Sprouting is one of the easiest ways to grow fresh vegetables for eatings both in and out of season. While mung bean sprouts have long been familiar in Chinese cooking, alfalfa and other sprouts have become equally well-known in recent years. More and more ingenious and health-conscious cooks are adding a variety of sprouts to salads, sandwiches, soups, and other dishes — for both the crunch and the nutrition. Sprouts are bursting with nutrients, and certain vitamins even increase when seeds are sprouted — up to 600 percent.
And sprouts are economical, too — from a single pound of seeds, you can produce from six to eight pounds of sprouts. All you have to do is add a little moisture and a little warmth to the seeds, set them in a dark place, then sit back and watch your garden grow in just a few day’s time.
It’s fun to have several jars of sprouts going at once, so you’ll always have variety as well as a good supply. For example, put a couple of tablespoons of alfalfa seeds in one jar, a cup of wheat or rye berries in another, and a half cup or so of lentils in a third jar. Alfalfa takes about five days to reach just the right stage for eating, but your wheat sprouts will be ready by the end of the second day. It’s a fast, easy, and very rewarding way to enjoy vegetables — both the ones you grow yourself and the ones you don’t.
