growing your sprouts at home...

Running through the mall the other day i saw the insanely priced packets of sprouts and wondered just what the hell were these guys charging for...growing sprouts is probably the most easiest thing to do ,,,so iv decided to give you guys a step by step guide to grown your verry own organic sprouts without loosing a bead of sweat or loosing wt in your wallet.

Here is a 11 step guide how to be an expert sprout kitchen gardener:

1)Seed selection:its the first and most important step to having your own hassle free sprouts...sprouts generally are very easy to grow and dont need fancy pre treatments. Beginners should use freshly bought seed. Plant just a few things, but sow plenty of each so you have a cushion.
2)Choose containers:Anything shallow that holds soil will do - flats and six-packs saved from last year's annuals, plastic cups, yogurt containers, homemade newspaper pots, clamshell plastic containers from the salad bar. To save space, start seeds in egg cartons.after germination, you'll transplant the sprouts into something larger. You will need to place the containers on something that holds water Poke ample drainage holes in each pot's bottom .

3)soil: theres alot of fuss these days about sterile potting mixtures with woeful amounts of chemical fertilizers i some how detest the idea of using these...go in for a simple 30:30:30 coco piet ,manure ,red soil.it works out cheaper and results are stunning.
4) Read directions. The seed packet will tell you how deep to plant the seeds or whether to lay them on top of the soil, and how long the plants will take to germinate. It also will tell you when to sow.

5)Soiling the containers:moisten the soil and fill in the containers but make sure you dont pack the soil in to tight 3-4 light taps on the top after filling it in should be fine.Make sure the soil feels moist it helps the seeds to germinate easily.
6)Sowing:push the seed in the center of the container 3-4inches in the soil...make sure you dont sow it too deep.carefully cove the seed with the soil and let it rest.
7) Hold in moisture. Mist surface of the soil gently with water, making sure not to disturb the seed, and cover with a plastic bag or a dry cleaner bag to hold in moisture. Or simply close the lid of the clamshell or egg carton.

8)Keep seeds warm and moist until they germinate:Seeds sown on top of soil need light to germinate, but seeds planted deeper don't. In three to 10 days - check daily - most plants will put out cotyledons, little smooth things that look like leaves. Immediately remove the cover so air circulates.
9)Transplant. If you sowed in tiny containers, transplant the seedlings when they have their first set of true leaves.take them out of the containers gently and place in larger containers .point here to look out for is not over manuring the soil in the large containers as plants can get damaged by too much manure.
10)Air:circulation is probably the most important in sprouting seeds....make sure you have ample of light and air flow to avoid any fungal infections in your plants.especially in coastal cities like Mumbai making sure you have ample light is very important.
11)just breathe:wait for brethe and give the sprouts about 15 days to come into their own ...once the plants have hardened(matured) keep them out in the open .in roughly 30days uv got yourself a pot full of organic home grown healthy sprouts.