Day 23: Sprout Some Seeds (15 Minute Prepping Projects)

Welcome to DAY 23 of our 15 Minute Prepping Projects series. Today we are going to practice our skills with sprouting! Whether you are new to sprouting or an old pro, take a few minutes and sprout some seeds today 🙂

Every day for the month of September we will celebrate National Preparedness Month by undertaking a small task to help us get more prepared. Do as few or as many days as you want. Jump in at any time. Do them out of order, or more than one in a day. And feel free to share what you are doing!

Click here and scroll to the bottom of the post to view all the past days’ projects.

If you are living in a long term emergency situation off of only foods that you have stored … the ONLY fresh fruits and vegetables that you may be able to obtain are ones you grow yourself. While it is possible to freeze, dehydrate, can, and freeze-dry foods to provide the nutrients from fruits and veggies … sometimes you just want something FRESH. Sprouting is the easiest way to get wholesome fresh greens into your diet and they are super healthy too.

I remember when I was a little kid and my mom would pull out an old nylon and a canning jar and make alfalfa sprouts. It was like a science experiment and I loved checking on them every day to watch them grow. I definitely wanting NOTHING to do with eating them … but I loved the process.

Growing sprouts is easy and seeds/legumes store very well so it’s definitely you should learn how to do, even if you don’t plan to do it all the time.

How to Grow Sprouts

Prepare the seeds
- Remove broken and discolored seeds
- Wash seeds
- Soak overnight (if necessary)
- Drain
Place seeds in sprouting container and rinse thoroughly.
Drain off all excess water.
Place in a warm area where temperature will remain even.
Rinse 2-3 times per day.
Once they reach the desired length, place near sunlight until leaves become green.

Sprouting Kits

This is a fairly traditional setup with a nice base that keeps the jars tilted and comes with lids with the mesh across the top. I also like the sleeves in case your seeds need more darkness to sprout. Click to learn more.

These stackable trays allow you to grow a variety of sprouts at the same time. It’s design is also supposed to help increase germination rates and it comes with some alfalfa seeds. Yay! Learn more.

This one is similar to the one I got from a preparedness store many years ago. I’ll be testing it out today so make sure to keep an eye out for my updates. This has three large trays (8×10) so is ideal if you plan to grow a lot of greens. It’s perfect for wheat grass if that’s something you’re interested in trying. Learn more!

For bonus points today you can also look at purchasing some books on sprouting and some sprouting seed packs. I don’t sprout often so I just keep a variety pack on hand. I also plan to practice different grains and legumes just to see how we like them.

Share Your Results

I know a lot of you are already prepared and have accomplished the days’ task BEFORE that day. But for today I want you to ACTUALLY sprout something new! Take a picture of what you’re sprouting and share it with the world 🙂 Here are some ways you can share:

Instagram: Use #15minuteprep and tag @jodi_foodstoragemadeeasy on any post or story you do featuring your project. You can follow the hashtag to see everyone’s projects and if you tag me I will repost in my stories throughout the day (if your account is public).

Facebook: Comment on the PINNED posts in my Facebook Group (If you are not a member yet I will try to get you added within 24 hours so you can play along). The most recent day should show up at the top and you can scroll to the right to see past days. I will try to share some of these to Facebook stories as well (no names will be used, don’t worry!)

Text me: If you are not already signed up to get the daily challenges via text just text 15minuteprep to 717-788-3663. You can always reply to the daily text with your “report” so I can check in on you.