tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9181143864893733421.post1765615816023536477..comments2023-10-11T04:39:34.137-05:00Comments on Regenerative agriculture and Innovation: Climate Smart SeedsDr.Thimmaiah (Tim)http://www.blogger.com/profile/17720178886375882586noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9181143864893733421.post-66510351087485618232012-09-20T08:11:12.678-05:002012-09-20T08:11:12.678-05:00SEEDS are very precious .
SEED SPROUTING
There is ... <br />SEEDS are very precious .<br />SEED SPROUTING<br />There is something unique about a form of gardening when you reap what you have sown within a week . This is what seed sprouting has to offer. <br />Seed sprouting – which is simply germinating seeds and planting / eating the tiny seedlings- usually before they even develop seed leaves – is one of those ideas which go a long way in history. Seeds meant for planting could be planted in special protrays and then planted to pots/mainfield. <br />The Aztecs, and Navajo Indians, and the Chinese were all sprouting seeds many centuries ago.<br />What can be sprouted? Although we tend to sprout only a few kinds of seeds, surprisingly a large range of seeds can be sprouted. In the bean family apart from the mung bean, there are the beans, broad, French runner, Lima & Soya beans. While other suitable legumes include lentils (whole, not split), clove peas and chick peas. Suitable grains for sprouting are wheat , oats , barley, millet , maize and buckwheat , while suitable brassicas and other crucifers include kale, broccoli, brussels sprouts cauliflower , radish, rape and of course , mustard and cress. The list can be rounded off with a few miscellaneous seeds such as pumpkin, marrow, melon, sunflower and even mint. As so many seeds can be sprouted it is tempting to experiment, but before doing so make sure you have suitable seed. <br />Once you have the knack, sprouting becomes second nature and ridiculously easy. But people do have failures, the commonest being seeds going moldy or sour. The secret to remember that germinating requires four things:<br />1.Warmth: The average room temperature, 55 to 65 degrees F is generally about right.<br />2.Moisture: just moist, not swamped with water or allowed to dry out.<br />3.Air: as they need oxygen to breathe and develop.<br />4.Clean conditions.<br />Failures can usually be traced to being kept too hot or too cold, too dry or too wet, to suffocation by being in too thick a layer or too small a container and to not being rinsed frequently enough. In short, problems stem from the fact that the warm, moist conditions which seeds need to germinate are just the conditions that would favour the development of disease and mould – hence the need to encourage vigorous growth in fresh conditions.<br />SPROUTING : There are several ways of sprouting seeds. The essential element is some means of rinsing them with water to keep them fresh. <br /><br /><br />It is preferable to sprout the seeds in plastic containers with fitting lids, the sandwich box type of thing. Jam jars with muslin over the top, held in place with a rubber band or even better, with a lid made of tin foil with holes punched in it. A snag with muslin is that it becomes discoloured and small seeds tend to adhere to it. Bowls, and even deep plates, can be used. <br />Jars can be upright or placed on their sides to spread the seeds more evenly.<br />Sprouting can be done in the dark or in the light, but seeds such as mung and alpatco beans, lentils are whiter and crisper if grown in the dark, but is really a matter of taste. You can darken a jar or dish by covering it with black plastic or tinfoil or standing it inside a slit cornflakes packet. <br />Most seed should be ready within five to seven days, though this varies with seed and temperature.<br />A modification of this method is to line the container with some kind of base-flannel, cotton wool or several layers of blotting paper – in the time honoured method of growing cress. <br />In our experience seeds take longer to sprout when grown on a base, but they are less likely to dry out. In the early stages the seeds can still be tipped into a strainer to rinse them, later on, when they root into the base, it is more a question of pouring water in, swirling it around it gently, and pouring it out Could use again, they grow a little longer than they would otherwise do.<br />Joseph Brittohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06100891141271080653noreply@blogger.com