These are hulled Buckwheat. The word Groat literally means "a hulled seed". They are one of the quickest sprouts around - soak 'em for 20-30 minutes, rinse a few times and you have sprouts in about 36-48 hours, or just Soak 'em and eat 'em.
Buckwheat Groats are nutty, plump and extremely tender. They make a great snack, and a phenomenal, live Breakfast Cereal!
If you like the idea of Sprout Cereal, be sure to check out our Oats + Groats Mix.
Yields approximately 1 Cup (1/2 lb.) of Sprouts.
Seed Prep
Measure out 2/3 Cup of seed* into a strainer, sieve or your Sprouter.
Pick out anything you don't think should be there (shell or plant pieces, imperfect seeds if you wish (we don't), etc.).
Buckwheat Groats create amazingly starchy water, so it can help to run some water through them before Soaking. Do it for about a minute. This won't remove
all the starch, but any less is good - as you'll see shortly.
Soak
Transfer your seeds into your Sprouter, or a bowl.
Add 2-3 times as much cool (60-70 degree) water.
Mix seeds up to assure even water contact for all.
Allow seeds to Soak for 30 minutes.
Buckwheat Groats take up all the water they need quickly, that is why their Soak time is so short.
They may get waterlogged if soaked too long, and may never sprout - so - Don't over-soak them!
Sprouting
Empty the seeds into your Sprouter (if necessary).
Drain off the soak water.
You can use it - it has nutrients in it.
Rinse thoroughly with cool (60-70°) water.
Drain thoroughly.
Note: Buckwheat Groat's starchy water on is amazingly thick! They won't sprout too well unless you get rid of it - so Rinse and Rinse
and Rinse until the water runs clear and is less viscous then at first. It can take a little while - but don't skimp. 4 or 5 is generally our number of cycles.
Every Rinse is the same when dealing with Buckwheat Groats: Rinse and Rinse and Rinse until the water runs clear.
Always be sure to Drain very thoroughly. The most common cause of inferior sprouts is inadequate drainage.
Even the best designed Sprouting Device holds water, so pay special attention to this step.
Set your Sprouter anywhere out of direct sunlight and at room temperature (70° is optimal) between Rinses.
This is where your sprouts do their growing. We use a counter top - in the corner of our kitchen, but where the sprouter won't get knocked over by cats, dogs, kids or us.
We don't mind the indirect sunlight or the 150 watts of incandescent light, because light just does not matter much.
A plant can only perform photosynthesis when it has leaves, and these sprouts are definitely not going to have leaves. Until a plant has leaves, light has little if any effect.
Sprouts also happen to like air-circulation, so don't hide your sprouts.
Rinse and Drain again in 8-12 hours.
And, perhaps one more...
Rinse and Drain in 8-12 hours.
And, possibly once more...
Rinse and Drain in 8-12 hours.
We usually stop here (or sooner if we have any root at all). We like our Buckwheat Groat Sprouts very small.
As always, we suggest that you taste your crop at Every Rinse - including the very first - just after the Soak period. The soaked seeds are already alive and are now super-nutritious - and - they now have no enzyme inhibitors (a very good thing indeed) so they'll digest themselves and nourish you.
Harvest
Your sprouts are done 8-12 hours after your final Rinse.
Be sure - if you plan on storing your crop - to Drain them as thoroughly as possible after that final Rinse.
The goal during the final 8-12 hours is to minimize the surface moisture of your sprouts - they will store best in your refrigerator if they are dry to the touch.
Refrigerate
Transfer your sprout crop to a plastic bag, our shelf life extending Produce Storage Bags, or the sealed container of your choice (glass is good too).
Whatever you choose - put them in your refrigerator - if you can keep from eating them all first.
*Seed to Use
If using Sproutpeople's Single Harvest Pack - use the whole bag.
These seeds will yield approximately 1.5:1 (you get 1.5 pounds for every pound of dry seed), so in theory you can start with up to as 2/3 as much dry seed as your Sprouter has capacity.
We generally advise maxing out at 1/2 capacity, until you get used to growing a particular crop.
Crop Notes
If there is anything unique about our current crop, we will tell you about it here.
Follow links for detailed information about - and a purchase point for - each Sprouter....
Overwhelmingly our most popular sprouter, Easy Sprout is also our
personal favorite.
We have well over a dozen in our house. It offers great drainage and the best
air-circulation of any sprouter.
Easy Sprout is made up of a 1 Quart (litre) Growing Vessel, a Solid container/Base that catches excess Rinse water, a Small Seed Insert that snaps in when sprouting small seeds, two Growing Lids (1 for home (Domed) and 1 for the road (Flat)), and a Solid Lid for refrigerator storage of your sprout crop.
Easy Sprout is the best all-around sprouter. Period. It is the mandatory choice for high humidity sproutpeople everywhere and great for travel sprouting! Very versatile - Easy Sprout can sprout virtually any seed, anywhere!
Easy Sprout is part of many of our Kits.
SproutMaster is the greatest tray sprouter ever!
It offers excellent drainage, and is the best sprouter on this globe, for growing vertical Leafy Sprouts.
The SproutMaster is very versatile - it can sprout virtually
any seed. It is even able to grow Grass, Greens and Micro-Greens - with proper care,
and perhaps a growing medium.
We sell two configurations
1) Three trays that measure 5x6 inches each.
2) A Single tray that measures 8x10 inches.
SproutMaster trays (of the same dimension) are stackable - add trays to build your own sprout skyscraper.
SproutMasters are comprised of Growing Trays, each with a removable Divider - which allows you to grow 2 crops in one
Tray, and interchangeable Lids and Bases.
This SproutMaster is the 3 Tray, 5x6 Stack. It comes with 3 Trays, 3 Dividers, and 4 Lids/Bases.
That is enough Lids/Bases for almost anything you want to grow.
SproutMaster is the greatest tray sprouter ever!
It offers excellent drainage, and is the best sprouter on this globe, for growing vertical Leafy Sprouts.
The SproutMaster is very versatile - it can sprout virtually
any seed. It is even able to grow Grass, Greens and Micro-Greens - with proper care,
and perhaps a growing medium.
We sell two configurations
1) Three trays that measure 5x6 inches each.
2) A Single tray that measures 8x10 inches.
SproutMaster trays (of the same dimension) are stackable - add trays to build your own sprout skyscraper.
SproutMasters are comprised of Growing Trays, each with a removable Divider - which allows you to grow 2 crops in one
Tray, and interchangeable Lids and Bases.
This SproutMaster is the single 8x10 inch Tray. It comes with 1 Tray, 1 Divider, and 2 Lids/Bases.
If you purchase multiple 8x10 trays, you'll end up with more of the Lids/Bases then you'll use regularly, but extras can be a good thing....
Made by Sproutpeople!
The perfect Bean and Grain sprouter. The Hemp Bag is even capable of growing Leafy and Brassica sprouts - though it takes extra care to do those well. It's also excellent for Micro-Greens - it acts as a planting medium.
The Hemp Bag is the most convenient travel sprouter ever. It folds up flat and does a great job hanging on a backpack, on a boat or over a hotel sink!
The Hemp Bag offers superior drainage and exceptional air-circulation.
Our Hemp Bags are made for us, locally.
They measure Approximately 6 1/2 inches wide x 9 1/2 inches tall.
This is a One-Quart, Wide-Mouth Mason Jar.
It isn't accompanied by a lid. Those are purchased separately. Keep on scrolling....
The least expensive, most basic sprouter, Jars - when topped by Screen Lids, are a fine choice for any skilled sprouter or for those willing to work a bit more diligently at rinsing and draining, or as an additional Sprouter, for easy sprouts, like Beans and Grains. A great choice for Pre-Sprouting Grass and Greens too!
This is a Two-Quart (1/2 Gallon), Wide-Mouth Mason Jar.
It isn't accompanied by a lid. Those are purchased separately. Keep on scrolling....
The least expensive, most basic sprouter, Jars - when topped by Screen Lids, are a fine choice for any skilled sprouter or for those willing to work a bit more diligently at rinsing and draining, or as an additional Sprouter, for easy sprouts, like Beans and Grains. A great choice for Pre-Sprouting Grass and Greens too!
Made by Sproutpeople!
Fine mesh, Medium mesh and Coarse mesh.
Our 3-Screen Lid Set is made up of Stainless Steel Mesh - in 3 different mesh sizes (fine, medium and course) - each nestled in a heavy-duty
Plastic Ring. Our Screen Lids fit Wide-Mouth Jar Mason Jars, like those we sell.
The wider the mesh - the more readily water and air pass through the screen. Use the fine mesh (the finest mesh size ever!) for small seeds
(Leafy and Brassica sprouts), the medium mesh for Grains and
small Beans and the coarse mesh for large Beans.
As your sprouts grow bigger, you can move to a bigger mesh size to improve air-circulation and facilitate the escape of
hulls, thus making de-hulling easier.
Bio-Set is a low-rinse, round, European sprouter with 3 growing trays, a drip tray at its base and a reservoir tray on top.
Though we dislike Bio-Set as a Sprouter - due to its poor drainage and air-circulation - it remains quite popular.
Fine for big seeds like Beans and Grains, Bio-Set
is among the most attractive Sprouters.
We continue to offer it due to our customer's demands. Please Don't buy this before thoroughly reading our detailed Bio-Set
page.
Breakfast Sprouts?! It's about time!!!
Top these sprouts with milk (cow, soy, rice, goat...) and a little maple syrup (our favorite) and you have the perfect breakfast. It has been a very long time since we ate breakfast with any regularity, but this has changed our lives. Oats + Groats is delicious (the maple syrup doesn't hurt either =;-)
and has a great soft crunchy texture. One-half cup of this "cereal" provides a great nutritious, and delicious start to your day - it is a "no brainer", try it and see.
Oats + Groats is a Very Quick sprout. You can Soak it for 1/2 an hour, Rinse it, Drain it, and eat it up (once soaked a seed is alive), or you can sprout it longer - whatever you like.
Though a very simple mix, we consider it one our best. Try some Sprouts for Breakfast!
Get to know Grains and Pseudograins Sprouts!
An awesome combination of Grains makes this mix a nutritional extravaganza and a sweet taste treat. Very easy and quick to grow. A great breakfast cereal - add some fruit and milk and dig in!
