Our first gardening project is as easy as they come! Sprouting Bean Sprouts! Get the kids or novice gardeners involved with this one.
You can go from seed to dinner plate in a week!
The supplies you will need are:
1. 1"- 4" deep pan (or clean plastic container)2. Cotton batting (or other 'cotton like' material)3. Aluminum Foil and/or a kitchen towel
4. Mung-Bean seeds and water!
I am sprouting Sutton seeds in this example. Seed manufacturer may vary by region; Sutton is based in the United Kingdom but is frequently available in the west. One sprouting seed manufacturer in the United States and Canada is Mumm's. (I'll be using Mumm's sprouting seeds when we sprout one of my favorites, Brown Mustard Seeds.) Any of these manufacturers will do. You can also do an Internet search for local sprouting seed distributors in your area. The following links give you just a glimpse of possibilities.
Sutton's Home Website: http://www.suttons.co.uk/
Mumm's Canada: http://www.sprouting.com/canstore/
Mumm's USA: http://www.sprouting.com/
Cotton batting can be found at the local craft/fabric store or amongst the sewing/art supply section of your local box store. I recommend using an old, non-rusty baking pan or preferably a plastic-wear container of some kind. Plastic is easier to clean and won't rust. Size does not matter much as Mung-bean roots do not require much space and will not be growing for very long (6 to 9 days, max).
Start by rinsing out the container you plan to use. Next rinse the seeds themselves. You can do this by placing them into another cup or container, pour in water, swish them around and then drain out the water. You can use a strainer if you want to be certain you don't loose any seeds. Otherwise, just hold your hand against the opening of the cup, while slowly pouring out the water. If you poor slowly enough, the seeds should stay farther back in the cup.
Line the bottom of your flat container with roughly 1/2" (1.25 cm) of cotton batting. Add water until the cotton is throughly soaked. Mung-beans enjoy a 'marsh-like' environment. Evenly space out your seeds over the cotton batting.
Mung-beans HATE light. They will taste bitter if allowed to receive ANY light during sprouting.
Cover with aluminum foil. Make the side walls of the aluminum deep enough (2" or 5 cm) that as the beans grow taller, pushing up on their aluminum roof, the sides will raise with them, still prevent light from sneaking in. (I use 2 pieces of foil and overlap them in the center of my pan.) If you have a spare towel, drape that over top of the aluminum foil to be certain no light is permitted inside. Then simply store on the corner of your counter top for 4 to 9 days.
Once the beans have raised the aluminum up approximately 2" (5 cm) it's time to harvest. You can sprout them for as long or short as you like. There are varying preferences on when mung-beans are at their sweetest but typically 4 to 6 days sprouting and approximately 2" to 3" in height is just right. To keep track, simply mark a calendar (or set an alarm on the smart phone) five, six and seven days after planting.
If curious about experimenting with taste (sweet vs. 'onion-like'), gently reach under foil on day 4 or 5 and pick one sprout for a taste test. Sample a sprout daily until satisfied with taste and then harvest. Generally 5 to 9 days.
If you're sprouting just for a snack (great replacement to chips/sweets), you can refrigerate them in a plastic baggie for about 2 to 3 weeks. Though I suggest sprouting fewer seeds than I did. I was preparing for a wok dinner for four. If cooking for fewer people or just personal consumption, not as many seeds are needed.
Once sprouts are ready to harvest, remove towel and foil cover. Gently grasp the beans at the base and pluck by gently pinching your fingers together. Your sprouts are ready to be rinsed and refrigerated or enjoyed right away!
As mentioned before, we added them to a wok stir-fry. I look forward to the day every vegetable in the wok is from my Indoor Garden. Be certain to share your experiences, insights and questions below.
Sincerely,
Your favorite Garden Gnome
-g
Ironically enough, I hated gardening for many, many years. As a child, it was my least favorite summer chore. I spent hours in early spring weeding and preparing the garden. I was ALWAYS expected to stay home the entire planting weekend. I spent countless hours sweating my butt off while my friends hung out, all summer long, at the local pool. It was my chore, every night after dinner, to take the compost out and burry it in the garden. Not to mention the long hot days in the middle of August/September when it was time to start canning everything! It seemed my parents hobby wasn't much of a hobby but a full scale operation with indentured child labor included. Needless to say, I despised the garden. It was horrible!
Twenty years after that little plot of hell in my father's backyard, I find myself researching home gardening techniques. Again, I had little interest in revisiting those horrors of my past. By that logic, I wanted NOTHING to do with gardening. However, life threw a curveball at me as it often does. After eight years of a steady paycheck and few financial concerns, I found myself at the bottom of the 'financial totem poll' again. Stressed about where my family's next meal was coming from, I knew I had to do something!
I rediscovered the notion of growing our own vegetables. I could provide healthier food choices to my family, while saving money and reducing my carbon footprint. The downside was that we rented and had no yard to speak of. Additionally, I live in a colder climate with a shorter outdoor growing season and didn't think to start this garden project until half way through the summer season!
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| Doktora Gnome Rajetoys |
I began researching indoor gardening and came across a lot of exciting information. I discovered that technology and knowledge were much more available than I had expected. There was an entire community of at-home-garden-experimentalists.
Indoor gardening provided additional benefits other than resolving the real-estate issue. Indoor gardening would also reduce problems with pests and disease as well as give me more refined, precise control over my garden's environment. Indoor gardening would also be the fastest and cheapest garden system to automate; since I still wanted to avoid those pointless days wasted in the garden.
There were several issues that needed resolved when gardening indoors; water and soil transportation, light, convince, potential mess and pets just to name a few. I decided some experimentation was needed so I set to work with what I had learned. Now, after a few failed experiments and a book from mom, my third rendition of the Indoor Garden is a success!
I look forward to sharing my projects here, with all of you and I hope you will share your ideas and gardening experiences in return! I hope, with some assistance from the Internet, to return home gardening to the exciting, community experience it deserves to be. Please join me in sharing our knowledge with others while making a greener tomorrow!
Sincerely,
Your favorite Garden Gnome
-g
Once the beans have raised the aluminum up approximately 2" (5 cm) it's time to harvest. You can sprout them for as long or short as you like. There are varying preferences on when mung-beans are at their sweetest but typically 4 to 6 days sprouting and approximately 2" to 3" in height is just right. To keep track, simply mark a calendar (or set an alarm on the smart phone) five, six and seven days after planting. 
Once sprouts are ready to harvest, remove towel and foil cover. Gently grasp the beans at the base and pluck by gently pinching your fingers together. Your sprouts are ready to be rinsed and refrigerated or enjoyed right away! 
