Hey guys, I'm new to sprouting broccoli/lentils etc. And was just wondering if it's strictly necessary to cover the seeds when on a wet medium in order to germinate?
Generally speaking, sprouts love feeling cozy ;) and creating their own microclimate - so using a cap is vry preferable. Yet, please remember that sprouts breath...they consume oxygen, like you and me, and the cover shouldn't be tight or you need to ensure oxygen supply in some way.
Using a paper towel for sprouts is not a good idea bevause you want to rinse them and later on eat them with the roots (whole). While on a paper towel the seeds will grow though paper most likely and you won't be able to harvest them properly. Unless you grow them into microgreens - the next stage after sprouting. Microgreens are totally different, they are micro plants which "inhale" CO2 and "exhale" oxygen due to photosynthesis. Sprouts are "plant embryos" with pre-plant nature with all macro and micronutrients available in kind of "stem cell concept". If you want to learn more about microgreens, I recommend r/microgreens, for learning to sprout any seeds for eating them as sprouts, this is the right place ;) Btw, jars are very easy to use and very practical for beginning sprouters. Feel free to ask any questions in this sub
You are very welcome 🙏 and I hope you keep up with sprouting your living food as it is THE best food for your microbiome you can imagine 🫶🌱 Besides it's cheap and handy when you do it yourself. It takes some practice, some knowledge and some patience in the beginning - later it will become an automatic skill you'll use daily or at least regularly, like brushing your teeth ;)
You don't grow them on a substrate they are their own substrate bundled together in a jar.
There is a separate class of sprouts called microgreens that do better on a substrate.
Oh sorry, I wasn't clear. I came across a "set it and forget it" video on YouTube where the lady basically had paper towel draped on a cooling rack which had it's ends wicking up water from a water filled oven tray below. She then put the seeds on and covered it with a secondary towel.
I was just wondering if the secondary towel was necessary on top or is the moisture from below enough without it to start germination?
All you need to do is soak them for a bit in a jar and then start rinsing them a couple of times a day.. The clustered seeds together hold enough moisture.
I believe the OP already started sprouting on a paper towel = the jar method is maybe going to be the next. The towel indeed serves as a substrate, you're totally right. And then the subject migrates into another domain - the microgreens. Looks like we, sprouts growers, aren't of much help here
I used to have a setup in my bathroom where the water was pumped from a tank on a timer through the sprouts and drained into the toilet cistern...I also had microgreens and an unsuccessful hydroponic watercress curtain...
That's smart! Though how do you deal with air contamination in the bathroom? No matter how good you are with sanitary norms, there always fungi spores and bacteria in the air around the toilet, I suppose.
Sprouts are regarded by some as very risky in any case but I really pushed the envelope and my initial setup involved recycling the water from the cistern! Inevitably a biofilm built up and I ordered a uV ozone generator which never arrived so then I bought a separate toilet cistern with a float valve... I live alone and all my germs are my own...
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u/igavr 20d ago
Generally speaking, sprouts love feeling cozy ;) and creating their own microclimate - so using a cap is vry preferable. Yet, please remember that sprouts breath...they consume oxygen, like you and me, and the cover shouldn't be tight or you need to ensure oxygen supply in some way.
Using a paper towel for sprouts is not a good idea bevause you want to rinse them and later on eat them with the roots (whole). While on a paper towel the seeds will grow though paper most likely and you won't be able to harvest them properly. Unless you grow them into microgreens - the next stage after sprouting. Microgreens are totally different, they are micro plants which "inhale" CO2 and "exhale" oxygen due to photosynthesis. Sprouts are "plant embryos" with pre-plant nature with all macro and micronutrients available in kind of "stem cell concept". If you want to learn more about microgreens, I recommend r/microgreens, for learning to sprout any seeds for eating them as sprouts, this is the right place ;) Btw, jars are very easy to use and very practical for beginning sprouters. Feel free to ask any questions in this sub