Long Life Sprout Mix

Broccoli, Red & Green Cabbage, Purple Kohlrabi, Collard Greens, Green Kale, Red Russian Kale, 4 varieties of Radish, Turnip, Oriental Mustard, Arugula, Curly Cress, Mizuna & Tatsoi.

17 Brassicas come together beautifully in a symbiotic blend of delicious nutrition! Research has shown that antioxidant content can increase when certain sprouts grow together. We base our mixes on taste, texture and growth rate for the most part, but we considered "science" too, when we made this mix up.

All of the seeds in Long Life Mix come from sources which are certified organic.

Note: We sell Long Life Mix by the 1/2 pound, and it can also be used to grow Long Life Micro-Greens.

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98%

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$28.28 / 1/2 lb.

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Growing Basics

Soak

6 - 12 hours

The amount of time your seeds should soak in cool water. Soaking is how we begin the sprouting process in most cases.
Rinse / Drain

2 - 3 times per day

How often your seeds should be watered. Rinsing thoroughly and then draining as much water as possible are key components to growing great sprouts.
Harvest

3 - 6 days

The time it takes to grow a finished Sprout, or other crop (Micro-Greens, Grass, Greens) from a dry Seed. Note: This "finished" Sprout is our preference. you may grow them for as long as you want! In fact, we suggest that you taste them at every rinse to discover when you like them best.
Yield

5 to 1

The amount of Sprouts, Grass, Greens or Micro-Greens produced by 1 unit of Seed. For Example 2:1 means that 1 pound of Seed will produce 2 pounds of Sprouts or whatever crop you are growing. You do not have to grow them all at once of course, unless you wish to =:-D

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Growing Instructions
Detailed Instructions
Growing Photos
About
Notes

Print Instructions

Soak 3 Tbs. of seed in cool water for 4-12 hours.

Drain off soak water. Do not ever soak again.

Rinse thoroughly.

Drain Thoroughly.

Rinse and Drain with cool water every 8-12 hours.

On day 3, move your Sprouter to indirect sunlight.

Continue to Rinse and Drain every 8-12 hours.

Harvest on day 5 or 6, when the leaves are open and most of them are green.

De-Hull your crop if you like, before Refrigerating.

Print Instructions

Yields approximately 3 Cups (1/2 lb.) of Sprouts

Prep 3 Tablespoons of seed* then transfer (if necessary) into a bowl or into your Sprouter. Add 2-3 times as much cool (60°-70°) water. Mix seeds up to assure even water contact for all. Note: Brassicas tend to float. Try to sink those that do by knocking them down with your fingers. It isn't a big deal but it is a good habit.

Allow seeds to Soak for 6-12 hours. Empty the seeds into your Sprouter (if necessary). Drain off the soak water. You may water plants or use it in stock if you like - it has nutrients in it. Rinse thoroughly with cool (60°-70°) water. Drain thoroughly!

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. Until a plant has leaves, light has little if any effect. Sprouts also happen to like air-circulation, so don't hide your sprouts. This will be plenty of light when the sprouts are ready for it.

Rinse and Drain again every 8-12 hours for 3 days. As long as you grow you have to keep the sprouts happy!

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.

Note: These wonderful little Brassica plants have a unique root structure. Brassicas will show microscopic roots starting around day 3. They are called root hairs and are most visible just before Rinsing when the sprouts are at their driest. When you Rinse, the root hairs will collapse back against the main root - becoming invisible to you. These root hairs impress many people as mold - but they are not. Now you know. Isn't learning fun?!

Greening On the 4th day relocate your sprouts if necessary. If you've been keeping them away from light, move them. Avoid direct sun - it can cook your sprouts. Indirect sunlight is best but virtually any light will do. Experiment - you will be amazed at how little light sprouts require to green up. Photosynthesis is a marvel!

Continue to Rinse and Drain every 8-12 hours. As long as you grow, keep keeping your sprouts happy. Always Drain Thoroughly!

Finishing Your sprouts will be done during day 5 or 6. The majority of sprouts will have open leaves which will be green if you exposed them to light.

De-Hull Before your final Rinse; remove the seed hulls. Brassica sprout hulls are quite large (relative to the seed and sprout) and they hold a lot of water - which can dramatically lessen the shelf life of your sprouts - so we remove them thusly:

Transfer the sprouts to a big (at least 2 times the volume of your Sprouter) pot or bowl. Fill with cool water. Loosen the sprout mass by pulling it apart with your fingers or a fork. Hulls will rise to the surface. Keep pulling your sprout mass apart and move them around slowly, pulling them down - under the water - to make room for the hulls to rise. Skim the hulls off the surface of the water and compost them. Return the sprouts to your Sprouter for their final Rinse and Drain. You can also use our Dehuller (a small salad spinner with an excellent design that minimizes the sprouts that escape in the dehulling process). That's the short course - here is the full lesson. Better yet, here is our video on de-hulling.

Harvest If you Dehulled with our Dehuller, or used a salad spinner after dehulling in a bowl, you can go right to refrigeration. If not... Your sprouts are done 8-12 hours after your final Rinse. After the De-Hulling and the final Rinse we need to Drain very thoroughly and let our sprouts dry a bit. If we minimize the surface moisture of our sprouts they store much better in refrigeration, so we let them sit for 8-12 hours....

Refrigerate Transfer the sprout crop to a plastic bag or the sealed container of your choice. We have Produce Storage Bags that will extend shelf life substantially.

* If using Sproutpeople's Single Harvest Pack - use the whole bag (for a one-quart Sprouter). It will produce a crop of approximately 8 ounces.

These seeds yield approximately 5:1 - which means the sprouts will weigh 5 times as much as the seed you start with, but, they will increase even more in volume - so don't start with more than 3.5 Tablespoons per quart/litre of sprouter capacity.

Micro-Greens Note:

You can also grow Broccoli GreensLong Life as a Micro-Green.

Dry Brassicas await their Soak.

12 hours later... Soaked, Rinsed and thoroughly Drained.

12 hours later... another Rinse and Drain.

12 hours later... another Rinse and Drain.You should be seeing Root Hairs, now or soon. Follow that link to learn. You'll see them for a day or 2 - when you come back to your sprouts after their 12 hours alone.

12 hours later... another Rinse and Drain.

12 hours later... another Rinse and Drain. Look at all those amazing Root Hairs!

12 hours later... another Rinse and Drain.

Harvest Time! This is either 12 hours after your previous Rinse and Drain, or you have De-Huller, and so don't need to keep your sprouts waiting =;-)

17 Brassicas combine to make another lovely, delicious and of course nutritious sprout mix. In this case you get high levels of antioxidants (We aren't claiming that mind you, but the statement is based on published research) as well as the usual wealth of vitamins, minerals and amino acids found in sprouts.

Note: Canadian and US researchers have found that Brassicas contain antioxidants such as sulfurophane. And that a symbiotic relationship exists where combining brassicas increases their total soluble antioxidants. It's a family thing =:-D All of the seeds in Long Life Mix are Brassicas.

Long Life is one of our more difficult to grow mixes. Brassicas are all a bit challenging due to their relatively thick hulls, but the addition of mucilaginous seeds adds a level of difficulty to sprouting this mix. We grow this mix at home - in an Easy Sprout Sprouter - so I know it grows well, but I also know how demanding it can be. You must concentrate on Draining very Thoroughly after every Rinse. Rinse in the coldest water your tap offers and if it's hot and humid you might add a 3rd Rinse/Drain every day. Due to the hulls of these seeds you will always find a bunch of them on the bottom of your sprouter. Some will float to the top but many will sink. This gives the appearance of un-sprouted seeds. To be sure there are always some of those, but most are just hulls. The final weight of your crop will be what it should be if you follow our instructions, so don't waste time wondering about the hulls and seeds at the bottom of your sprouter. Do be sure to watch our video of growing Broccoli Sprouts as the procedure is identical. You'll find that video by clicking the aqua blue rectangle to the right - and then clicking the Video Tab on that new page. Don't let me scare you away. Though you have to focus a bit more on Long Life it's totally worth the effort.

Seed Shelf Life: 5 years.
Store in cool, dark, dry spot. Store in freezer to extend shelf life.

Sprouting

When conditions are warm your sprouts will likely grow faster. If their leaves open sooner you should green and de-hull and harvest sooner. Likewise they may grow slower if conditions are very cool. These are just tiny plants - they are not difficult to understand. The more you sprout the better you'll know them and be able to adjust to their needs. As always 70° is optimal and 70° is what our instructions are written for.

All sprouts generate heat while growing, which is a good thing, but it can get out of hand on occasion. When the weather is especially hot and humid you will do well to Rinse more frequently (every 8 hours if possible) using colder water than usual (the coldest your tap can offer is fine), to compensate.

Depending on your sprouting device, not all of your sprouts will have access to light and so some will not green. This is not only OK - it is good. The yellow sprouts will be equally nutritious (they have everything but chlorophyll) and many think them more delicious (in Europe vegetables are often grown "blanched" by avoiding light). We think they are prettier when there is a mix of green and yellow to go with the white roots. So don't sweat it - just eat more sprouts!

It is ESSENTIAL that you keep Brassica sprouts from clumping together and you CAN NOT grow them vertically using a tray sprouter. Brassica sprouts will mat together forming a dense bluish root mass which not only is unattractive but shortens the shelf life of the finished sprouts. So mix ‘em up! We use high water pressure when Rinsing to keep our brassica sprouts loose, but this only works for so long - so - when water isn't enough, break the clump of sprouts up using a fork or your fingers (wash your hands first please, if they need it). If you are using a sprouter that can hold water, fill it mostly full then use a fork to loosen. You can also dump your sprouts onto or into something and just shake them apart. You should never be afraid** of touching your sprouts. They are much stronger then they appear - just be reasonably gentle.

** The only thing to fear is fear itself.

Ingredient Note

When mixed in proper proportions with non-mucilaginous seeds, mucilaginous seeds will sprout! The proportion is our secret - it took us many failures before we figured it out - and it was well worth it! So go ahead and sprout for a Long Life!