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Broccoli, Red & Green Cabbage, Radish, Mustard, Arugula, Cress, Mizuna & Tatsoi
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Many Brassicas come together in a symbiotic blend of delicious nutrition!
Seed to Sprout in 3 - 6 Days Nutritional info:
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Sprout School & Shop Sprouting Seed Info Center
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Sprouting Instructions
Yields approximately 2 Cups (1/2 lb.) of Sprouts
Prep 3 Tablespoons of seed* then transfer (if necessary) into a bowl or into your Sprouter.
Add 2-3 times as much cool (60°-70°) water.
Mix seeds up to assure even water contact for all.
Note: brassicas tend to float. Try to sink those that do by knocking them down with your fingers. It isn't a big deal but it is a good habit.
Allow seeds to Soak for 6-12 hours.
Empty the seeds into your sprouter (if necessary).
Drain off the soak water.
Rinse thoroughly with cool (60°-70°) water.
Drain thoroughly.
Set your Sprouter anywhere out of direct sunlight and at room temperature (70° is optimal) between Rinses.
This is where your sprouts do their growing. We use a counter top in our kitchen - right in the middle of the room but where the sprouter won't get knocked over by kids, dogs, cats or us. Our kitchen gets no direct sun but we don't mind the diffuse sunlight or the 150 watts of incandescent light. When we're sprouting Mung Beans we may choose a darker corner of the room, but 99% of the time we just don't avoid light. Light just does not matter much. A plant can only perform photosynthesis when it has leaves. Until then light has little if any effect, so don't hide your sprouts!
Rinse and Drain again every 8-12 hours for 3 days.
As long as you grow you have to keep the sprouts happy!
Note: These wonderful little brassica plants have a unique root structure. Brassicas will show microscopic roots starting around day 3. They are called root hairs and are most visible just before Rinsing when the sprouts are at their driest. When you Rinse the root hairs will collapse back against the main root. These root hairs impress many people as mold - but they are not. Now you know!
Greening
On the 4th day relocate your sprouts if necessary.
If you've been keeping them away from light, move them. Avoid direct sun - it can cook your sprouts. Indirect sunlight is best but virtually any light will do. Experiment - you will be amazed at how little light sprouts require to green up.
Continue to Rinse and Drain every 8-12 hours.
As long as you grow you have to keep the sprouts happy.
Finishing
Your sprouts will be done during day 5 or 6.
The majority of sprouts will have open leaves which will be green if you exposed them to light.
De-Hull
Before your final Rinse remove the seed hulls.
Brassica sprout hulls are quite large (relative to the seed and sprout) and they hold a lot of water (which can dramatically lessen the shelf life of your sprouts), so we remove them:
Transfer the sprouts to a big (at least 3-4 times the volume of your sprouter) pot or bowl, fill with cool water, loosen the sprout mass and agitate with your hand. Skim the hulls off the surface. Return the sprouts to your sprouter for their Rinse and Drain. That's the short course - here is the full lesson.
Harvest
Your sprouts are done 8-12 hours after your final rinse. After the De-Hulling and the final Rinse we need to Drain very thoroughly and let our sprouts dry a bit. If we minimize the surface moisture of our sprouts they store much better in refrigeration, so we let them sit for 8-12 hours....
OR
We can use a salad spinner to dry the sprouts after their final Rinse and skip the final 8-12 hour wait, instead going directly to Refrigeration.
Refrigerate
Transfer the sprout crop to a plastic bag or the sealed container of your choice.
Notes:
When conditions are warm your sprouts will likely grow faster. If their leaves open sooner you should green and de-hull and harvest sooner. Likewise they may grow slower if conditions are very cool. These are just tiny plants they are not difficult to understand. The more you sprout the better you'll know them and be able to adjust to their needs. As always 70° is optimal and 70° is what our instructions are written for.
All sprouts generate heat while growing, which is a good thing, but it can get out of hand on occasion. When the weather is especially hot and humid you will do well to Rinse more frequently (every 8 hours if possible) using colder water than usual (the coldest your tap can offer is fine), to compensate.
Depending on your sprouting device, not all of your sprouts will have access to light and so some will not green. This is not only OK - it is good. The yellow sprouts will be equally nutritious (they have everything but chlorophyll) and many think them more delicious (in Europe vegetables are often grown "blanched" by avoiding light). We think they are prettier when there is a mix of green and yellow to go with the white roots. So don't sweat it - just eat more sprouts!
It is ESSENTIAL that you keep Brassica sprouts from clumping together and you CAN NOT grow them vertically using a tray sprouter. Brassica sprouts will mat together forming a dense bluish root mass which not only is unattractive but shortens the shelf life of the finished sprouts. So mix ‘em up! We use high water pressure when Rinsing to keep our brassica sprouts loose, but this only works for so long - so - when water isn't enough, break the clump of sprouts up using a fork or your fingers (wash your hands first please, if they need it). If you are using a sprouter that can hold water, fill it mostly full then use a fork to loosen. You can also dump your sprouts onto or into something and just shake them apart. You should never be afraid** of touching your sprouts. They are much stronger then they appear - just be reasonably gentle.
** The only thing to fear is fear itself.
Ingredient Note
When mixed in proper proportions with non-mucilaginous seeds, mucilaginous seeds will sprout! The proportion is our secret - it took us many failures before we figured it out - and it was well worth it! So go ahead and sprout for a Long Life!
* If using Single Harvest Pack - use the whole bag.
These seeds yield approximately 5:1, so in theory you can start with as much as 1/5 as much dry seed as your Sprouter has capacity (though we advise less so that you have some room to move).
Though more than half of the seeds in this mix are certified organic, the conventional seeds outweigh them (Long Life is over 50% Broccoli), so it is labeled conventional. 8 brassicas combine to make another delicious and nutritious sprout mix. In this case you get high levels of antioxidants (We aren't claiming that mind you, but the statement is based on published research) as well as the usual vitamins, minerals and amino acids found in sprouts.
We have taken Long Life Mix out of our paper Variety/Price list and have had it off-line for ages because so many folks call and tell us that it doesn't sprout. We have absolutely NO DIFFICULTY sprouting this mix, but we can't come to folks' homes and do it for them - so it is available here with this deal - we will not take it back (we don't take any seeds back actually - our policy is to help you (within reason) until you can sprout successfully. As you might have read - we are professional sprout growers. All these seeds we sell are the same seeds we use so we KNOW they sprout well - if they didn't, we wouldn't have them!), we will not refund the purchase price and will take only the normal amount of time helping with any growing questions (Just follow the directions: Soak 8 hours in 70° water, rinse thoroughly and drain completely. Repeat the thorough Rinse/Drain every 8 - 12 hours for 5 days and you SHOULD have great sprouts).
This is a great mix and it sprouts wonderfully for us - if you have dealt with or know us, you know that we do not sell inferior products. We just can't take the absurdity anymore - at least as concerns Long Life Mix. Your choice!
Note: US and Canadian researchers have found that many brassicas contain antioxidants. In fact, according to research currently being done at a US University, and statements made in the famous JHU Broccoli report of 1997, Radish may have a symbiotic relationship in which it increases the soluble antioxidants in Broccoli when the two are sprouted together and they think that all brassica family members may have that same symbiotic relationship. It's a family thing =:-D
Broccoli, Red & Green Cabbage, Radish, Mustard, Arugula, Cress, Mizuna, Tatsoi
Sprouting Devices
for
Long Life Mix
Follow links for detailed information
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Easy Sprout |
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SproutMaster |
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Tube with Lids |
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Jar and Lid |
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Miniature Garden |
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Hemp Bag |
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Sprout Cookery
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