as many hulls as I can. They get scooped off and the sprouts get drained. Once they are drained I put them into plastic food storage containers with a paper towel on the bottom so they don't lay in any water that might still drain off. They keep in the refrigerator very well this way and it is SO much less expensive than buying them.