Tray Set - Single Crop
This is our Single Crop Tray Set. It consists of 10x20 inch Trays: One Drip, and Two Regular Duty Planting/Cover Trays.
These are only for growers who want the biggest planting area for their Grass and Micro-Greens - and can work with these 2 square feet of Tray.
All of our black Trays are #6 plastic.
Yields approximately 4 Cups (1/2 lb.) of Sprouts
Seed Prep
Measure out 2 Tablespoons of seed* (slightly heaping) into your Sprouter or a strainer.
Rinse your seeds to remove dust and debris.
Soak
Transfer your seeds into your Sprouter (if necessary), or to a bowl.
Mix seeds up as you slowly add water to assure even water contact for all.
Add 2-3 times as much cool (70-80°F) water.
Allow seeds to Soak for 4-12 hours.
Do Not Ever Soak Again. Soaking is done only this one time.
We start counting days at this point - when the Soak is done (post-Soak is the phrase we use).
A crop of Leafy Sprouts usually takes 6 days - from This point in time to harvest.
Sprouting
Empty the seeds into your Sprouter (if necessary).
Drain off the soak water.
You can use it - it has nutrients in it. We use it on house plants.
Rinse thoroughly with cool (70-80°F) water.
Drain thoroughly.
Draining Thoroughly (Maniacally even) is the key to great crops. The smaller the seed (all Leafy Sprouts are small seeds) the more thorough you must be. Do Not skimp on Rinsing - but focus seriously on Draining.
If you need to see what we mean by Thorough Draining - check out our videos.
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, where the sprouter won't get knocked over by cats, dogs, kids or us. Indirect sunlight is fine, as is your regular room light - because light just does not matter much in the first couple days.
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. When leaves do appear, this will be plenty of light for them to green up. You can also use Grow Lights if you like.
Rinse and Drain again every 8-12 hours for 3 days.
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.
Greening
On the 4th day (post soak) relocate your sprouts, if necessary.
If you've been keeping them away from light - move them. Avoid direct sun as it can cook your sprouts, unless you are growing in a Tray Sprouter - in which case direct sunlight is great. Indirect sunlight is best for non-tray Sprouters but grow lights work well too. Experiment - you will be amazed at how little light sprouts require to green up. Photosynthesis is a marvel!
Continue to Rinse and Drain thoroughly every 8-12 hours.
Your last Rinse and Drain will be either at the end of day 5 or the start of day 6.
Always Drain Thoroughly.
Finishing
Your sprouts will be done about the end of day 6.
The majority of sprouts will have open leaves which will be green. You'll recognize them.
De-Hulling
Hulls are the thin coat on a seed. In most cases they separate themselves from the sprout. They are only a problem when it comes to the shelf life of your finished crop. We've eaten them for years and consider them extra roughage, but the crop looks better and lasts longer without them - so removing them is good.
You may De-Hull your sprouts at any time during day 5 or 6.
If you have a Salad Spinner - De-Hulling can be your last step. You can harvest and refrigerate them immediately after you finish.
You can also remove hulls prior to harvest...
If you are growing in a Jar - using the Coarse Mesh Screen will allow some hulls to float out through the screen while Rinsing. Repeating and agitating your sprouts will allow more hulls to escape.
If you're growing in an Easy Sprout Sprouter - transfer your sprouts to the Solid Base, fill with water, and agitate with a fork. This will help hulls get to the surface - where you can skim them off. When you've gotten all you can - move your sprouts back to the Growing Vessel, Rinse again, and Drain Thoroughly.
If you're growing in our Stainless Steel Sprouter you can get rid of most of the hulls by Rinsing Upside Down. Instead of writing words - let us direct you to our short video on the subject: Rinsing Leafy Sprouts Upside Down
Here is our video on De-Hulling.
Harvest
If you De-hulled with a salad spinner - you can go right to refrigeration. If not... Your sprouts are done 8-12 hours after your final Rinse and Very Thorough Draining. If we minimize the surface moisture of our sprouts they store much better in refrigeration, so we let them sit for 8-12 hours after that final Maniacal Draining.
Storing Your Crop
Transfer your sprout crop to a plastic bag or the sealed container of your choice. We have Produce Storage Bags that can extend shelf life substantially.
Leafy Sprouts are best within a week of harvest, but we've had some crops last for over a month in the fridge.
Great work sprout farmer!
*Amount of Seed to Use
* 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 7:1 - which means the sprouts will weigh 7 times as much as the seed you start with, but, they will increase even more in volume - so don't start with more than 2 (heaping) Tablespoons per quart/litre of sprouter capacity.
Please Note that all of our Tray pages have the same text below this point. We love when folks read our stuff, but we thought we should warn you....
Between 1993 - 2003, Sproutpeople produced over 200 tons of sprouts, plus tens of thousands of trays of both Grass and Microgreens, using Trays like these. Before I proceed, I have to warn you that our pages refer to these in various ways, due to my unwillingness to settle on one alone. When we were new to sprouting, we were told these were called Flats. If you buy plants at a Greenhouse or Nursery - and you buy them by the Tray - that is still commonly referred to as a Flat of plants. The other word that enters in is Nursery, because a Greenhouse is also known as a Plant Nursery - so sometimes I refer to these Trays as Flats, or Nursery Flats, or Nursery Trays. It's all the same thing; a Tray by any other name... @:-)
There is little need for a home grower to grow such large amounts of Sprouts, that Nursery Trays would make sense - though we will someday be adding information here on our site - or in a book, which will detail methods of growing sprouts in these, and in buckets - for small wholesale and farmer's market growers. For now, these Trays are not a good choice for sprouts because their drainage slits/holes are poorly laid out.
Nursery Trays are designed for growing Grass and Micro-Greens.
When growing in Trays, you also need a medium, to plant upon.
We offer two Mediums:
Coconut Coir is made of coconut husks and is soil like.
Hemp Felt is a thin felt like pad made from hemp.
There are so many mediums available in the world. Many will do quite nicely and should be locally available, but they may have unique traits that will alter how they perform. We have grown Grass and Micro-Greens - on soil - in Trays, for many years. Now we have alternatives: Soilless Planting mediums - Hemp Felt and our favorite, Coconut Coir. We also have liquid Kelp Fertilizer, to help you and your crops, when growing without soil. Hemp Felt is a thin organic material that holds moisture quite well. It is excellent for Micro-Greens. Coconut Coiris is made from the outer shell of coconuts. It is a medium that has remarkable moisture retention, and provides nutients as plants grow. We mix in Earthworm Castings - 25% (by volume), to create an ideal medium for growing. We think you should try these mediums, to discover what you prefer working with. You should use Kelp Fertilizer too, if you grow soilless - it can make a whole lot of difference.
If you want to stick with soil: You can use any bagged soil you like for most crops. We used sterile bagged composted cow manure for all of our Grass and Greens. It provided the extra nitrogen those plants like. We add even more nitrogen - mixing into our soil about 25% Earthworm Castings - when growing Sunflower Greens. You can use any sterile soil you like. Though expensive soils are fine, we prefer inexpensive. Whatever you choose - be sure it is free of chemicals!
Each 10x20 inch tray will grow 1-3 pounds of Greens or produce enough Grass to yield 10-20 ounces of Juice! Use your math skills if you are using a smaller Tray @:=)
Nursery Tray Sets - Assembly
Our 1/2 Crop Tray Set is singular. Its footprint is only 10x10 inches! Now we can grow So Much More in our not-big kitchen! Use the 10x10 Drip Tray as a base to catch any water that escapes your 10x10 Growing Tray - and top your Growing Tray with another 10x10 Cover.
All of our 10 x 20 inch sets contain one 10x20 inch Drip Tray which is the Container for the tray(s) in which you plant. It keeps water +/or mud from messing up your home.
Single Crop Tray Set - Planting is done in one of the 10x20 inch Planting/Cover Trays. The ones with drainage slits. Use the other 10x20 inch Planting/Cover Tray to cover your planted tray.
Two Crop Tray Set - Planting is done in two of the 10 Inch Square Trays. The other two are your Covering Trays.
Crop-a-Day/8 Crop Tray Set - Pllanting is done in eight of the 5 Inch Square Trays. The other eight are your Covering Trays.
If you are growing indoors, you must use a solid Drip Tray as the base - it is just like keeping a plate under a houseplant. If you are growing outside you can safely skip the Drip Tray, though you should use one, if you are growing on Hemp Felt.
Cleaning: Scrub well between crops with soap and water. Rinse well!
Sterilize: Soak and scrub with a disinfectant as often as required. If your crop fails, it can be due to not having a sterile tray. Soap and water usually do the trick, but if not - use any disinfectant you are comfortable with. In our day, we used bleach water, but we dislike the toxicity of bleach, so we seldom use it, unless absolutely necessary. It is always true that; A clean sprouter produces the best crops.
Most planting trays are fine and some are so thin you worry if they'll make it thru one planting. These trays are so heavy duty they will last for years to come. Well worth the cost!
These trays wil outlast the competition and keep on going strong. Well worth the cost.
These trays wil outlast the competition and keep on going strong. Well worth the cost.
Most planting trays are fine and some are so thin you worry if they'll make it thru one planting. These trays are so heavy duty they will last for years to come. Well worth the cost!
