Mung Bean Sprouts

[beehive1234]

Growing Bean Sprouts, that have lots of nutrition, is something I have been looking into, and if you apply a few ingredients, like, cotton canvas sheet, wire mesh, water, buckets and 5 days you too can have been sprouts, every day.

 

[beehive1234]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2MCpH1P51Y

 

[Erichalfbee]

I sprout mine in a jar with holes in the lids.
Rinse two or three times daily and they stay nice and fresh while they are sprouting
Chickens go mad for them too

 

[beehive1234]

yes but this way the bean sprouts are like in the Thai recipes.

Long shoots and able to cut off the roots, Which is better.

Easily achieved if you stack your beans.

Jar method is so uncool

 

[beehive1234]

Chickens go mad for them too Erichalfbee

WOW.... lucky Chickens

 

[MikeT]

JUst remember do not eat the sprouts raw. For many years I worked on trying to kill bacteria such as E coli within the seed testa. We were using chlorine at 10 times higher concentrtion than used in swimming pools and more active materials such as periacetic acid without any success. Bacteria contamination is greatly dependant on the seed source, some seed growers in Thailand are more diligent than others in seed hygiene.

As long as the been sprouts are cooked you will have no problems.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Ooooops, I must be dead.

 

[oliver90owner]

you too can have been sprouts, every day

Only if you start them off on a regular system!

We have had a plastic rack system - three perforated trays, catch tray under, lid over and three (useless?) plastic feet - for years. Rather less wasteful on resources.

Eaten just sprouted, rather than rooted into some matrix, thus using the whole item, must be better than throwing anything away?

 

[beehive1234]

The Thai/Malaysian people say that the roots make the product 'go off' quicker and are bitter. There are lots of videos how to grow them the way they have for hundreds of years, I guess.
I like the Washing up bowl, with black bucket inside. Black bucket has a hole at the level of the bamboo/mettle wrack. On top of the wrack place a piece of (large hole) plastic mesh. On top of this lay a piece of heavy cloth, like canvas, on top of this lay a piece of insect mettle mesh. Lay your Mung beans, (soaked for eight hours). Then repeat the process, cloth, mesh, beans 2 more times. Cover with a wet clean towel and keep in the dark.
The weight helps the beans to grow. Water twice a day in Winter, three times a day in Summer for 4 days.
The beans should have grown and you can cut them off the insect wire mesh.
Where can you get some insect wire mesh?
Another man uses stacking plastic boxes and T Towels and wire mesh. His is very good too.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

or, cut out a lot of faff and chuck them straight out to the chickens and order a Chinese takeaway (or go out for a bag of chips)

 

[For want of a better word]

I prefer cress!

Bean sprouts always remind me of Ascaris lumbracoides

And (raw) one of the major sources of infantile D&V... next to babies dummies, ( Regularly dropped onto London's dirty dog poo unclean gutters and pavements, and straight back into babies mouth)

I trained at St Hellier Hospital Carshalton as a medical lab technician... before i realised that there was no money in a vocation!

Yeghes da

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Watercress for me - plenty growing around the holy spring near one of the out apiaries - or any other spring in the area come to that. By Easter time if the weather's kind it should be ready - nothing like a watercress sandwich with plenty of salt, white pepper and vinegar

 

[beehive1234]

I read somewhere that Watercress has to be washed very carefully because of slugs eggs? Apparently they can be lethal. Wish it grew in my spring though. Something else has taken over I don't know what it is. Tall green plant that is bright green even in the snow!

 

[For want of a better word]

Watercress for me - plenty growing around the holy spring near one of the out apiaries - or any other spring in the area come to that. By Easter time if the weather's kind it should be ready - nothing like a watercress sandwich with plenty of salt, white pepper and vinegar

Must drop in for a sarnie next time I go to see my auntie Gwen in Narberth !

Yeghes da

 

[Fritillary]

I love watercress too, but have never grown it - thinking that in the first place you needed flowing water for it (and also that you needed to be sure the water was clear of liver fluke etc.). So, have grown land cress instead - which isn't really a substitute. But now I've got seed for watercress which you're supposed to be able to grow in a pot (well watered.) Am looking forward to trying it this summer! Has anyone else tried it?

 

[Erichalfbee]

I read somewhere that Watercress has to be washed very carefully because of slugs eggs? Apparently they can be lethal. Wish it grew in my spring though. Something else has taken over I don't know what it is. Tall green plant that is bright green even in the snow!

Liver fluke larvae, which use snails as an intermediate host.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

give it a good wash and it will be fine

 

[pargyle]

I love watercress too, but have never grown it - thinking that in the first place you needed flowing water for it (and also that you needed to be sure the water was clear of liver fluke etc.). So, have grown land cress instead - which isn't really a substitute. But now I've got seed for watercress which you're supposed to be able to grow in a pot (well watered.) Am looking forward to trying it this summer! Has anyone else tried it?

Yes ... dead simple to grow .. what I do is grow it in pots that are set in a big tray of gravel that I keep topped up with water and I grow it in normal garden soil with a topping of vermiculite. It's the easiest thing to start off - buy a bunch of fresh watercress from your local supermarket, cut off a few sprigs and stick them in a jar of water .. in a couple of days they will start to grow roots out of the bottom of the sprigs in the water and once you see a bit of root growth plant them in your pots. It grows really fast and whenever you cut it the remainder sprouts even more shoots. I grow it on the decking in my greenhouse (unheated) and it grows nearly all the year round.

I've never had a problem with 'little nasties' (liverfluke) but slugs can be a problem ... answer to that is an even bigger outer tray filled with dried crushed egg shells which slugs won't cross ...

Be very careful if you pick watercress from streams and rivers as Liver Flukes are very nasty and almost endemic in most UK watercourses.

http://www.torrens.org.uk/FFF/Fluke.html

 

[Fritillary]

Thanks for the growing tips pargyle - that sounds v. promising!

 

[Erichalfbee]

Thanks from me too......I shall have a go at that.