Sprouting seeds are generally just a "marketing" way of saying "untreated seed."

A lot of vegetable seed is untreated unless otherwise noted, though if it's a hybrid seed type you'll want to check with the producer/packager because it's a lot more common.

The most common treatment for broccoli would be fungicide treatment.

That said...even if it is treated, you can snip them at soil or above rooting level as a micro-green and it's pretty much just fine.

This post was edited by nc-crn on Thu, Mar 6, 14 at 0:32

Sprouting seeds are also checked for food borne illness like salmonella and E. Coli.
Remember when grocery store sprouts became very scary?
So, using them as normal sprouts, where you eat the whole thing, seems a bit risky.
Nc-cm -- does snipping at soil level prevent exposure to the food borne illnesses? It seems logical that it would.

"does snipping at soil level prevent exposure to the food borne illnesses?"

For micro-greens it's can be a bit of risk given the short time it's been emerged from the soil and the humid environment depending on the method you use to grow them.

If I feared possibly pathogen contaminated seed I would grow them more "open air" in flats rather than in a semi-enclosed and humid environment some people do their micro-greens in.

It is also quite expensive. I started sprouting the first time we got below -10F back in January. By now I must have done 3 sunflower trays and about ten jars of alfalfa, fenugreek, and broccoli. If I were to sprout from packet seeds, it would be quite expensive. I will probably sprout until mid-May this year. If you need a sprout fix, go to the food coop and buy lentils and sunflower seeds. Striped sunflower seeds have tough shells to clean up, but germinate just as well as black, you just need to harvest it a bit later.

glib, every time you post about sprouts it makes me jealous. I bought tons of sprouting seeds this year (actually went to Pinetree up in Maine and went through their racks -- so fun!) And then the pipes leading up from our spring froze, and with no running water since December, I just couldn't justify the water use (too much lugging jugs already). Sigh. I'll just live sprouts vicariously through you :)

This post was edited by elisa_Z5 on Fri, Mar 7, 14 at 10:29

I pour the water from one jar into the next, then pour the last remnant in houseplant pots. Watering is efficient. But cleaning them up at the end is not water efficient at all, as they have to go through many washes. Probably only sunflower shoots can be grown and cleaned with little water, and of course pea shoots.

I also figured out a couple of tricks that make for a much better product: do not overcrowd them (one heaping tablespoon per quart jar is best), during active growth shake them daily so they don't root into the screen, and let them grow as much as possible so they get rid of as many husks as possible. Very nutritious stuff.

I've got one of those 4 tiered sprouters, where you put about 2 cups of water in the top each day and it siphons down, then you dump it out of the bottom (that could be recycled, yes). I guess we could have afforded 2 cups a day, but then it has to be washed, and that takes more water. I'll just hope my seeds are good for next year.

surely they will be good next year. I ventured in the garden today, back from work, and it was a major effort to dig into a tunnel, with two feet of packed snow on the ground. I picked few, pitiful, dehydrated collards (though the dehydrated collards I picked 6 weeks ago turned normal after a prolonged soaking) in a whole bed. I had trouble getting out of the tunnel because some snow had fallen back on the plastic.The sprouts are just across the living room, perfectly crisp and fresh. No chance the garden thaws before April 15.

I never "wash" my sprouts, and i certainly don't wash my microgreens.

You must like rotting seed hulls a whole lot. The sprouts are surely clean otherwise.

I water(rinse) them everyday. Just wet the sprouts, pour out the excess water, when i pour the excess water out, the seed hulls comes with the water, they naturally float to the top. They have all different sprouting tools..

Even when i leaved the hulls with the sprouts while they are growing, when i harvested them and rinsed the seed hulls out, the hulls were no where near rotting. Im concerned about your setup Glib, how long do you let your sprouts grow for? Even in my poor setups, i barely had any mold, let alone rot.

Normal times, perhaps a bit longer b/c my house is kept at 55F most of the day. About 8 days for fenugreek. The rotting is not obvious, and there is no mold, but obviously it is ongoing. Fenugreek hulls, for example, become softer as time goes by, and some of them also sink. Broccoli or alfalfa hulls show no texture degradation, but they certainly are attacked by bacteria.

My jars have tight fitting screen lids which are a bit difficult to put on, I have to keep the jars with the lids on until the sprouts are ready, then separate sprouts and hulls, which is done in the salad spinner, full of water, for the most part.