Hemp sprouts

An extremely nutritious sprout from a delicious seed. We do not currently sell live hemp seeds because a live Hemp seed is still illegal in New Zealand. When we can, we will.

Yields approximately 1 Cup (250 grams.) of sprouts.

Seed Prep: Measure out 2/3 Cup of seed. Pick out anything you don't think should be there (shell or plant pieces, imperfect seeds if you wish (we don't), etc.). Rinse your seeds to remove dust or debris.

Soak: Transfer your seeds into your sprouter, or a bowl. Add 2-3 times as much cool (15-20 degrees celsius) water. Mix seeds up to assure even water contact for all. Allow seeds to Soak for 4-12 hours.

Sprouting: Empty the seeds into your sprouter (if necessary). Drain off the soak water. You can use it - it has nutrients in it.

Rinse thoroughly with cool (15-20°C) water. Drain thoroughly.

Set your sprouter anywhere out of direct sunlight and at room temperature (20°C is optimal) between Rinses. This is where your sprouts do their growing. We use a counter top - in the corner of our kitchen, but where the sprouter won't get knocked over by cats, dogs, kids or us. We don't mind the indirect sunlight or the 150 watts of incandescent light, because light just does not matter much. A plant can only perform photosynthesis when it has leaves. Until a plant has leaves, light has little if any effect. Sprouts also happen to like air-circulation, so don't hide your sprouts.

Rinse and drain again in 8-12 hours. And, perhaps one more... Rinse and Drain in 8-12 hours.

We stop here if we are growing small crunchy sprouts. You can grow these into a sprout with a leaf if you like. Just continue to Rinse and Drain every 8-12 hours until you are pleased.

As always, we suggest that you taste your crop at every rinse - including the very first - just after the soak period. The soaked seeds are already alive and are now super-nutritious - and - they now have no enzyme inhibitors (a very good thing indeed) so they'll digest themselves and nourish you.

Harvest: Your sprouts are done 8-12 hours after your final rinse. Be sure - if you plan on storing your crop - to Drain them as thoroughly as possible after that final rinse. The goal during the final 8-12 hours is to minimize the surface moisture of your sprouts - they will store best in your refrigerator if they are dry to the touch.

Refrigerate: Transfer your sprout crop to a plastic bag, our shelf life extending produce storage bags, or the sealed container of your choice (glass is good too). Whatever you choose - put them in your refrigerator - if you can keep from eating them all first.

These seeds will yield approximately 1.5:1, so in theory you can start with up to as 2/3 as much dry seed as your sprouter has capacity. We generally advise maxing out at 1/2 capacity, until you get used to growing a particular crop.

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