For years I have been wanting to grow sprouts at home, but didn’t because I couldn’t figure out where to put the jars that would:
- have enough light
- be near a water source
- be in a place where it’s OK to drip
- not get in the way of other things I’m doing
- be in a place where I would see them on a regular basis so I would remember to water them and could monitor their progress
Finally, yesterday I came across sprouting yet again and wanted to do it. But again ran into the question “where do I put the jars?”
You know that old saying. “Where there’s a will there’s a way.”
Well I decided I was going to figure out where to put the jars so I could sprout.
And then last night I went to Target to buy another half-gallon glass refrigerator pitcher and then decided to just walk around the store and see if I could find something that would hold the sprouting jars.
And I did! I found these metal baskets that I could hang in my kitchen window right over the sink and they are perfect in every way! They are designed to hang on a cabinet door to hold cleaning supplies, but I just used it for a different purpose. I would give you the link but this item doesn’t seem to be on the Target website. It might be in your local store.
Anyway, if this type of basket would be useful for you in some way, search for “cabinet basket” and you’ll find similar products.
I am so glad I came across this site, thank you! I’ve just recently started sprouting broccoli and I’ve had to throw out 2 of 4 batches because the smell became so intensely bad! I’ve just caught on to the draining, up until now, I’ve had them on the counter on their sides. I’m going to turn them upside-down on a rack, eureka! Thank you 🙂
Hi Debra,
After reading your March 20th post on the sprouting rack, andI want to applaud you on your creative solution!
Last year I got back into sprouting, and I found that the technology had hardly changed since the 70’s. Plastic sprouting lids were still widely used, with the potential for endocrine disruption that they entail. And no one had really solved the problem of what to do with the jar after you have rinsed the sprouts. If you set the jar on its side or at too shallow an angle, the sprouts end up sitting in water, which causes spoilage. If you set it on its end, aeration can be compromised either by the lid sitting on a flat surface or by the sprouts themselves blocking the opening.
I make these systems myself in Portland, Oregon and sell them on Amazon. You can see themand read the reviews at http://www.amzn.to/2nCTcfj. They are currently the top-rated products in their category.
I think your readers would be very interested in finding out about this system.
My website is http://www.lotusandsky.com. Since I primarily sell on Amazon, my website is rather simple, but it does describe how I came to design this sprouting system.
Regarding plastic lids, the thing is that no one knows what the exact plastic is in any particular sprouting lid at any particular time. I know of at least four different brands of plastic sprouting lids, and there may be more. Some of them now say they are BPA free, but are they BPS free? Are they phthalate free? What about the many chemicals in plastics that may have a biological effect that hasn’t yet been identified. The thing is, and I know this from talking to people, many people will simply pull out a sprouting lid that has been sitting in the back of a drawer for 20 years, long before BPA was removed from many consumer goods. So while there may be a plastic lid that is relatively safe, the potential for endocrine disruption exists.
There are a couple of other problems with plastic lids as well, less dire but still annoying. One of the widely sold lids has holes so small that it doesn’t let water pass freely. You have to take off the lid each time you hold the jar under the faucet for rinsing. That gets to be old very quickly. And with all the plastic lids I’ve used in the past, within a few months the threads get worn, and it becomes a challenge to screw the lid onto the jar. Finally you have to throw it out and get a new one. And if you want to sterilize it in boiling water, will the plastic hold up?
Regarding stainless steel, most stainless steel sprouting screens are 304 stainless. I have upgraded mine to 316 marine grade stainless, the kind of stainless used to resist corrosion in caustic saltwater environments. It is also used for surgical instruments. I have mine ultrasonically cleaned so they are in pristine condition and XRF certified for purity.
As to the rings that hold the screens onto the jars, many people think that the rings that come with home canning jars are stainless steel, but they are not. Canning jar rings will quickly rust when used for sprouting. Visually, both ordinary canning jar lids and and stainless steel lids are silver, and they look very similar. That’s why I include a small magnet in my kits so you can tell them apart. I have not had any trouble at all with my stainless steel rings rusting during sprouting.
There’s one other thing about my sprouting screens, and I’m only mentioning it to show you the kinds of considerations that have gone into my product. The edges of sprouting screens can be sharp, though it’s not generally a problem if you hold them gently. Some manufacturers have dealt with this by putting a band around the edge. I don’t do that, because sooner or later little bits of debris, broken off sprout roots, etc., can collect inside the band where it’s impossible to clean. With my screens, just give them a few flicks of a dishwashing brush and they’re ready to pop in the dishwasher. I don’t know of any other manufacturer that provides 316 stainless steel screens with stainless steel rings.
The trays are melamine for durability. They catch the drips and make the system compact and attractive on the counter top. It really gives a small footprint — on Amazon there’s a picture of one of my sprouting systems in a tiny house. The melamine doesn’t touch the sprouts themselves. I like to keep my sprouts right next to my fridge, where I see them when I’m fixing meals and I don’t forget to rinse them and eat them!
I haven’t talked much about the stands, but they really are the key to good sprouting, no matter what kind of lid you use. They are unique. I designed them myself, through many prototypes and incremental improvements. They are what make it possible to consistently grow sprouts in only a few seconds of effort a day.
I really do admire the creativity of your solution, and I’m happy to see it working for you in your kitchen. It reminds me of how I got started with my sprouting stands. It does require a certain kitchen setup, which not everyone has. There are a couple of things I would wonder about if I were going to use it. Does it keep the sprouts out of direct sunlight? While they need light, they can easily get overheated in the jars if the sun shines on them directly. What is the shelf made of, and how easy is it to wash? Is it rustproof or painted with nontoxic paint? Can it be washed in the dishwasher for sterilizing? Before I designed my stands, I started out using stands designed to hold plates — even gave some to my son as a gift — then I found out that not only were they not washable due to a paper washer at the hinge, they were coated with a plastic that very likely contained phthalates!
I’ve found that when I rinse sprouts, the jar drains much faster when you hold it at an angle than when it is held vertically, probably due to the surface tension of the water. How well do the sprouts drain in the vertical position? Does having the seeds or sprouts lying on the screen block the air flow to a degree that causes problems? When the jar is held at an angle, the sprouts can be positioned along the side of the jar so that air gets in, at least until the sprouts fill the jar.
You can get several kinds of stands made of wood that hold the jars at an angle, but if you look closely, the angle is too shallow. There is still a small pocket of water at the shoulder of the jar. If the sprouts in that spot spoil, it can spread to the rest of the sprouts in the jar. Needless to say, wood can’t be sanitized in the dishwasher. And you still need some other tray to keep water from dripping on the counter.
Unlike you and me, many people don’t have the time or inclination to keep working on a problem, layer after layer, spending their time, energy and money trying out different solutions until they come up with the best one. And why should they have to? There should be a simple solution that works for almost everyone. That is what I have tried to create with the Pure Convenience system.
I make it really easy for people to get started sprouting and keep sprouting. There are starter bags of organic broccoli and organic lentil seeds in the kit so people can get going immediately. There is a one-page quick start guide and a 24 page manual for people who want to explore sprouting more deeply. Once people have gotten over the mental hurdle and actually started sprouting, it is so simple that it is easy to keep going. At least that’s the feedback I’m getting on Amazon!
Best regards,
Pam Holt
http://www.lotusandsky.com
Caution: If the jars are in direct sunlight the sprouts may be cooked by the heat trapped in the jar.
Yes, that makes sense, but the only direct sunlight is for a few minutes in the morning. There are lots of trees outside the window. I think I picked the perfect spot becuase these sprouts are growing faster than any I’ve ever seen! The jar is 3/4 full in only three days!