Sprout Colander Kit x1 Lg. Mung Bean

Growing Super Mung bean Sprouts using one large 4 L colander +2 KG of pebbles to weigh the sprouts +1 KG of Mung bean and bio-activated super organic nutrients.

The trick to growing the mung bean in the long white format that you see in the supermarket is to convince the seed that it is growing from a long way underneath the soil and therefore creates a long stem in an effort to reach the sunlight. This can be done by putting it in a space that restricts its growth or similarly, as we have done here, placing a weight on top of the sprouts, along with the tea towel this serves the purpose of also keeping the light out i.e. so the leaf development is restricted.

We give you the option of purchasing this kit with or without the cover, if you are just doing mung beans then you do not need the cover, however if you want to use it to do normal sprouts then you can sprout the seeds in the mesh bag for say 3 – 4 days, and then empty them into the large colander and proceed with the sprouting process from there, in this case you will need the cover.

We also supply you with our sprouts/vegetable storage system this allows you to store your sprouts in the fridge for well over a week. The trick here is to get rid of most of the surface moisture from the sprouts before putting it inside the mesh bag, which goes inside the cotton bag, which goes inside the plastic bag which you seal. Every time you access the sprouts change the cotton bag and allow the damp one to dry out and also turn the plastic bag inside out. If you forget about it and the cotton bag remains moist it will become mouldy, however this is easily rectified by soaking in a bleach solution for a couple of hours and then rinsing clean (store the bleach solution and reuse as required, just topping up the strength when required this means you are never actually throwing it down the drain which is not good).

The kit is made up of:-

1 x Large Sprouting Bowl (with optional cover), inner grill bowl for drainage & outer for collection) These are quality 4L  made in Japan colanders, they can be used with seed sizes ranging down to that of Alfalfa, (not suitable for Cress, Mustard, Linseed) which are either too small or more likely, produce a mucous substance which causes rot, these are better grown as vertical sprouts see Micro-Greens. The beauty of using these colanders, apart from their many other uses when not sprouting, is that it makes it very easy to separate the husks from the seed, very important when it comes to storing the sprouts.

In the warmer climates or during summer, the trick is to keep your sprouts moist & cool, you can tilt the inner perforated Sprout container, so air circulates more freely, this gives the benefit of moisture being drawn to the edges & evaporated thus increasing cooling ie the advantage of sprouting in a bag, but also the advantages of soaking daily in organic nutrients. This is achieved by taking the inner part of the colander with the sprouts & placing them in a larger bowl, or tilting the inner part of the colander making sure the long edges line up (see pictures).

Pre-mixed Bio-active nutrients 250ml, made of –  Probiotics, Seaweed, Azomite, Dolomite, Magnesium Chloride ie fermenting makes the organic nutrients more bio-available to the sprouts and therefore to you, so you are eating not only a sweeter sprouts but they are many times more nutritious than a sprout just washed or soaked in water. You only use a very small amount of this each time you soak the sprouts, you can purchase this nutrient mix when you run out or you can buy the ingredients and make it yourself.

Storage system(2x cotton bags, mesh bag, plastic bag clip) This is the way that I now do it is using the combination of mesh bag, cotton bag, plastic bag. The trick being with this method is to make sure the sprouts are not too wet, so for the last 2 days you leave the sprouts at an angle in the large colander, this works really well all you have to do is place the grill section with the sprouts at an angle and across the base. After one day take the sprouts and turn them upside down so that the moisture at the bottom gets a chance to try out for the final day. You may also wish to add the lid during the night just to ensure there are no unwanted visitors to your sprouts during the evening. Then store in the mesh bag , place this inside the cotton bag then place inside a plastic bag, gently squeeze out most of the air and seal with the plastic clip. We give you 2 cotton bags because often you will find that the sprouts are still moist and the cotton bag will become wet, so you just swap the cotton bag and at the same time invert the plastic bag and allow the cotton bag to dry.

Weighting system i.e. 2 KG of pebbles, a mesh bag to contain the pebbles, a tea towel to cover the seeds/sprouts.

Seeds – 1 KG of Mung bean.

The advantages of our sprouting colanders:

1- The colanders come with their own drip bowl.

2- They have different drainage settings i.e. they can be set flat e.g. use for the 1^st few days and then at an angle for even better drainage and aeration as the sprout mass becomes larger.

3- They also come with a flat perforated optional lid/cover

– ensures they do not dry out but still allowing good aeration