Interested in Growing Your Own Sprouts?

Sprouts are the very first growth of a vegetable. They look like nothing more than little pieces of vegetable confetti, but they're packed with nutrients and boast all the flavor of their mature counterparts. You can grow tons of different plants as sprouts to suite your tastes.

These tiny plants have been part of Chinese cuisine for thousands of years, but they're just now really taking off in other parts of the world, here included. And I, for one, am so ready for the sprouts awakening. Sprouts are so good for us, they're easy to grow, and they make every meal feel gourmet.

Here are the things I think everyone should know about sprouts, including the five major pros and then the four considerations to keep in mind before you soak your first batch of seeds.

Pro Number One

Sprouts Require Very Little Space or Setup

You do not need a garden to grow your own sprouts. Not so much as a single pot on an apartment balcony.

Actually, you don't even need to leave your kitchen to "plant" and tend your sprouts. You can grow a weekly supply of sprouts if you have a space the size of a dinner plate on your countertop. All you need is a container that allows you to rinse your seeds and then drain them fully again and again during their growing process. You can buy a designated seed sprouter or sprouting tray, or you can just use supplies you already have in your kitchen (like a bowl and a strainer).

That's really all you need. No building raised beds or dragging heavy bags of soil to your door.

I wish I had known about this simple form of indoor gardening when I was living in tiny apartments and row houses, dreaming of having a huge yard one day so I could finally grow a little bit of my own food.

Pro Number Two

Sprouts Are Easy to Grow

Just as you don't have to have a garden to grow sprouts, you also don't need to have any gardening experience. People who've killed every other plant they've ever tried to grow can harvest bowls and bowls of their own sprouts with very little effort.

I'm not exaggerating when I say that growing your own sprouts is as easy as shampooing your hair. After giving your sprouts an initial soak, you just rinse them a couple times a day and spread them out over their draining tray.

Rinse. Repeat. That's all, folks!

Pro Number Three

Sprouts Are Ready in as Little as 5 Days

When I tell people I like fast food, I am, of course, referring to sprouts.

Imagine waking up one day to discover your baby grew so much they burst through their onesie overnight. That's how fast these plants grow. They're doubling, if not quadrupling, their size every day. And because we're harvesting them before they grow their first set of true leaves, that means they're ready in just 5 to 7 days.

No committing to months of waiting for your first harvest. I mean, if you’ve been looking for a quick win in the garden, you’ve just found it.

Pro Number Four

Sprouts Can Be Grown Year Round

Sprouts are grown indoors, so they're not affected by the weather outside. In other words, sprouts are "in season" every single month of the year, no matter where you live.

There could be a blizzard outside. There could be record-breaking temps. Everything green outside could be covered in snow or shriveled up from drought. It doesn't matter. Your sprouts are doing their thing inside. It was actually in the middle of my first winter in Chicago that I discovered the simple joys of growing sprouts and microgreens indoors.

If you miss garden-fresh flavors during long, brutal winters or summers, sprouts will be your salvation.

Pro Number Five

Sprouts Are Packed with Nutrients

There are as many nutrients in a teaspoon of sprouts as there are in an entire basket of fruits and vegetables. That's because seeds are filled with all kinds of vitamins, minerals, and enzymes, and the sprouting process basically unlocks those nutrients. Consuming these tiny plants before they've had a chance to grow means there's no time for all that nutrition to spread out to leaves and stems and fruit. Basically, we get to enjoy all the good stuff in the most concentrated form nature offers.

The exact nutrients you'll get from sprouts depend on the type of sprout you're eating. Most sprouts contain vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K, folate, and minerals like iron, potassium, and magnesium. There's also more fiber in sprouts than in their mature vegetable counterparts.

Thanks to all these nutrients, sprouts provide tons of potential health benefits, including controlling blood sugar levels in people with diabetes, improving digestion, lowering cholesterol, and boosting immune function. The different antioxidants found in sprout varieties combat oxidative stress and help us—this is huge for me—avoid chronic disease and cancer. Scientists are even exploring sprouts as a way to treat and prevent malnutrition around the world.

What if the answer to so many of our health problems is inside a jar? Not a jar of multivitamins from the store. Just a little mason jar of homegrown sprouts.

Con Number One

Sprouts Need Your Daily Attention While They're Growing

If you're the kind of person who forgets to do daily tasks, you might accidentally neglect your sprouts during a pivotal time in their growth. When the days to harvest time is so short, every single day counts. After all, the only thing you're really giving these seeds to get them to grow is water, so if you hold out on the water too long, those seeds will shrivel up and die. Or if you let them sit in too much water for too long, they'll grow mildew or mold instead of tasty leaves.

Caring for your sprouts takes just a minute or two in the morning and night. The best way to ensure you're there for your sprouts is to keep them right by your kitchen sink. That way, you make tending them part of your daily routine (like when you're making coffee in the morning and cleaning up after dinner). As long as you step up to your kitchen sink at least twice a day, you’ll see them, which means you can keep track of their growth, water when needed, and know when they’re ready for harvest. 

Con Number Two

Sprouts Spoil Quickly

These tiny plants are so delicate they just don't last very long. That's why you don't see sprouts for sale at most grocery stores. It's too difficult for growers to pack and ship sprouts in a way that guarantees they're still fresh by the time they get to us.

You'll want to enjoy your homegrown sprouts within a couple of days and store them inside the fridge. Before you eat a batch, make sure they don't smell musty or have a slimy appearance, two signs they're no longer fresh.

Con Number Three

Sprouts Might Be Difficult for Some People to Digest

Remember how I said sprouts contain lots of fiber and are great for our digestive health?

Well, turns out there can be too much of a good thing. Most of us are not currently getting enough fiber in our diets, and if we all of a sudden eat a whole bunch of sprouts that have a high concentration of insoluble fiber, we can actually make our gut symptoms worse. Too much fiber can cause things like bloating, gas, and constipation.

As always, we're supposed to eat a variety of fiber-rich foods, so that should include a variety of sprouts, as well. (I typically grow at least three different types each week.) Give your body time to adapt to new foods, and spread your sprout consumption throughout the day.

Con Number Four

Sprouts Present a Small Risk of Contamination

There is a small chance that you can consume bad bacteria like Listeria, Salmonella, and E. coli along with your sprouts.

The problem is the seed itself can be contaminated if bacteria slips in through little cracks in the seed coat. Instead of leaving the contaminated part behind in the soil, we're putting it in a warm, moist environment next to hundreds of other little plants. Then, we eat those plants raw.

If you're pregnant, you might consider avoiding sprouts the same way you would soft cheeses and deli meat. Or stick to more robust sprouts like bean sprouts, which can be cooked.

We can all reduce our chances of getting sick by purchasing our seeds from reputable growers, following the directions on the package to disinfect seeds before sprouting them, and washing our sprouts thoroughly before eating them. Growing your own sprouts instead of buying them means you're in control from day one to ensure you're handling them in a safe manner. (Make sure to follow these directions to reduce your chances of fungal issues and contaminants.)

Is Growing Sprouts at Home Worth It?

I personally believe that the pros far outweigh the cons for growing our own sprouts.

The biggest con is really the risk of encountering a food-borne pathogen, but you face the same risk if you buy sprouts from the store. And honestly, we're already taking that risk every time we buy things like romaine lettuce, cantaloupe, and even ice cream. I typically eat sprouts raw, and I've never had a problem. For myself, the incredible health benefits of eating sprouts make the tiny risk more than worth it.

Speaking of those health benefits, I really think we could reduce our need for so many different medical services if we were all growing sprouts at home. And we don't have to grow tons of sprouts to reap those benefits. Just a spoonful of sprouts seeds a week could do so much good for our bodies.

One thing I haven't mentioned yet is the cost of growing your own sprouts. If you start out just using supplies you have at home, then all you need to grab is a pack of bulk seeds. You can buy a pound of sprouting seeds for less than $20 (about the same price as a good multivitamin). This pack will last you several months if you're only growing a tablespoon of sprouts seeds each week. That's exponentially cheaper than buying sprouts from the store (if you can even find them).

Lastly, I've found a lot of joy in growing sprouts. You literally get to harvest something you've grown inside your kitchen each week. You could start a new batch every couple of days and have a steady rotation of the most nutrient-dense, flavorful veggies on the planet. It's pretty incredible.

Do Sprouts Need Light to Grow?

You don't need any light to grow sprouts—not even artificial light. If you'd like your sprouts to turn a darker green around the time of harvest, however, you can introduce a little light so they can photosynthesize. This is completely optional.

Can Sprouts Grow into Full Plants?

The seeds for sprouts are the same seeds you would buy to grow a mature plant. The only difference is that seeds labeled for sprouting are often sold in larger quantities since you'll need a lot of them to get a good harvest. If you were to place these seeds in a growing medium and give them time to grow, you could grow a full plant under the right conditions.

How long do sprouts last?

Sprouts can be saved in your fridge for up to a week, though you'll enjoy them at their peak flavor and nutritional content as soon as they're ready. The best way to store them is inside a closed container lined with a paper towel. I like to stagger when my different batches of sprouts will be ready throughout the week so that I can enjoy them as fresh as possible.

Are You Ready to Grow Your Own Sprouts?

I'm on a mission to get every single person in the world gardening a little bit in their very own space, and growing sprouts is one of the simplest ways that each of us can become a gardener. Sprouts bring all the magic of gardening indoors, without any of the setup, time commitment, or skills required (not to mention you don't have to deal with pests!).

My goal this year is to start at least one tray of sprouts every week for the entirety of the year. I hope you'll join me in growing your own fresh, nutritious, and flavor-packed food.

Thanks for helping make the garden ordinary, one small but mighty bowl of greens at a time.