How to Grow Broccoli Sprouts at Home

Make your own broccoli sprouts at home.

Eating broccoli sprouts gives you even more nutrition than eating fully grown broccoli. You can purchase them at the store, but when you sprout your own broccoli at home, you control all of the ingredients. You know for sure that there are no pesticides or chemicals for preservation and you get to eat them at the peak of their nutrition. In just a few days, you can have a good supply of broccoli sprouts to add to your salad or sandwich.

Things You'll Need

• Canning jar, with lid
• Small piece of screen
• Water
• Broccoli seeds

Instructions

1. Prepare the jar for growing sprouts. Your canning jar should have a two-part lid. Replace the inside cover with a piece of the screen. Use the old top as a guide to cut the screen.

2. Place a wet paper towel in the bottom of the jar. This will keep the broccoli seeds wet throughout the process.

3. Place 1 tbsp. of broccoli seeds in the jar, on top of the wet paper towel. Use organic seeds for best results. Alternatively, you can sanitize the seeds by soaking them for 20 minutes in a solution of one part bleach to nine parts water, then rinsing thoroughly.

4. Screw the lid with the screen insert onto the jar.

5. Keep the jar in a warm, but not sunny, location. Broccoli seeds will not germinate well if the temperature is above 90 degrees or below 60 degrees. Remember that it might get cold at night.

6. Check the paper towel for dampness. The paper towel should remain damp at all times. If you see that it is getting dry, pour a bit of water into the jar--just enough to make the paper towel wet again.

7. Enjoy your broccoli sprouts after about five or six days. It can take two or three days for the seeds to start sprouting. After that, wait about three days until they are ready to eat.

References

• Virginia Tech: How to Grow Broccoli Sprouts
• Healing Daily: Growing Your Own Sprouts for Health and Self-Sufficiency