Sprouting seeds of success: How to move your gardening indoors

Where did that warm golden autumn disappear to? Winter is lashing Australia’s eastern seaboard with floods and driving rains. So, as the weather swirls and howls outside, why not move your gardening indoors?

The cooler days offer a perfect time to experiment with sprouting, or jar-dening, as I like to call it. All you need is a jar and a lid with a few holes punched into it, some sprouting seeds, and you can have a crop of delicious sprouts within a week.

In the age of “superfoods”, sprouts pack a punch. They are brimming with minerals, vitamins and amino acids, and the process of germination unlocks even more nutrients.

It’s important to buy your sprouting seeds from a reputable supplier (I use diggers.com.au). Don’t use seeds or beans from the supermarket because they could have been sprayed with all sorts of chemicals that are designed to be destroyed by the cooking process. There is a wide variety of sprouting seeds to experiment with. You can try sprouting bean sprouts, mung beans, alfalfa shoots, wheat-berries, quinoa, fenugreek, peas or broccoli.

They all have different germinating periods, so read the instructions on the seed packet carefully.

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With most sprouts you need to soak the seeds in cold water overnight, then thoroughly rinse and drain well the next day. Then completely rinse and swirl twice a day until the seeds sprout and develop their long roots and new shoots. Keep your jar tilted so the excess water can drain away and at a slight angle so the seeds spread out and don’t end up mouldy.

Store your sprouting jars away from sunlight in a warm place: a kitchen bench near a sink corner is perfect. Alfalfa will sprout in two to three days: mung beans can take up to seven days.

After sprouting is complete ensure your shoots are well-washed, wrap them in some paper towel and place them in a sealed plastic container. Toss them through salads, put them into sandwiches or add them to stir-fries. They can keep in the refrigerator for up to six weeks.

Indira Naidoo co-hosts Sydney’s 2CH breakfast show with Trevor Sinclair from 6am-9am Monday-Friday.

Purchase copies of Indira Naidoo’s garden cookbooks The Edible Balcony and The Edible City at Dymocks.