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Indoor Gardening
Bring the Fun Inside
By Donna Stone
You'll need:
A pie plate
Pebbles
Carrot tops
Fill the pie plate with a layer of pebbles about one inch deep. Cut off the tops of several carrots. Fat, short carrots work the best. Put the carrot tops on the pebbles, cut side down. Add enough water to cover the bottoms of the vegetables. The carrots should not be completely covered with water. Use the pebbles to prop up your carrot tops and to keep them arranged the way you want. Place the pie plate out of direct sunlight. Check the water level daily. If your carrots begin to shrivel, there is not enough water in the pie plate and they will not sprout.
Sprouts should appear in about a week and there will be new growth every day. The carrots will continue to sprout for about a month. Beets, radishes and turnips also can be grown this way. Sprout several root vegetables at the same time to make a nice arrangement.
You'll need:
A glass jar
Pantyhose
A rubber band
Soak beans overnight in a water-filled jar. If you're sprouting different types of beans, use a separate jar for each kind. In the morning, pour off the soaking water and rinse the beans. Cover the mouth of the jar with a piece of panty hose and secure it in place by putting a rubber band around the top of the jar. You will rinse the jarful of beans every morning and evening. Between the rinsings, turn the jar upside down in a dish rack and tilt it so that the water drains thoroughly from the jar. Somewhere between two and four days the beans will begin to sprout. Pink lentils sprout the fastest and can germinate in one day.