@solderandchaos said, in reply to my post about beansprouts: "@cybervegan wish mine looked like that! Any tips?"
Replying out of thread for better reach.
You want the full #infodump ? Here goes...
How I grow #beansprouts - mung beans, from seed. You can buy these in bags at Asian stores in the UK, presumably similar in other countries. Go for ones with a long best-before date as the older they are, the less of them will sprout successfully.
1. I got 3 deep 1 Kilogram margarine tubs, and punched about 100 small holes in the bottom of one of them. I had a spare dark grey kitchen peelings tub with a lid that I'm using to block the light. It's big enough to put the stack of margarine tubs in and close the lid. You could probably use a large black cloth or shut the tub in a dark cupboard for the same effect. This keeps the sprouts from going green, and makes them build strong shoots seeking light.
2. Put the perforated tub in one of the intact ones, put in seeds to cover the bottom about 2 seeds deep. Lots of seeds. Soaked them overnight with 2cm of water above them.
3. Drained and rinsed. Put the third tub on top of the seeds, and filled it with water - this is to provide pressure on the seeds from above, I think this simulates the pressure of soil.
4. Three times a day: Take the top tub and perforated tub out of the bottom tub. Discard any water in the bottom tub, and pour enough water from the top "ballast" tub in, enough to cover the seeds/sprouts. I use the ballast water because it will be ambient temperature, and it seems that very cold tap water may shock the shoots and damage them. Then put the perforated of tub back in, keeping the ballast tub on top. This is to avoid jiggling the sprouts round too much. Soak for 5-10 minutes, then drain, and rinse again. This is to keep bacteria or mould from taking hold. Re-stack the tubs, and fill the top tub with water, and return to the dark.
5. As the sprouts develop, they will expand, and once they get beyond about 2cm long, I start putting elastic bands round the stack of tubs to provide extra pressure. You don't want to squash them, but you do want them to have to fight against the pressure of the simulated soil.
This most recent batch took about a week - from soaking to harvest - the temperature here in the West Midlands of the UK has been 15-20 degrees C during that time, and I suspect the warmer it gets, the faster they will grow. We'll see with the next batch!
I'll post some pics up of my "kit" as replies.
