Un-Spring.

The weather outside has been frightful! COLD! We have been cozy inside, busily crafting and making, drinking warm lemonade, baking things. Trying to keep warm and energize ourselves even in the face of dark wet days and freezing temps.

I am behind on garden planting because it has been so freakishly cold. I broke down and transplanted out a few flats that just couldn't stay in their small trays any longer. That cleared more lighting space for some extra flats of greens. If it is going to be this cold outside, then I am going to garden INside.


We have several trays of microgreens and lettuces about ready to harvest. They have grown under the grow lights for a few weeks. This includes mixes of spinach, arugula, chard, mustard, endive, mizuna, mache, radicchio, red leaf, beets, radish and a few other extras. They are fantastic tossed with fresh sprouts and a home made ginger sesame dressing. YUM.


I also have many trays of things I started which I usually direct sow but with the temps am holding off on (I tried some things, but no germination). If I get a few weeks inside I can have a head start when it finally warms up!


The tomatoes and peppers are getting bigger and today I potted them up - soon they will be window sitters too and make way for cucumber, melon and squash flats.


Trays of herbs are growing - and 30 or so seedlings from the trays that couldn't go outside had a change of plans and have now been potted and reside on my windowsills, to live until the sunshine and warmth come. It is nice to have fresh herbs - they are not huge yet, but big enough to snip leaves for dinner.


I plan to keep starting trays of greens every week. If predictions are right we will have an unusually cold May too - and I will have fresh herbs and home grown salads anyway. So there, spring. Or whatever you call yourself (insert loud raspberry).


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sunflower shoots.

I have had a bunch of people ask about how to sprout sunflowers, and how easy it is compared to traditional jar sprouting or growing microgreens. So, here is how I sprout sunflower shoots!

It has a few more steps than sprouting of course, but isn't quite as involved as growing other microgreens. With microgreens I find I need more space, more equipment (trays, lights), and it takes a little more time. With sunflower shoots I can grow small trays that fit on my kitchen counter or windowsill and don't need any light supplementation. So while it make take 9-11 days or so, it isn't hard or too involved.


Step One: Soak

Put your sunflower seeds into a canning jar or sprouter, cover with cool (60-70ºF) water. Soak 8-12 hours. Rinse. Drain. (They float, so you can shake/stir a few times during this phase to keep them all moist, or put something in to weigh them down a bit).

Step Two: Sprout

Set your drained sprouts in the canning jar/sprouter anywhere out of direct sunlight. Keep them at room temp.

Rinse and Drain the seeds every 8-12 hours for about 24-36 hours (2-3 rinse cycles). You want to have a small root before planting.

Step Three: Planting

You can use different types of growing medium, I usually use organic potting soil which contains a few other goodies (earthworm castings, etc.). They seem to grow best that way. Start with moist soil in a shallow tray - 1-2" of soil is fine.

Plant in a shallow tray with drainage holes. You don't need deep soil. You can use pots, trays, canning jars ...

Spread seeds on your soil. They can be densely packed, but don't pile on deeply or you might get mold. The seeds can be packed in there, single layer, all touching. Just press into the soil, you don't really need to cover them with dirt.

Step Four: Cover

Cover with a tray or slip into a gallon baggie (don't seal, let air circulate) to root well for a day or two - low light, not direct sunlight. Keep them under cover until they are 1 to 2 inches tall.

Water carefully once or twice a day. I like to add some organic kelp fertilizer to the water every few days, but you don't have to.

Step Five: Grow

Take off your plastic/cover and move the tray of small sprouts to a sunny location. If they get a lot of sunshine in a window you might need to water more. Let grow in the sun a few days.

Step Six: Harvest

When the shoots are about 3 or 4 inches tall and have two green leaves per shoot, you can start cutting them. Cut just above the surface of the soil. Be sure to cut/harvest when there are only 2 leaves per shoot, BEFORE true leaves come.

Just a note: sunflower shoots shed the hulls of the sunflower seeds as they grow, but you will see some that will retain those. If there are shoots that still have the hulls at the sunshine/grow stage, you can just gently pluck/pull them from the leaves as they grow.

(Here is the timeline for the batch I grew/photographed this time. 3/15: soak, 3/17: drain/rinse, 3/20: plant in soil, covered, 3/23: uncover, 3/27: harvest).

Sunflower shoots are high in vitamins A, B, C and E and contain chlorophyll, Iron, Niacin, Phosphorous, Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium, Amino Acids and are up to 25% protein. They taste so green - and just like sunflower seeds. YUM! I eat them plain (can't stop myself!) or use them on sandwiches or in salads.

Many places carry sunflower seeds just for sprouting/growing shoots. It is a good idea to use organic seeds, and seeds meant for sprouting, as they have not been chemically treated. Where to find sunflower seeds for sprouting::

High Mowing Organic Seeds
Sprout People
Pinetree Garden Seeds
GrowOrganic


Happy growing!


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winter garden.

Just because it is -5º outside doesn't mean we can't have a garden. We grow as many greens as we can inside each winter. It is super easy - and we get fresh goodness even with feet of snow on the ground.

Right now we have a bunch of things going. We have an easy sprout growing a mix for topping sandwiches, eggs, etc.


We have a triple tier sprouter that we use to sprout bigger things - peas, lentils, mung, etc. This week I have a few trays of red lentils sprouting to the microgreens stage for salads.


We also have a light system setup over a bookshelf in our 'craft room' (spare bedroom). This is simply a few trays under two shop lights - with one warm and one cool bulb per fixture we get a good range of light to grow microgreens and lettuce greens. The room gets lots of natural light in the winter too. Right now we have a tray of pea shoots, one of mixed microgreens (broccoli, radish, arugula, beet, cress, mustard), and one of mixed greens we are growing for cut and come again salads. Microgreens are greens and vegetables grown only for the first week or so and cut while small. They are packed with nutrients and surprisingly have a ton of flavor. A 7 day old radish green packs quite the punch of full radish flavor.


And of course we always have a few things of wheatgrass growing. The green perks our sprits up in the winter...plus it is good for juicing, and our rabbit LOVES getting special fresh grass treats!



We have some time before we start seeds for the spring and summer garden, but it is nice to have trays always going so that we can cut and eat fresh, right from home. And it just feels good when it is so cold and white outside!