Did you know that even on these freezing cold, windy, wet days, you could be growing your own food?
That exciting feeling when all the seeds are germinating in Spring is what made me fall in love with gardening. Shoots popping up built my confidence and gave me something to look forward to every day, making the process addictive. In Winter though, with the cold, dark days, I think we can sometimes feel a mental dip, wishing Spring would come round again and we can get that boost only growing food gives us.
Well, thanks to sprouting seeds, you can have that feeling all year round.
If you sow some sprouting seeds today, you could be seeing them germinate and eating tasty, fresh shoots within a week or less, without having to even step foot outside. You grow sprouts at any time of the year on your windowsill and there is a variety of different sprouting seeds to choose from, including pea, radish, beetroot, kale and broccoli.
You will need:
- A germinator or a clean glass jar, a piece of muslin cloth and an elastic band – See photos below.
- Sprouting seeds – You can buy these online by most seed suppliers
- Water
Get started:
- Place 2 – 3 tablespoons of seeds in the germinator or glass jar.
- Pour water over the seeds until they are covered.
- If growing your sprouting seeds in a jar, place the muslin cloth over the top of the jar and use the elastic band to hold it in place.
- Now drain all the water out of the jar, leaving the moist seeds inside.
- Pop the jar in cool, light spot, perhaps on the windowsill or nearby.
- Every morning and evening, repeat the process of covering the seeds in water and draining them.
- Watch as your seeds start sprouting within days! As soon as they are an inch long, you can eat the tasty shoots and seeds. Eat them on their own, add them to a salad or pop them on top of a stir fry.
- If you would like to save some of your sprouts for another day, you can put them in a sealed bag, then in the fridge where they will last a few days.
If you give it a try, please do email me a photo or post one on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, tagging me, @LifeatNo27.
