Sprouts anyone?

[Secondof9]

I did sprouts last winter just to give them fresh things after my garden is done for the season. They loved them! So I plan to start up again this fall. I use a quart size canning jar with a plastic lid that has holes in it like the jar in the picture in RebelChief's post. It works well.

 

[RebelChief]

I tried sprouts but my chickens wouldn't eat them. Probably because they have a lot of great available

Mine have no grass and I can't let them free range with all the predators here. Friday there were two huskies that got loose from somewhere and killed three of my neighbors chickens. Not worth the risk.

I do my best to make sure they have a variety of things to eat. I picked up some logs from a neighbors tree they cut and put them in their play yard...every week I roll them over so they get the bugs underneath. I keep the yard full of leaves and hay to dig in and for bugs to hide in and then I grow fodder and sprouts to make sure they get greens daily.

 

[RebelChief]

I did sprouts last winter just to give them fresh things after my garden is done for the season. They loved them! So I plan to start up again this fall. I use a quart size canning jar with a plastic lid that has holes in it like the jar in the picture in RebelChief's post. It works well.

I have both regular and large mouth jars...I highly recommend the large mouth. Much easier to get the sprouts out.

 

[Secondof9]

I have both regular and large mouth jars...I highly recommend the large mouth. Much easier to get the sprouts out.

Yes! Large mouth jar for sure.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

TY for the links. My wife has some broccoli seeds for sprouts she got off of Amazon, and they are quite "persnickety". We've successfully sprouted 1 jar of 4, and maybe 3 or 4 sprouts of more than 200 in two patches of (different) soil outside, looking for what might be best.

 

[RebelChief]

TY for the links. My wife has some broccoli seeds for sprouts she got off of Amazon, and they are quite "persnickety". We've successfully sprouted 1 jar of 4, and maybe 3 or 4 sprouts of more than 200 in two patches of (different) soil outside, looking for what might be best.

Good morning,

I haven't had any failures in my jars. I put in about 2T in the jar and cover it. I rinse them and add enough water to cover them. I usually let them soak for a couple hours. After they soak I drain them and put them in a dark place with the open side down so any remaining water drains out. I rinse them first thing in the AM and then again in the evening. They start sprouting within a day or so. I leave them in the dark until the jar is full of sprouts. Then I move them into a sunny location to green them up. After that I pull them out and rinse them one last time and put them in a bowl on a paper towel in a bowl in the fridge.

You might have gotten a bad batch of seeds maybe? These are the ones I ordered:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000ANQQQO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[RebelChief]

I’m not but I want to do sprouts in the winter! Can you tell me your process? And where you get your sprouting grains? I checked a Rural King near me and they tried to sell me deer patch seed. It was a small bag for an awful lot of money so I declined.

I posted links to what I got from Amazon. The 1lb bag was about 11.00 but a pound goes a long way. You only need to use a couple table spoons per jar to get sprouts. With the wheat berries and lentils I use about 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup because they all sprout and the root mat is insane. The last ones I did I used a cup and the root mats are thick.

 

[City Farmer Jim]

I know that some of us grow fodder but does anyone do sprouts? I have been growing fodder but it takes a lot of space so I added sprouts. I can grow a jar of sprouts in three days and they take up lots less space. Right now I'm growing flaxseed, clover and broccoli mix and alfalfa sprouts. I'm also growing wheat berry and lentle fodder. They get a little something different every day. I'll have to add some photos

Anyone else doing sprouts?

What is involved in growing fodder...I'm from the corpus area so our growing conditions will be similar. We want to get to the almost self-sufficient point with our girls and occasionally go to the feed store...we tried sprouts a couple of times but 10 girls eat up in 3 minutes what takes 3 days to grow.

 

[RebelChief]

 

[RebelChief]

What is involved in growing fodder...I'm from the corpus area so our growing conditions will be similar. We want to get to the almost self-sufficient point with our girls and occasionally go to the feed store...we tried sprouts a couple of times but 10 girls eat up in 3 minutes what takes 3 days to grow.

I posted a photo above. I use two bins for each batch. The inner bin has holes punched in one end to drain the water out. The outer bin just keeps the water from getting on the counter. I put a heaping half cup in that bin (you will have to play with it depending on size of the bins. Mine are dish pans from the Dollar Tree. I rinse whatever I am growing with a dash of bleach (helps keep the mold down). Rinse a couple times. Then I add more water to cover the seeds, cover the pan with a towel and let it sit in a dark place. I rinse morning and evening. They usually sprout in a day or two. I keep doing this until they are well sprouted and have a good root mat. After that I move them to an area that gets nice diffused sunlight until I am ready to feed it.

I only have 12 chickens and I grow enough to make sure they have a little bit each day. I don't know that the fodder would be enough to give them the nutrients they need so I can't speak to that. I use it to supplement their regular feed.