GROW THE TOP 3 MOST NUTRITIOUS PLANTS ON EARTH November 27, 2017

May 4, 2023

Growing Sunflowers, Wheatgrass and Pea Sprouts step by step Manual

There is nothing better than growing your own food, It seems like nowadays is the only way to guarantee nutrition, freshness and sustainability. But it was not too long ago we were farming and eating from our lands, trading our produce and teaching our younger generations to continue this tradition. The industrialized world came along with convenience and for that convenience we traded part of what made us human, the connection with our wonderful earth and elements, the respect for our soil that provided us since the very beginning with everything we needed to thrive as an specie, we got extremely desensitize. One of our missions in life is to bring the awareness of what is happening with our planet, specially our soils. Most of our farming land had being depleted for many decades due to industrialization, what we call “modern life” and I could name several reasons but what I want to focus is in the solution, by making the most significant changes that will come from within us and not from above. I learn about growing sprouts for health 5 years ago, however the reasons had become stronger and now is not only for health, is for our soil, our animals, our future generations and to reconnect and appreciate our mother Earth. What ever reason brought you to this blog post today I truly appreciate and acknowledge your willingness to be a better person, and believe me when I said that if you take action and start growing your own you are already helping our planet tremendously.

What you need to know about starting to grow your own sprouts:

Prepare to have 1-5 trial batches before you master the art of growing. Growing sprouts is so rewarding but it also very detailed. Pay attention to the details on this post to guarantee a great batch of sprouts
The key of growing your own sprouts is the Seeds, if you have great seeds half of the work is done. You won’t be dealing with mold, non germination, or/and uneven crops. The other half is environmentally stable conditions.

Journal your process a couple of times until you get in the rhythm and comes automatically. Depending on the weather the sprouts can be ready to eat in 6-10 days. For instance if you don’t want to run out of sprouts you need to know when to start your next crop.
It gets easier the more you do it. Like anything in life establishing new habits takes time and effort. The key is having a strong “why” what is your ultimate goal by growing sprouts? once you know why, you will create any beneficial and long lasting new habit in your life.
When you grow sprouts you will be saving tons of money in produce, a tray of 17x 17 full of sprouts is equivalent to 60 lbs of fresh cut organic kale or any other most nutritious vegetable on land.
You will have fresh nutrient-dense foods all year long, regardless of the weather.
You have one of the most powerful tools of survival, now you will pretty much know how to grow edible plants in case of disaster or if one day you want to become 100% sustainable.

This is Part 1 of Growing your own Sprouts at home, let’s start with Sunflower Sprouts:

What you need:

Sunflower Seeds for Sprouting 99% germination rate, Organic, from proper farming practises order at www.thesproutco.com
Planting Trays 17x 17 in ( the information in this blog will be given for this kind of tray feel free to accommodate to any other sizes)
Soil: clean, well-aged, no fertilizer or animal residues, no compost, potting soil
Water: preferably filtered
Ocean Solutions Optional*: This is concentrated ocean water with lots of minerals that I personally use throughout all the process of growing. This product is mixed into the water when soaking, rinsing and watering the sprouts. It definitely makes a difference in the plants, the grow stronger and it charges your crops with more minerals. get 10% at: ocean grown.com using promo code: sprout

Depending on your environment you might need: Full spectrum lights (if there are no windows) a little fan, if there is no air circulation, a dehumidifier ( if the humidity in the room is more than 65%). We recommend to grow inside your house to avoid any of this problems. Indoors the environment is more stable which helps with the growing process and to not buy any extra equipment.

Soaking and Rinsing the Seeds:

Soak 9 ounces of sunflower seeds for 8 hrs (over night) in water in a jar double the volume of the seeds with water (add ocean solutions optional*) per 17 x 17 in tray (this amount could variate from each batch of seeds) Only soak once.
After soaking rinse and strain the seeds. A colander works great for this or you can drill holes into a plastic jar.
Rinse morning and night for 1 – 1.5 days until you see little tails coming out of the seeds. No more than 3mm tails, if the seeds develop the tail earlier they are ready to plant.

sprouted seeds ready to plant

Pea, Wheatgrass and Sunflower seeds with tails ready to plant

Preparing Trays and Planting

To prepare your tray you need 1/2 – 3/4 of an inch of soil spread evenly through out the tray. This is foundational and very important part of the growing. Make sure the edges and middle part are even, use a prop like a piece of wood or a plastic cup to roll over the soil. When the bed of soil is even the sprouts will develop their roots properly and will grow strong and even.
With another empty tray apply evenly light pressure with your 2 hands to compact the soil, not too much.
Moist the soil in the tray, just a light shower. Use Ocean Grown if possible.
Spread evenly the germinated seeds over the soil. You might have space in between the seeds which is OK, some seeds need that space to develop correctly. Do not cover the seeds with soil.
Light shower over the seeds again
Cover the planted tray with another tray.
Sunflowers need weight to help them root properly, you can put another planted tray on top or an empty tray with something like a phone book on top.

Proper planting tray with holes for drainage

Soil evenly distribute in the tray

Stacked Trays: Peas or Wheatgrass on top of Sunflowers

Watering the planted Trays

For the next 6 days approximately watering in the morning is mandatory. Shower evenly all the tray corner to corner. Water only until few drops are coming down the holes of the tray. Pay attention to this, over watering can create several problems. like mold and dead of the sprouts. Always keep an eye on the soil, some soils retain more water than others.
Strongly recommend putting some ocean grown dissolved into the water.
If the weather is too dry, check the seeds at night time, specially the first 3 days, they might need a little more water for the night.

Here is day by day the evolution of the Sunflower Sprouts, pay special attention to the following procedures: Uncovering, Grooming and Greening.

Sunflower 1

Sunflower 2

Sunflower 3

At day 3 approximately the sprouts had pushed up the top tray and it needs to be covered and kept in the dark with an upside down tray to to stimulate growth.

Upside down tray on top of Sunflowers

Sunflower 4

Sunflower 5

By day 5 approximately the sprouts are taller and releasing their shells, this is when grooming happens, always after watering.

Sunflower 6

Sunflower 7

Last couple of days, the top tray is removed in the morning for the sunflowers to start greening up.

This is Part 2 of Growing your own Sprouts at home, Now that you know the process of growing Sunflower Sprouts there are good news! Wheatgrass and Pea Sprouts are much easier.

What you need:

Wheatgrass or Pea Seeds for Sprouting 99% germination rate, Organic, from proper farming practises order at www.thesproutco.com
Planting Trays 17x 17 in ( the information in this blog will be given for this kind of tray feel free to accommodate to any other sizes)
Soil: clean, well-aged, no fertilizer or animal residues, no compost, potting soil
Water: preferably filtered
Ocean Solutions Optional*: This is concentrated ocean water with lots of minerals that I personally use throughout all the process of growing. This product is mixed into the water when soaking, rinsing and watering the sprouts. It definitely makes a difference in the plants, the grow stronger and it charges your crops with more minerals. get 10% at: ocean grown.com using promo code: sprout

Depending on your environment you might need: Full spectrum lights (if there are no windows) a little fan, if there is no air circulation, a dehumidifier ( if the humidity in the room is more than 65%). We recommend to grow inside your house to avoid any of this problems. Indoors the environment is more stable which helps with the growing process and to not buy any extra equipment.

Soaking and Rinsing the Seeds:

Soak 1lb of Wheatgrass and/or Pea seeds for 8 hrs (overnight) in purified water in a jar double the volume of the seeds with water (add ocean solutions optional*) per 17 x 17 in tray (this amount could variate from each batch of seeds) Only soak once.
After soaking rinse and strain the seeds. A colander works great for this or you can drill holes into a plastic jar.
Rinse morning and night for 1 – 1.5 days until you see little tails coming out of the seeds. No more than 3mm tails, if the seeds develop the tail earlier they are ready to plant.

Preparing Trays and Planting

To prepare your tray you need 1/2 of an inch of soil spread evenly through out the tray. This is foundational and very important part of the growing. Make sure the edges and middle part are even, use a prop like a piece of wood or a plastic cup to roll over the soil. When the bed of soil is even the sprouts will develop their roots properly and will grow strong and even.
With another empty tray apply evenly light pressure with your 2 hands to compact the soil, not too much.
Moist the soil in the tray, just a light shower. Use Ocean Grown if possible.
Spread evenly the germinated seeds over the soil. You might have space in between the seeds which is ok, some seeds need that space to develop correctly. Do not cover the seeds with soil.
Light shower over the seeds again
Cover the planted tray with another tray.

Watering the planted Trays

For the next 6 days approximately watering in the morning is mandatory. Shower evenly all the tray corner to corner. Water only until few drops are coming down the holes of the tray. Pay attention to this, over watering can create several problems. like mold and dead of the sprouts. Always keep an eye on the soil, some soils retain more water than others.
Strongly recommend putting some ocean grown dissolved into the water.
If the weather is too dry, check the seeds at night time, specially the first 3 days, they might need a little more water for the night.

Here is day by day the evolution of the Wheatgrass and Pea Sprouts, pay special attention to the following procedures: Uncovering, Greening, and Harvesting the Wheatgrass