Sprouts: my first time

June 29, 2011

I have eaten sprouts for years in sandwiches and salads purchase elsewhere or at friends' homes.  I just was not confident I could grow them or that they would be right or that I could use a different bean. You know, I was in the stupid space, "You mean I could actually make my own clothing?" space. You have known people like that about different activities.

Since I have chosen something others declare as simple, I don't know why I have hesitated. Maybe it was the lack of explicit instructions, like how much beans, what kind of beans, how much water, how much light, exactly when do I rinse, what if I leave too much water...and on and on....

Saturday morning, I decided today is the day...tada...I start sprouts!  I used the beans I had and hate--pinto beans. I have dried black eyed peas, pinto beans, kidney beans, Lima beans, Great Northern, and navy beans--pounds and pounds. I really detest kidney beans along with pinto beans. By the way, the sprouts from kidney beans are poisonous.


June 25, 2011

  Besides, I decided to grow chicken food. In the winter it is more difficult to get green food into them because the grass is dormant and some of the weeds. Some of the green things I pull for them are undesirable to hens, obviously. Maybe they are pouting because they cannot get out of their pen into the freedom of the yard. I have seen sprouts with little green leaves, so this is my goal for the hens.

Since sprouts have proven deadly, I hesitate to eat my own. Silly? I know!

I put beans in a glass peanut butter jar to experiment, not many, as I have heard they really expand. I added water to fill three quarters of the jar. After twelve hours, I gave them their first rinse. On Sunday and Monday and Tuesday, they were rinsed 3 or 4 times. Today, I let them sit until evening without rinsing. I just rinsed and drained them. They fill the peanut butter jar.

Lid to drain

The lid to drain is a plastic thing to put over cans of food to drain away the liquid without spilling the contents. It's handy.

It is 6 p.m. now. Maybe around 7:00 I will feed my first sprouts to the hens. I want them to have time before beddy-bye (8p.m.) to eat them. Sprouts will be really easy, free chicken food.

I kept the beans on the counter but not in direct sunlight. Directions said not to put in direct sunlight and I need to know why. It seems I may need to keep at least two "sproutings" at all times, starting one two days after the other. That will keep my hens in two cups of sprouts each day if I use quart jars.

Beans hanging onto sprouts I eat? Nope, never seen those. But, I only assume they are not poisonous or contaminated. At any rate, they are chicken food.

Great Northern beans will be what I sprout for me. I wonder if all the nutrition is the  same or greater in the sprouts as in the bean. I have plenty of dried beans here, so I want to eat these, sprouted, instead of buying a different kind to sprout.



 This is a success! Next time I will use quart jars. And lay them down. Now, to see what the chickens have to say~~~

Mad rush to get sprouts



No Way! Nasty!

They just left quickly and then came back to stand between my knees, looking into my face and begging for something else to eat!  I did fail at feeding them for free. I will try to add the sprouts to other foods. Sometimes, when they are confined to their pen, they do eat food they have turned down. After the initial shunning of the sprouts, I rewarded them for their pickiness by giving them crushed eggshells, dry oats, and a banana peel with some bruised places I cut off the banana. Bad chickie mama!

Your turn
Have you ever sprouted beans? Do you ever use common dried beans that we usually cook, like the ones I have? Do you get green sprouts?