As I look outside my window right now there is 2 inches of slush covering slick ice in the area that will soon be my garden. Spring greens seem very far away. Even if you aren’t a salad lover, there is nothing like the crisp texture and flavor of fresh greens on sandwiches or in tacos. Fortunately, there is frugal and easy way to have fresh greens year round. All you need to do is sprout some seeds!
Sprouts are a nutritional powerhouse and require very little space to grow, making them a frugal choice for apartment dwellers too. Wash a large jar, such as a canning jar or old mayo jar, thoroughly in soapy water then rinse. Put 2 tablespoons of sprouting seeds in the bottom of the jar then fill it with warm water. Let the seeds soak for four hours then drain out the water. Place a square of cheesecloth over the top of the jar and secure it with a canning ring or rubber band. Three or four times a day, rinse the seeds in warm water then drain it out through the cheesecloth. Keep the jar inside a dark cabinet. Once the sprouts are an inch or two long rinse them one last time then they are ready to eat!
You can keep your sprouts in the vegetable drawer for up to a week. Make sure you only use seeds sold for sprouting, as regular garden seeds may be treated with toxic fungicides. You can find sprouting seeds at many grocery or health food stores. You can also purchase them online from sites such as Sprout People.
Sprouting your own seeds is much cheaper than buying out of season greens at the grocery store!
