End of February in the greenhouse

These warm sunny days bring our passive solar greenhouse temperatures up over 30C, and it's such a joy to go in there and feel the heat.  The microgreens and baby greens are thriving - we have our raised growing bed that runs along the south-facing greenhouse windows filled with sprouts of lettuces, chard, kale, mizuna, arugula.  The counter is full of small seedlings growing quickly, soon ready for transplanting.  The grow rack is full of trays of luscious pea shoots and buckwheat sprouts (grown with seeds from our favourite Canadian sprouting seed source Mumms), everything growing full force and a pleasure to eat in mid-February.

Sprouting basics for fall & winter health!

Thanks to everyone who dropped by our Little City Farm booth at the Kitchener Public Library's 2nd annual DIY Festival.  We were there to share basic homesteading skills, and we decided to talk about how to grow sprouts at home.  Here are a few basic tips and suggestions for successful sprouting, perfect to get started now that the weather is turning colder and we are no longer eating fresh greens (other than kale and chard) from our local gardens!

The Basic Steps of Sprouting

1. Rinsing – water is key – use lots, rinse 2-3 times per day, keep sprouts in cool location.
2. Draining – it is essential that sprouts are well-drained after rinsing!
3. Air Circulation – keep sprouts in well-vented area with good air circulation, not in a closed cabinet.
4. Cleanliness – start with clean seed, sterilized containers, and wash well between uses.
5. Storage – store completed sprouts in fridge – some sprouts can keep up to 6 weeks if stored properly.

Hints and suggestions for sprout success

• Alfalfa and other small seeds can be grown up to 4 cm long. A 25 g bag of alfalfa seed can grow 45 cups of sprouts!
• Lentils & peas are best small, with sprouts up to 1 cm long. They get tougher with more growth.
• Miss a rinsing? Just continue normally if sprouts seem alive and show no signs of mold. They should be fine.
• Mold – if you see a spot of mold, remove it with a good margin of healthy sprouts. Don’t mistake the fuzzy white root hairs of radish, canola, mustards, and other crucifers for mold.
• Taste – be sure to taste sprouts as you go along; use them when you like them.
• Greening – to green up sprouts (chlorophyll), leave them without a cover for a few hours in bright light (not direct sunlight).
• Temperature – sprouts grow best between 18C-25C (65F-75F). Use lukewarm water for soaking and rinsing in a cooler temperature, and cold water in a warmer room temperature.
• Drainage – drain the sprouts well before they go in the fridge. Rinse in the morning, cover, and refrigerate in the afternoon.
• Mung beans – grow best in a drainable tray or basket. They like extra rinsing, and are best grown in complete darkness to prevent bitterness.

Benefits of Growing Sprouts at Home

the fastest, easiest, most affordable way

to grow your own food!

• very affordable food source 
• accessible food source (grow right in your kitchen)  
• allows you to eat extremely local all year round 
• sprouts are nutrient-dense food, high in vitamins and minerals
• enjoy unique flavours & textures 
• sprouted food is easier on the digestive system 
• sprouts are living foods full of health and vitality for us
• sprouting makes nutrients more available to our bodies 
• easy to grow (takes only a few minutes per day) 
• sprout growing takes up little space (a kitchen counter or top of fridge) 
• organic and non-GMO food source
• gardening satisfaction for you (even in winter)

What can you sprout?

Microgreens (e.g. arugula, brassicas, chard, radish)	Micro-herbs (e.g. basil, dill, cilantro, chives)
Leafy greens & shoots (e.g. peas, sunflower, buckwheat, wheatgrass)	True sprouts (e.g. alfalfa, red clover, radish, mustards, brassicas)

Legumes & pulses (e.g. peas, chickpeas, lentils, mung, adzuki)

Grains (e.g. rye, wheat berries, spelt)

Nuts & seeds (e.g. sunflower, almond, sesame)

and more!

Simple Mason Jar Sprout Method

1. Soak seeds in cool filtered water.  Use aprox. 2 Tbsp seeds per 500 ml jar.

2. Cover with mesh lid and let soaking seeds sit at room temperature for 4-12 hours (depending on 
   size of seeds).

3. Drain & rinse in the jar until water runs clear.

4. Prop jar on angle to drain completely.
   
   
5. Repeat 2 times per day. Sprouts are ready to eat in about
   4-8 days, depending on size of seed. Store in fridge for about one week (drain completely before storing).
   
   

Information, seeds & sprouting equipment

Mumms Sprouting Seeds (Saskatchewan) – www.sprouting.com

Sproutman Publications – www.sproutman.com

Toronto Sprouts – www.torontosprouts.com

International Sprout Growers Association – www.isga-sprouts.org

The Sprout People – www.sproutpeople.com

Ann Wigmore Institute – www.annwigmore.org

Sprout Master (Ontario) – www.sproutmaster.com

Grow Your Own Microgreens!

Oooh, the delicious sweet spicy savory pungent and fresh tastes of microgreens at this time of year!  The trials in the new greenhouse have worked out really well - our greens are now the perfect microgreen cutting size, grown both in trays in our house (which can take 7-21 days depending on the seeds and growing conditions), and grown in soil in the greenhouse grow bed.  The seeds were off to a slower start in the greenhouse (than in our house) since the nights are still very cool in there, but with longer days of sunlight things have really picked up and now the greenhouse is out-competing the house greens.

Doing especially well - mizuna, arugula, chard, kale, and cold hardy lettuces.  Maya also planted carrots (a few have germinated) and I planted cilantro (also moving along slowly, since it's such a heat loving plant), and a few days ago Greg added beets (i.e. old sprouted beets to grow now for their tops).  It's a mish-mash grow bed, and fun to have different family members adding their own suggestions.

We all crave these fresh greens at this time of year - to renergize our bodies and detox from winter sluggishness, giving our livers a boost with the dark leafy greens (more talk about wild dark greens like dandelions and nettles soon).

What are microgreens - 
Microgreens are immature (baby) versions of vegetables, herbs and edible flowers.  They are larger than sprouts, but are harvested when still much smaller than the full-grown vegetable.  Easy to grow microgreens include broccoli, chard, basil, kale, cilantro, radish, buckwheat.

How to grow your own microgreens:

You will need:

• potting soil, lightly moistened
• trays to grow in (garden plug trays, or upcycled food trays like plastic or styrofoam from grocery or take-out)
• plastic wrap, damp newspaper, or plastic lid to fit your trays
• seeds (non GMO, organic), soaked for several hours (follow package instructions)
• water spray bottle

1) Add lightly moistened soil to tray, just enough to cover the bottom (about 1-2 inches of soil).
2) Sprinkle your choice of seeds evenly across the soil, pressing in lightly with hands (add enough seeds to fill the tray, but not more than one layer thick).
3) Cover with plastic wrap, damp newspaper or plastic lid - and leave covered until seeds germinate.  Then remove covers so mold doesn't develop on the soil.
4) Mist seeds at least 2 times a day.  Try not to let the soil dry out in between if possible, but do not over-water.  Soil and seeds should simply be lightly damp.
5) Growing period will take anywhere from 7-21 days, depending on seeds you are growing and your growing conditions (e.g. light levels, temperature of house, humidity, how often you water, etc).  During growing period the trays can be left on a kitchen counter - they do not need grow lights or direct sunlight.
6) To harvest - usually microgreens are harvested after the second set of true leaves has emerged.  Remember, microgreens are larger than sprouts, but smaller than the full grown vegetable.  Shoots, stems, leaves and even roots are all edible.  Harvest with sharp kitchen scissors.  Store in a sealed container in fridge for several days, but ideally harvest just before you want to eat!  Enjoy!

Happy hens in spring - sprouts & herbs

Our hens are absolutely crazy for any shoots of greens they can find at this time of year!  And we are happy to let them nibble around the garden as they like since our salad greens are protected under plastic in the grow tunnel, and new seedlings are not yet planted out.  We have also been supplementing the hens winter feed with sprouted greens, such as alfalfa and red clover sprouts, left over stalks of pea shoots after we harvest the tops for our smoothies, and their favourite - wheatgrass.  We pull out the whole mat of wheatgrass after it's been growing for about 10 days, and lay the mat in the hen yard.  Sometimes we sprinkle buckwheat groats among the wheatgrass blades, and the hens just love to graze and find these treats.

Herbs for hens have been another learning opportunity.  Since we already grow, harvest and use so many medicinal herbs for our own family, we thought we would find useful herbs to provide health benefits for the hens.  We have been tying bundles of herbs (lavender, sage, lemon balm) to hang around the coop as a way to help repel fleas and mites, as well as chopping up herbs like lemon balm, mint and parsley into their nest box - this boosts their health, gives them something to nibble at, and keeps them happily laying.  It also helps keep the eggs clean (we try to clean the nest box daily, taking out old straw/bran and adding new material, plus new chopped herbs).  Herbs can be fresh or dried. 

Other great herbs to add to hens food to boost their health include:
~ garden herbs like: chopped up garlic (bulbs and greens); oregano, yarrow.
~ wild herbs like: nettles,  comfrey leaf, dandelion leaves, and chickweed. 
~ sprouted greens like: alfalfa, buckwheat greens, sunflower shoots, pea shoots.
~ edible medicinal flower petals like: calendula, marigold and rose.

Most of these greens are readily available - easily to grow in your garden, or wild harvest locally.  To prepare a longer term herbal feed mix, harvest the herbs and dry them fully.  Then blend and crush them, store in a glass mason jar, and add a few Tbsp to your hens feed.  We sometimes mix in live cultured yogurt as well, when adding the herbs to the dry feed, as this is also beneficial for hens health and well-being.

A great source for Canadian organic non-GMO sprouting seeds is Mumms, based in Saskatchewan.

 Here the hens are happily eating their mat of sprouted wheatgrass.

This eggs was laid in a nest box lined with bran and lemon balm.  We also like to add mint leaves, rose petals, and marigold or calendula to the nest box.

Here are trays of pea shoots and buckwheat greens ready to feed to the hens as a treat.  We enjoy these sprouts too of course!

Winter Sprout Garden in your Kitchen

We need our greens in winter.  And yet, most of us don't have gardens or greenhouses to grow what we need to keep ourselves healthy in the cold winter months.  However, all of us have indoor space that can work well for growing living sprouts and nutrient-dense microgreens.  Grow a winter sprout garden in your kitchen this year!  What a treat to eat fresh organic living greens all winter long. 

We usually have a rotation of various trays of pea shoots, sunflower shoots, and buckwheat going, as well as sweet brassicas (broccoli, kale, red cabbage) and spicy daikon radish as microgreens.  We also really like the crunchy bean mix and spicy lentil blend sprouted for only a few days in glass jars, the seeds purchased from Mumm's sprouts (a great company offering organic non-GMO sprout seeds, based in Saskatchewan). 

It only takes a few minutes a day to water your sprout garden, or harvest some greens to add to a salad or a breakfast green smoothie.  It takes a little planning to get the sprout rotation going smoothly - soaking seeds and sprouting them for a continuous harvest, but it's such a nice way to get gardening satisfaction in the cold dark days of winter, working with soil, seeds and greens, helping to coax the seeds to life - and to benefit from the living energy of these vibrant greens in healthful meals to keep us healthy all winter long.  Want to learn more?  We will be offering one sprouting/microgreens workshop in February here at Little City Farm - come taste a variety of delicious sprouts we grow, learn best tips for sprouting at home yourself, take home a sprouting chart as an easy reference, and a sprout starter kit to get your own kitchen garden growing this winter.

Oh to grow! (seedlings, sprouts...)

There are days lately when February seems unending and spring still seems so far off.  It's been a cold long winter, with more snow that we've can remember in a very long time, and a conversation today with a seasoned local organic farmer confirmed for me that it looks like it's going to be a cold March and late arrival of spring.  A cure for the winter blues?  Putting your hands into warm, rich earthy-smelling soil on a chilly February morning...so that's what we have been doing. 

All winter long we grow trays of sprouts - mostly pea shoots, sunflower greens and buckwheat greens - which keeps us active in the soil every few days if we get our rhythm right.  The sprouts take about 10 days in a cool house in winter season to grow from seed to edible sprout size.  Every few days a new jar of seeds is soaked overnight, for planting the next day so that we have ongoing greens ready to harvest. 

In the coming weeks it will be time to start the seedlings for this year's garden - tomatoes, basil, eggplants, kales, and more!  Our arrivals of seed packages into the house has brought a steady sense of joy and anticipation.  Some wishes for this year's garden include trying new varieties of spicy lettuces, new (and old favourite) heirloom tomatoes, purple peas, loads of beans and more beans, and more Asian greens, and rainbow carrots...

Our favourite seed suppliers that offer heirloom and organic non-GMO seeds include Cottage Gardener; Hope Seeds; Hawthorne Seeds; High Mowing; Urban Harvest; and Greta's Organic Seeds.  And we've been buying our sprouting seeds (for eating and juicing sprouts) for many many years from Mumm's in Saskatchewan!

Check out our Planting Guide here for details on when to start your own seedlings at home.  If you don't get a chance to plant everything you need, or are looking for unique and heirloom seedlings, come on out to our Annual Seedling Sale on Saturday May 24 morning!

Our March kitchen garden

We're happy to say our kitchen is starting to feel like a spring garden.  The window ledges are lined with jars of sprouts, the counter holds trays of baby lettuce and pea shoots, and the grow rack is filled with trays of baby seedlings that we're getting ready to plant outdoors in May.  We're also growing wheatgrass in trays for the first time - so easy to grow and chock full of health benefits such as detoxifying the body, aiding digestion, and improving the immune system.  We have thought about growing it in the past, but weren't sure how to process it.  Now that we have a good juicer that changes everything.  However, our daughter prefers to keep things simple and just nibble it, enjoying the sweet taste of the fresh shoots.   We happily keep it low on the rack so she can reach...

Winter sprout kitchen

It still feels like winter with all the extra snowfall lately.  Although we are starting our seedlings, it's still a long way from getting regular fresh greens from the garden.  By growing sprouts in our indoor "kitchen garden" we have a great way to eat fresh local nutrition-packed greens during the cold winter months. 

How to sprout?  It's easy!  We prefer the old fashioned methods of either using soil in trays (for pea shoots, wheatgrass, buckwheat or sunflower greens); or glass mason jars with mesh screens (for the small sprouts like microgreens, and small legumes).  Other sprouting methods can be using special sprout bags, sprouting tray systems, or hydroponic systems.  We like to keep things simple, efficient and cheap which is why we use containers we have around the house.

Remember, sprout seeds need to be pre-soaked in cool water so they germinate.  Smaller seeds require less soaking time.  If you stay on a regular soaking/sprouting schedule you will have a continuous supply of delicious greens.  Our favourite place to buy organic sprout seeds is Mumm's, a Canadian company offering certified organic non-GMO seeds and sprouting supplies.  Here's how we sprout:

Tray Sprouting Method
(for cutting greens such as peas, wheatgrass, buckwheat, sunflower and lettuce mixes):

1. Soak sprout seeds in cool water for 24 hours.
2. Fill a garden seedling tray half way full with moist organic potting soil.
3. Spread one layer of the soaked, drained sprout seeds evenly across the soil.
4. Cover sprout seeds with another layer of moist soil, just to cover.
5. Place clear plastic tray lid on top and set tray on top of refrigerator (where it's warm), or on a kitchen counter, or a grow rack if you have one.
6. Water with mister every day, keeping soil moist. Sprouts will start to grow in 3-4 days, and be ready to harvest within about 7-10 days.  Some greens can be cut and grow again (e.g. pea shoots) and others are a one-time harvest only.
7. Eat fresh in salads, sandwiches, or juice the sprouts.

Mason Jar Sprouting Method
(for microgreens such as broccoli, mustard, alfalfa, also lentils, mung, adzuki, chickpea, radish, etc)

You will need:
- wide mouth large glass mason jar
- piece of fine mesh screening or cheesecloth
- rubber elastic band
- sprout seeds

1. Soak sprout seeds in water (2-24 hours, depending on size of seed - usually they tiny seeds like broccoli only need 2 hours, but larger seeds and beans need upto 24 hours soaking time).
2. Drain seeds well.  Add about 1 Tbsp seeds to 1 large mason jar.  Close tightly with mesh screen.
3. Tip jar upside down into a small bowl at an angle so the water drains completely.  
4. Continue to rinse and drain your sprouts twice a day, using cool clean water.
5. After about 4-7 days your sprouts will be ready to eat.  Taste them throughout the sprouting period to see when they are ready.  Store sprouts (completely drained) in refrigerator for several days once they are fully sprouted.

Eat on your favourite wholegrain seed crackers (see our recipe here), in salads, sprinkled on soups or stir-fry, sandwiches, etc.

Winter Sprouts

It's so satisfying to grow sprouts in the winter.  They delicious, nutritious live foods, with a gorgeous fresh green colour and flavour that we crave in the cold months.  We are growing a variety of sprouts in trays of soil this year (in the months before our grow racks are needed to hold our seedlings) - pea shoots, cilantro greens, lettuces, arugula, sunflower shoots, chives...and cat grass that our 3 year old is tending patiently (aka. wheat grass, which grows so quickly that it's exciting for kids to care for).  Most sprouts only take about a week to grow (depending on how warm your house is), and some can be cut to grow again (cilantro, lettuces).  They prefer nice steady temperatures and watering, so we like to mist them every day and keep them under plastic lids in a grow rack wrapped with greenhouse grade plastic sheeting to keep out the drafts.  After they have germinated we turn on the lights so they can green up more quickly.  Our favourite source for sprouting seeds and other materials is Mumm's, in Saskatchewan.

Winter sprout garden

We've planted seeds in the greenhouse and cold frames already, in hopes of harvesting some late winter greens.  Today we started our indoor winter sprout garden.  All this really meant was pulling out the wide mouth mason jars, finding mesh lids for them, and soaking several batches of seeds.  We love the sprout seed mixes from Mumm's in Saskatchewan - like spicy lentil crunch, sandwich booster, spring salad mix, brassicas blend, ancient eastern blend, etc - but of course you can simply buy organic seeds and mix your own variations together.  It's best to blend seedsor beans that are of similar size, so they germinate at a similar rate.  You can also sprout individual kinds of seeds, like the common alfalfa sprouts, mung beans, pea sprouts, wheat grass, or sunflower shoots.

It was fun for our 2-year old to help with this "garden" project, and she happily mixed and watered seeds, stirred them in their jars, and helped set up the draining station (we drain the jars propped upside down on a slight angle, supported in a wire dish rack).  She can watch the progress of these growing seeds, which are satisfyingly quick to sprout and ready to eat in only a few days!  We are already looking forward to our next winter picnic with homemade bread, hummus and fresh homegrown sprouts!

If you live locally and want to learn more about sprouting, check out our workshop on Wheatgrass/Sprouting, coming up on February 12.

Sprouting Workshop

On Saturday we held our annual sprouting workshop - not seedling starting, but sprouting for winter greens. We had grown a large assortment of sprouted seeds to demonstrate how they can be grown in small spaces - hydroponic greens grown in a jar or sprouter by rinsing and draining, as well as soil grown sprouts like pea shoots and wheat grass.

Hydroponic sprouts included such as the familiar alfalfa and sandwich greens (canola, radish, red clover), microgreens like the brassica family (broccoli and cabbage), and the more unique "ancient eastern blend" (adzuki, mung, kamut, black lentil), and "crunchy bean mix" (garbonzo, green marrowfat pea, green lentil)...

The workshop also featured sprouted foods, such as sprouted "cheese" (more like a zesty cheese-flavoured dip, which is made from sprouted sunflower and sesame seeds), sprouted hummus, sprouted bread (dehydrated sprouted wheat berries blended with chives and miso), and sprouted desserts (mmm...sprouted almond pudding, and almond butter bliss balls). Basically, sprouts can be used in their green raw form in all manner of dishes (soups, salads, sandwiches, casseroles) as long as they are not heated over 105F which destroys their enzymes. Sprouts are considered wonder foods, rich in vitamins and minerals and they impart their living energy of the germinated seed to our bodies when we eat them. Sprouts have been renowed in cleansing diets, as well as for healing all manner of illnesses. They are pre-digested because of the soaking and sprouting process, so easy to digest when eaten.

Sprouting in winter also offers us gardeners the indoor gardening satisfaction, while snow flies outside and the ground is frozen. I love seeing my windowsill full of bright green living plants all winter long, and enjoying the fresh taste of locally grown greens in January!

Great resources
Ann Wigmore's sprouting book; Steve Meyerowitz (Sproutman) sprouting books
Mumm's for sprouting seeds and supplies (based in Saskatchewan)

Baking for barter dollars!

I've been slowly reviving my old baking business "Wildflour Bakery", and am now offering monthly selections of breads, cookies and squares to barter members. I email a list of baked items to the member list, and deliver the pre-ordered goods to the barter fair on the last Saturday of the month. The beauty of the barter system is that one can offer things that are hobbies, and develop new skills or fulfill creative outlets through this manner. Doing this baking satisfies by desire to run a bakery, which is not feasible in a larger way right now. We'd love to have a neighbourhood cafe or bakery from our location, but would need to do some reorganizing and rezoning of our property. Maybe possible in future? Certainly this is a walking/cycling neigbhourhood, where there would be a decent amount of pedestrian traffic, and it's a neighbourhood that would benefit from a cafe in it's midst. We've seen lovely examples in cities like Winnipeg (Tall Grass Prairie Bread Company, which is a thriving bakery out of a tiny one room space, and we always make a stop there for their famous cinnamon buns. This bakery started by families using a church kitchen in the neighbourhood to bake breads, and delivered them by little red wagon to households that had pre-ordered. Demand grew, support grew, and they eventually set up a bakery shop...).

Anyway, for now, I can prepare baked goods and trade them through the barter system (BarterWorks), test out my recipes and provide wholesome, mindfully prepared baking using organic local ingredients to members. I offer vegan and wheat-free options as well. This month the breads included: 4-Grain Sunflower & Flax; Cranberry-Pumpkin Seed Millet; Local Oats & Honey. I've been reading Sally Fallon's book Nourishing Traditions, as well as thinking about sprouting for winter, and realize that I really need to invest in a solid heavy-duty grain mill. She write that most grains, nuts and seeds, and beans need to be soaked, sprouted and/or fermented, before eating. This helps to digest them, but also enhances their nutritional value. Foods that are processed quickly lose nutrition, nuts, seeds and grains go rancid. A grain mill allows us to grind jsut what we need, to sprout the grain before hand (or at least soak it overnight), and gain optimum nutrition in our baking. I suppose baking itself should be minimized, and this school of thought would promote sprouted breads or dehydrated foods that are only minimally heated (baking or heating also kills helpful enzymes needed for digestion)....more on Sally Fallon's book as I read on. We'll be offering a sprouting/living foods workshop here at Little City Farm in November, just in time for everyone to get started on their own indoor living food "gardens" for winter.

Herb Seedlings Started Today & Winter Sprouting

We planted herb seeds for this season a few weeks ago, and are on round two today. Basil (four varieties), sage, thyme, lavender, marjoram, fennel, coriander, parsley (both curled, and Italian), rosemary, marigold, anise hyssop, and NEW this year Stevia! Many herbs take a few weeks to even germinate, let alone the amount of time these slow-growing plants take to become actual sturdy seedlings. If all goes well, we should have more than 500 herbal seedlings ready by May - many of these will go into our gardens, but most will be for sale during our May long weekend seedling sale.

Greg planted greens (lettuces, Asian greens, kale, chard, spinach) in our greenhouse last week, and the coldframe greens are already several inches high. With the low light levels of winter and the cold, these greens don't grow much - we would have to heat with wood or electric sources, both of which aren't available right now. However, by March-April we'll be back to eating fresh greens and daily salads. For now, I'm doing a regular weekly hydroponic sprout garden, rotating through cress, arugula, spicy lentil mix, salad booster mix (alfalfa, radish, red clover), as well as some greens in soil (sunflower, chives, wheatgrass, cilantro sprouts) so we get tasty fresh greens packed with nutrition this way during the cold months.

Our chickens also love getting a few handfuls of these sprouts too, if we care to share them. They have been spoiled by us with greens, as we've lately been getting kale at the grocery store for them! (after our winter kale garden supply was depleted). Of course, we still feed them shredded carrot, compost veggie scraps, stale bread, sunflower seeds, and their usual layer crumbles and scratch grain, but they do love any fresh greens the most! A few days ago, when we had a bit of a warm spell, the hens were all out about the yard, pecking excitedly at anything slightly resembling a green shoot (even wilted leftover greens from last year's garden). They are longing for spring weather, though don't seem too phased by the snow - they trek around with snow upto their ankles and venture around their small yard when it's sunny.