Sunflower shoots or sunflower sprouts
@CaptAlbertWhisker (32569)
Calgary, Alberta
December 21, 2011 5:28pm CST
If you hate vegetables and you think they were gross,dont post
This vegetable became popular in the united states because its something you can grow in home even without a backyard and its nutritional content is amazing, its something you can grow indoors and harvest in 5 days( it took 10 days to grow in cold seasons and grows faster during summer)
There are hundreds of tutorials in youtube on how to grow them and I tried them all, I prefer growing them cos the seeds are very cheap.
health experts called it a superfood because its very nutritious and it can cure some diseases.
When its raw it tasted like Lettuce, I quit buying lettuce because the lettuce in the grocery is filled with pesticides, so yeah its my lettuce replacement in salads and sandwiches.
It can be also be cooked, Its good for stir fry, I wish this vegetable is popular in my country. for one reason,its very nutritious and organic seeds are damn cheap. Lettuce and other salad vegetables are expensive in my country. While sunflower seeds are cheap.
2 people like this
5 responses
.@CaptAlbertWhisker (32569)
• Calgary, Alberta
22 Dec 11
a head of lettuce in my country is kind of expensive, while a half kilogram of sunflower seeds is cheaper than a head of lettuce. once you harvested the sprouts, you cant re-use the soil, because its filled with roots, I use the roots as composts. once its about 3 inches, its ready to harvest, but usually I harvest themwhen they were 6 inches.
I dont buy sprouts in groceries, a lot of them were grown in manure (fresh not composted) instead of soil. I prefer growing them on my own.
1 person likes this
@CaptAlbertWhisker (32569)
• Calgary, Alberta
22 Dec 11
if you are not planning to grow them as full pledge sunflowers and want to harvest them as sprouts, its better to grow them in the kitchen counter. You can grow them in glass or ceramic plates and a bit of soil. we know squirrels are usually outside,
these are four different methods of growing them:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OUfK0Lh1l0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3y7UiGn2-M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KjHR8NGkt8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EGxd7bT-OE
I heard there is a method that doesnt use soil but I cant find a video of it.
@peavey (16936)
• United States
22 Dec 11
Thanks for the links. I'll look at them before I start. There is a mat of some kind that they grow wheat grass in. That's probably the same method of growing sunflower sprouts without soil. I will use soil, though. I'm not going to buy anything special to do it.
1 person likes this
@CaptAlbertWhisker (32569)
• Calgary, Alberta
22 Dec 11
raw or cooked its good but I prefer it raw, Its now a part of my diet, I wish I have a backyard cos I would love to grow sunflowers, so I can have source of seeds for planting and sprouting.
@GardenGerty (158537)
• United States
22 Dec 11
Sounds good to me. I want to grow more of my own foods, and this is something to even grow in the winter.
1 person likes this
@CaptAlbertWhisker (32569)
• Calgary, Alberta
22 Dec 11
the light from the bulb in your ceiling is enough to nourish it, its a good source of veggies during winter for sure. i know its hard to have greens.
@3SnuggleBunnies (16374)
• United States
21 Dec 11
I haven't eaten sunflower sprouts. I've eaten bean sprouts and those are the only kind of sprouts I've seen in a regular grocery store. Seeds for sunflowers here are not cheap unless you grow your own from seed and collect them before the squirrels do. You can get black sunflower seeds in bulk but I don't know much about them other than the only way you can buy them in large quanity w/o being baked and salted is as birdseed.
1 person likes this
@CaptAlbertWhisker (32569)
• Calgary, Alberta
22 Dec 11
the ones I sprouts are actually organic bird seeds, I purchase them in pet stores and agrivet shops. I only plant them inside my apartment.
Sunflower sprouts tasted like lettuce (a bit nuttier)when raw while they were a mix of broccoli and bean sprouts when cooked. if they were overcooked,they will remind you of noodles.
I dont likes sprouts in groceries cos some of them are grown in manure (the manure is not used as fertilizers, they were planted in the actual manure) so thats why I prefer growing them.
I sprout beans too, I prefer buying the actual beans.... then sprout them on my own.
Sunflower sprouts have Vitamin a,b,c,e , It has phosporus,magnesium,iron,amino acids, Chlorophyll,fiber,niacin and protein.
Its more popular with Raw vegans (I'm not a raw vegan, I just love it)
@marguicha (217718)
• Chile
31 Dec 11
Thanks for the tip, friend. I have never eaten that, but I would certainly love to try it. The is a place that will sell me unexpensive sunflower seeds. And it it is so easy to grow, it can be an addition to my raw salads. I grew lettuce in Winter, but now it is Summer here and it´s to hot to have lettuce around.
@CaptAlbertWhisker (32569)
• Calgary, Alberta
31 Dec 11
what the, I didnt pick a best response, oh well.
Yes it is a good addition for salads and it grows fast, its available to all season. It grows faster in summer, if you have no lettuce during summer, this is the best replacement. I love growing them in plates. harvesting is the best part, all you need is a pair of scissors.
