Published by City Farmer, Canada's Office of Urban Agriculture
Small Scale Commercial Sprouting
of Alfalfa or Red Clover
(C) 1996, Lois Thompson
Cottage Roots, Box 336
Prince Albert, SK, S6V 5P7
Phone (306) 747-3371
The intention behind these ideas is to help a new sprouter develop his/her own sprouting methods. Lois Thompson has experience with other, higher tech sprouting methods as well.
To Sprout 250g (8 oz) Seed You Will Need
- 2 to 3 clean 16 liter (4 US gallon) plastic pails with good flat lids
(translucent plastic preferred).
- A room or closet with dependable temperature (18-24 C, 65-75 F).
- Dark coloured nylon wedding veil material (tulle) or other fine netting to
generously cover pails.
- Bungee cords with hooks to hold netting firmly over pails.
The Sprouts Need
- humid, not wet, conditions
- air circulation
- steady temperature
- light for greening (never direct sunlight)
Method
- Wash
- Wash seeds thoroughly in at least 2 changes of lukewarm water. Agitate
well with hands or stick and drain water through netting.
- Soak
- Soak the seeds for 5-8 hours, (or overnight) in cool water and drain.
Rinse and drain thoroughly. Let pail stay on side for 5 to 20 minutes to drain,
then rotate 1/4 turn and let drain again.
- Divide
- Divide the seed into more pails as necessary during sprouting. The
larger the quantity of seed in one container, the more frequent the rinsing must
be. This prevents heat build-up. Cover the pails with the lids between rinsing
leaving a small crack for ventilation.
- Rinse
- Rinse the sprouts at least 3 times a day with cold water (first thing in
the morning and last at night are important). Break up sprout clumps by hand
while rinsing. Large amounts of sprouts have a tendency to heat in the middle if
not rinsed often enough (especially in summer). Cover pails with netting held in
place by bungee cords. Let pail stay on side for 5 to 20 minutes to drain, then
rotate 1/4 turn and let drain again. Stand the pails up and cover them with the
lids between rinsing. Leave a small crack for ventilation.
- Clean & Green
- About the third day, before rinsing, remove the hulls and hard
seed from the bottom of the sprout mass. Skim the hulls from the top of the water
when rinsing. Replace the screen and bungee, then cover pails with a transparent
lid to allow greening. Polyethylene sheeting, plastic or glass will work for
this.
- Store
- Use room temperature water for the last rinsing. Drain extremely well and let sprouts sit until internal heat has dried them well (7-10 hours depending on batch size and room temperature). Transfer to clean pails and cover with slight ventilation at fridge temperature. Do not use poly bags or similar for extended storage.
Hints and Options
- Use Hydrogen Peroxide 3% at 50ml to 4 liters or 1/8 cup to a gallon of water to
soak seed, for final rinse, or stronger for cleaning equipment, especially if you
have mold or rot problems. You may wish to clean all equipment with bleach on a
regular basis.
- Add faster sprouting seeds such as radish (washed and soaked) on the 3rd day for
mixes.
- A hose attachment for your tap is useful for rinsing and agitating.
- Coarser nylon wedding veil material may be useful after 2 or 3 days to help rinse
out debris.
- Alfalfa and red clover should take 5-7 days, depending on temperature.
- Soak-water from alfalfa stains everything yellow. Dispose of carefully and wipe
up spills immediately.
- Sprouts can't stand to sit in water, either during sprouting or storage.
- You can also use a laundry tub, with a homemade screen outlet, for sprouting.
Go back to Sprouting at Home
