Sprout FAQs

We mix our seeds by hand, so the mixes will not always look like the pictures (some people actually complain about that), nor will any 2 bags of seed be identical in their make-up. This is true of all of our mixes. Just like a cook, my mood may, to some degree, alter a mix - somedays I'm just spicier than others (as an example), so I may throw in a few more radish seeds than usual.

Also - we can not do custom mixing. some of our customers ask us to leave out this or that seed and add more of something else. We just can not make the time for that sort of thing - sorry. You can always order pounds of individual seeds and make up your own mixes. It's fun!

I do not wish to complain, but I have to tell you (again (I know you are sick of hearing it)) that we are just a tiny family business. We work more hours than the average workers and we just can't work more or we'll never see our kids. So remember - when you ask us for special treatment (we like to think we treat everyone special to begin with) you are asking us to spend less time with our kids. How's that for a guilt trip =;-D

We have long considered fruit flies harmless and unavoidable at certain times of year, so we have never concerned ourselves with them. We do have a customer in England who shared a solution with us though, so we are sharing it with you:
An old gardener I met in my local pub here in the UK (Lewisham, London) gave this advice, which I reproduce verbatim:

'Get yerself a jar and pour an inch of vinegar in. Them bloody fruit flies can't resist it, boy. Then make a funnel out of a bit o' paper and stick it in the top of yer jar... they can get in all right, but the little buggers can't get out. Heh, heh, heh.'

We have found this to work quite well. We have also used wine and kombucha as well - and both work at least as well as vinegar. We make kombucha - so that's been our liquid of choice since about 2015.

This is not quite right, no. Brassicas do smell more than most sprouts - it is a sulfur smell which you might notice sounds similar to sulfurophane, the anti-oxidant in Broccoli and other Brassicas, so a little smell is a good thing. Brassicas like other small seeds are more vulnerable to drowning if not well drained and that is all that we need to deal with here.

The answer is this: You need to spend more time DRAINING after you Rinse your sprouts. Read this page to learn about Draining and you'll be growing great crops in no time. You may not be able to solve the problem that easily if you're using certain Sprouters - siphoning tray Sprouters, so consider a new Sprouter if you want Broccoli sprouts. Here is the best Sprouter for Broccoli.

There are two issues when it comes to Grass and Greens: Mold and fungus. Mold can grow on seeds even in the first few days after planting. It is usually a result of bad seed, bad soil, a dirty growing container, or improper growing methods. We hate to tell folks the ONE way to sprout or grow, but we have heard some methods from some of our customers which drive us nervous. We will say that if you buy our seeds and follow our directions, you will get good results. So, if you are having mold problems, follow OUR instructions on our web site. Do clean your growing containers and Use Only sterile soil (any bagged soil) or a soilless medium. If you aren't using our seeds, consider buying some - if you can't solve the problem with our advise.

Fungus is a hairy growth that is not uncommon in Grass and is sometimes seen on Greens. It is commonly called FUZZIES by those of us in the growing business. It is NOT harmful, but it is gross. The answer is to increase air-circulation. This can be done by growing in a different location - outside is best and solves the problem 95% of the time. The other solution is to plant less densely. Fungus is only a problem in hot/humid conditions. We plant as much as 50% less seed per tray in the height of summer - that AND growing outside ALWAYS solves the problem.

Sometimes Plastic lids don't fit well onto a jar. It may have to do with age or a fluke in production. These lids are made for standard wide-mouth canning jars. If they don't fit........

Here is a fix: Soak the lid(s) in hot water for a few minutes (the hotter the water the shorter the soak time). We find that solves the problem completely. If you still have trouble - this is good advise for anything that screws on to anything - turn the lid counter-clockwise until the threads engage and then turn it clockwise.

99.9% of you aren't seeing mold (if you're using our seeds), you are seeing Root Hairs. If you are growing Broccoli, Radish or another Brassica, or a Grain, and you see this "fuzz" just before you Rinse - that is Root Hairs. Just Rinse and they fall back against the main root. You won't see them again until your next Rinse. Don't feel bad - you are the 2, 247th person to make that mistake this year =;-D

That said.....
It is possible to grow mold or fungus on your sprouts, but if you are using good seed and have a sterile Sprouter, it is easily correctable. If your seed is old, buy fresh (read about Seed Storage) and store it well. You should sterilize your Sprouter every few crops (at least) - if you haven't done that, do it - it makes a HUGE difference to have a clean Sprouter. Mold is usually associated with high humidity or lack of air-circulation. The most common causes of are:

1. A Sprouter with poor air-circulation.
2. Insufficient Draining after Rinses
3. High humidity in your home.
4. A not clean enough Sprouter.
5. Growing your Sprouts in a cabinet.
6. Rinsing with warm or hot water.

The first thing to do is Sterilize your Sprouter. Next try moving your Sprouter to a spot with better air-circulation and Draining more after every Rinse. If Heat and Humidity are high, and moving the Sprouter won't do it, turn a fan on (not blowing right at the sprouts) to move the air, add an extra Rinse to your daily routine, or at the very least, use cold water instead of cool when you Rinse. Never use anything warmer than cool (60-70°) water unless your SEED SUPPLIER has told you it is necessary for a particular seed! Changing your Sprouter may remedy the problem completely, but that is a last resort. But, if you are using a stacking tray Sprouter with siphons (Bio-Set, Biosta, NK Kitchen) you really should consider replacing it - the whole idea behind those is to maintain high humidity and prevent air-circulation. That just doesn't work for a broad range of sprouts. Go to our Sprouter page and click on each of the Sprouters we offer to see what will work best for you, or view our suggestions on every Seed Detail (i.e. here is the DETAIL page for Broccoli) page, to see what we think works best for each seed. If NONE of these things solve your problem, you should buy fresh seeds.

A seed that refuses to soak up water is called a Hard Seed and though these can be present in any type of seed, they are most common in Adzuki Beans. If you find that some of your seeds are as hard after 8-12 hours of soaking as they were before you should try soaking them in warm/hot water. (See Hot Soak, directly below)

In nature when a plant matures to the point that it has produced seed and dried, it's seed will drop to the ground. Over the winter that seed will work its way into the ground as the soil heaves with freezes and thaws. When the weather warms and moisture becomes available, the dormant the seeds soak up water. They begin to germinate and start the cycle of growing plants which can produce seed. If however the plants die for some reason (poor weather for example), the seeds that are still dormant (the hard seeds) can sustain the species. In many cases the hard seeds will remain dormant until another spring comes, at which time they will soak up water and begin to grow plants that can produce seeds and re-start the cycle all over again. Since we are sprouting these seeds we do not want hard seeds - they are as hard as rocks in many cases. As with any beans used in our kitchen it is always a good idea to cull (check) them for rocks and for hard seeds. Though they are very rare in good sprouting seed they can be present.

This happens once in a while - especially if you have multiple Easy Sprouts. In any case the fix is easy. Use any pliers to crimp the thin lip of the small seed insert on opposite sides. The resulting 2 tiny protruding bits of plastic will result in a very good fit!

This is the most common problem and the easiest to answer. Once you remedy this your sprout growing will soar to new levels!

The answer is this: You need to spend more time DRAINING after you Rinse your sprouts. If you read this page you will know everything you need to know, but I'll give you the basics here.

After Rinsing you MUST get as much water out of your sprouter as possible! Shake, Spin, Bounce and Swing your sprouter! If you use Easy Sprout then bounce the Growing Vessel against the side of your sink AND spin it around and around. If you use a Jar or Tube; shake it vigorously and leave it at a 45° angle (lid down) between Rinses to give any remaining water a way out. Hemp Bags and SproutMasters are pretty much self-draining, but spinning the Hemp Bag like a slingshot is efficient and gently bouncing SproutMaster against the heel of your hand is all you need. You'll have to tip and bounce Trays and Bio-Salad. We also suggest you tip each tray of Bio-Set after rinsing each individually - we very much dislike the water that (as intended by the manufacturer and designer) stands in it's grooves and in our experience small seeds will always produce very low yields unless manual draining is done at every rinse.

Regardless of the sprouter you use, do not be deceived into thinking the water will drain by itself. If you are seeing a lot of un-sprouted seeds then you need to drain more.

We sell more of some varieties than others. We have, for example, had labels printed dozens of times for mixes like French Garden, but only once for Pinto Beans. Over the years, we have changed not only the design of the label, but also our organic certifying agency. That is why you see differences on our labels. Eventually they will all look the same - someday - maybe =;-)