Ok! It is spring...right? Time for some green and growing! Well, not much is actually green or growing around here right now. One way I keep a little green in my life during the cold snowy time is with sprouts. I sprout the usual alfalfa and mung beans but, I sprout oats for the Cluster Ducks! They really love the green treat! I bet chickens would like them too. I love to watch them gobble them up! Here are my sprouting tips...
I use the Bioset Sprouter. I got my first Bioset over 10 years ago and it is still working fine. The way it works is simple. Just sprinkle the seeds in the clear containers, stack, and water from the top. Once the water siphons through you just dump the bottom container. I use the sprout rinse to water house plants.
Alfalfa are the easiest and delicious. Mung Beans require a bit more attention but worth it. You need to add a bit of Citric Acid to the rinse water to prevent mold. Each rinse needs about an 1/8 teaspoon. I use the same citric acid powder when canning today's low acid tomatoes.
For the Duckies I sprout regular feed oats. (**these are not for human consumption**) They are the same oats I use for a cheap easy cover crop in the gardens. I always have a 50 pound bag around. Oat Sprouts are fun just to add a bit of green during the spring season. When my son was young we would have an egg tree in the house...just a branchy branch stuck in a plant pot full of dirt. Then I would sprinkle oats around the tree and voila instant grass. Oats sprout quickly! They would make a great Easter center piece...so you don't need ducks to get wild with oats!!!
Oats ready to go to the gals!
Welcome to some of my JOY!
Happy Quackers
Wild thing I did with Oat Sprouts....FiberArt still under construction.....
Cool beans! Ha!
ReplyDeleteThis is really interesting. I love sprouts but never thought of growing them myself. That first picture is stunning!
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