The thought just crossed my mind that the sprouter that I use to sprout small seedlings et cetera for eating might be of use in sprouting seeds such as my chilli peppers, long beans et cetera?
Anybody with any experience with this??
I am beginning to plant a few things and sew a few more things and as I am running a bit late, I thought that I would hurry things on a little.
Any pointers are gratefully accepted!
I would have thought that direct contact with moisture was necessary?
I have used mine for all my peas and beans, sweetcorn, chickpea and cabbages. (The latter was because the seed was given to me and was old so I wanted to see if it was any good.) Today I have even put in parsnip seeds to see if they'll sprout. As long as you water them at least twice a day they are designed to hold some water to keep the seeds moist. Hope that helps.
Sounds promising so!
I have put in a few broad beans and dwarf french beans in my sprouter this morning to give it a go.
At what stage do you think I should be putting them in soil/compost? I was thinking along the lines of when they were a inch or so tall.
Plant them as the roots start to grow, otherwise they'll turn into a tangled mass.
Ill keep a tight eye on them so!
'Scuse me, I'm sure You will think me an ignoramous, but what does a sprouter look like? I don't think I've seen one before......... ???
Here's one type:
http://seeds.thompson-morgan.com/uk/en/product/kww2017/1 (http://seeds.thompson-morgan.com/uk/en/product/kww2017/1)
Thanks Caroline, that's a new thing to me! Are they mainly used for sprouts you eat like mung bean etc.?
Thats exactly it. There are a million different things that you can grow in them, mung beans being one and with any luck, runner beans and french beans too!
It is day 2.5 now and still no sign of roots and shoots coming from my beans.
The cress, broccoli and various peas and beans (all for eating) have begun to sprout already though.
Im sure that these french and runner beans being different beasties altogether mean that there will be a time delay, but we shall see.
Has anyone actually done this before? Approx how many days will it take? Same as in compost/longer/shorter?
UPDATE:
After approx 4 days 1/5 Broad bean and 1/5 French Dwarf have sprouted. YIPPEE!!
No sign of the others yet, but I am hopefull.
It is interesting to note that I soaked them for a few hours before putting into the sprouter and 1/5 of each of the beans floated in the water and the other 4 sunk.
Im not sure if they are the same seeds but it is definatly something Ill have to keep an eye on. May be a quick test for fast sprouting seeds!!.......maybe not too.
UPDATE:
After 7 days, all 5 of each of the runner beans and dwarf frenchies have sprouted in the sprouter.
Some have more established roots than others but that is down to the difference in the times it took to sprout.
All in all it was a success! Im going to keep this going and see how I get on with other seeds.
Anybody want to add their bit on this???
That's a good idea to try. We bought a sprouter a couple of years ago, and often use it for sprouting beans (mung etc). The rest of the time it sits in the cupboard.
But the thing I'm sold on this year is root trainers. In the past I used the middle-sized cream pots from the supermarkets for beans, but they changed the type of tub (shorter and fatter) and the 50 or so I had became brittle and manky, so I decided to give the root trainers a go. I bought 2 sets to start with, and was so impressed I bought another, and will probably get another couple, as we grow a lot of beans. And they take up a hell of a lot less room than the old cream pots.
Thompson and Morgan sprouters are in the half price sale ,they come with 20 different packets of sprouting seeds, I just ordered one. XX Jeannine
Good idea, could order with the half-price seeds
Quote from: MacArthur Park on April 28, 2007, 22:51:02
I have used mine for all my peas and beans, sweetcorn, chickpea and cabbages. (The latter was because the seed was given to me and was old so I wanted to see if it was any good.) Today I have even put in parsnip seeds to see if they'll sprout. As long as you water them at least twice a day they are designed to hold some water to keep the seeds moist. Hope that helps.
MacArthur, any luck with your parsnip seeds in the sprouter?
Its a while since this thread was active, but as 'tis the season and all, I thought that Id resurrect it.
The sprouter......................
3 days ago, I put 2 varieties of presoaked (2 hours in tap water) peas and already there is stirrings of life!
Just to chance it, I put in some chilli seeds to see how they'd go. The constant heat and moisture (although chillis arent massive moisture fans) should help kickstart things.
Ill keep you posted.
Beir bua!
UPDATE: Just FYI...............
The peas are flying! They are massive and are approx 2.5 weeks in the sprouter. Time to pot the.
One thing of not however, and Ill be bearing this in mind for the future, the peas are a bit twisty shaped. I suppose the lack of directional stimulous has prevented them from growing straight. That said however, I have no doubt that they will straighten up once planted.
They are going into my self-made, self-watering container this weekend.
Excellent stuff Killer ;)
Talk about one's inability to think out of the box- I have a mung bean sprouter (jar with lids with different sized holes) but never thought to use it for garden seeds. sounds easier than using the wet paper towel in a zip lock for tiny seeds. Thank you killerflies.
let's just cut the krap
Seeds know what they are doing.
Nature tells them when to emerge and how to grow. It is a long standing agreement. If they take several days instead of a few to show their heads. It is because they know to wait.
Cold frames and cloches, unheated greenhouses and fleece offer shelter from the extremes of frost and winds.
Forcing with a variety of expensive gadgets gives a lot of profit to the seller and weak plants to the grower.
Been there seen it done got the T-shirt seen the film read the book.
Expert growers with an elaborate system can do it and certain retailers sell off plants too soon. 'Not our fault the frost got to them' Then sell to you again and again when the weather is warmer.
OK you bought a gadget. Your seeds are up. Lets see how they survive. If the weather is kind you may consider that you have a wonderful buy. You wont want to accept that you may have bought something you just do not need.
I have thrown all the gadgets for heating and rearing away (and I do love gadgets) and with my two unheated greenhouses on site, am visited by gadget owners who ask me what I use to get the strong healthy plants I have, compared to the weakly specimens they have grown.
The brag of 'mine were up in four days'. Compared to 'mine took two weeks' is no brag. What is a few days in the development of a plant?
I just sow a few seeds of tender varieties in a pot, every couple of weeks. Either they come up or the do not.
Usually they do and I end up giving away surplus to those who spent a fortune on gadgets.
Spend money on cloches and fleece. both can be re-used. You never see them for re-sale on a car boot sale but you do see a lot of gadgets. Wonder why>
FAO: PurpleHeather
Jeees who's in a bad mood!! I was considering not replying to this and thought that you could take a run and jump for yourself. If you are really not that impressed by what you read, dont get involved. Dont waste your own or anybody elses time and click "next" for the next topic.
As a beginner, I was only setting out my sprouter story as more of a diary than anything else. If people wanted to take from it, fair enough, I learn lots from reading various posts.
I had not thought of using a sprouter myself.....being new to the game, and so thought that it would be more of an "out of interest" thing. I usually use my sprouter for edible sprouts as opposed to plant/veg seeds.
You are wrong in nothing you said re what to do and try but as I only have a small patio to keep and grow on, the kitchen windowsill is a bonus. When I do magage to scale up, I will be able to avail of your advice.
I dont think that I have misinterpreted your sarkiness, and if I have...apologies, if I havent and you really are having a go, well you really can take a run and jump for yourself and please keep away from my posts. You input is not appreciated.
Finally, thanks to all that have contributed to this and all threads making A4All a great resource for a beginner such as myself.
Regards.
Killerflies.
Purpleheather. Nature doesn't "tell" seeds anything. And sprouters aren't expensive. And why are you being so aggressive? Oh, and the reason you never see cloches or fleece on car boot sales is because they're shot after a couple of years.
Now, cheer up grumpy!
I don't see why a sprouter can't be used to good purpose. Just put the seed in at the right time, so the soil's ready for it when it's sprouted. there are plenty of things like parsnips which are difficult to sprout in clammy soil at this time of year, but OK once they get moving.
Hi
Fantastic topic.
I have just bought a load of unusual sprouting seeds.
Any idea which is the best method for example which sprouters are good.
:)
Hi, this seems to be converging with the other Sprouter thread, ive stuck a link on there for the go sprouter, which looks like a good one to try ( less work if not the cheapest? )
here it is again:
http://www.juiceland.co.uk/item--Go-Sprout-Sprouter--GOSPROUT.html
I found using a simple jar-with lid cut in slits to drain the water- type sprouter of benefit this Spring in starting old seeds. It showed quickly which were viable. Since I usually don't plant huge rows of seeds, just plant a few of something here and there where they fit in, this is quite helpful. Another new idea taught at A4A :) :D Thank you for posting.