Which ever technique you choose to sprout you should always use fresh sprouting mixes. Old, stale mixes don't sprout & can often cause other mixes to spoil. If you pick a shop bought mix it may not be fresh. You will also need to check it for anything added other than seed such as dried fruit. These will need to be removed otherwise they will spoil the mixes causing them to go off. There are plenty of fresh food places & health food or whole food shops that supply what you want in bulk, fresh & sometimes organic.
Clean & sterilise sprouting jars is equally important. After each sprout mix they should be scrubbed, disinfected & allowed to dry properly.
Some people mix all their seed & mixes of various sizes in the one sprouting jar. Smaller mixes always soak & sprout faster than the larger ones. So your small mixes will be ready for your birds to eat but the larger ones won't be. Once mixed in the one jar they're impossible to separate. It is best to keep the same size together & this may mean using 2 or 3 jars.
You can start soaking larger mixes a few hours before the smaller one so they will all be ready around the same time. To speed up the soaking & sprouting you can soak in warm water. Warm water speeds the process of soaking & sprouting of mixes & doesn't harm or kill them.
Your climate can also have an impact on the success of failure of your sprouting. I live in Perth, Western Australia & we're in a sub tropical climate. We can get extremely warm & humid. This weather can be an advantage to my sprouting as this sort of weather speeds up the soaking & sprouting process. But if I'm not careful & thorough enough, it can be a disadvantage as sprouts go off very quickly in this sort of weather as well.
Before soaking for the first time you need to give your sprout mixes a thorough rinse in clean water until the water runs clear. Place at least double the amount of water in the jar as you have sprouting mix. This will allow the sprout to expand when soaking with water & double in size. You should keep your sprouts in room temperature & away from direct sunlight in hot weather, while rinsing as often as you possibly can through the soaking & sprouting process. The warmer the weather is, the more you should rinse your sprouts to avoid them going off.
The soaking time will vary. The warmer your climate, the quicker they will soak. In warmer climates you can soak 4 - 6 hours, sometimes as little at 3 hours. In cooler climates the soaking time will take longer. You should not allow your mixes to soak longer than 12 hours.
Smell your mix with each rinse you give. Smelling the mixes will tell you what state the sprouts are in, if they're still good or have gone off. Sprouting mixes can go bad through any soaking, rinse or sprouting stage so it is important to keep smelling them. If your mixes smell nutty, pleasant or have no or little smell they are OK. If they smell sour or bad in any way to you they should be thrown out & you will have to start again.
Once your mixes are are soaked & swelled to double the size, rinse them thoroughly until the water runs clear & allow them to drain. You should place your jar in a position where the water can drain freely out of the jar. You need to continue rinsing & draining as often as possible. The sprouting time will vary from a few hours to 1-3 days. If you don't see any shoots starting to form on your sprouts after 2 days they may not shoot. If your mix smells OK then the mix may just be too old to sprout.
You should be able to see small shoots forming on your mixes. This is the time to do a final rinse, drain & refrigerate. If you allow the shoots to sprout too long the nutritional value can drop. Once they're placed in the fridge they will continue to grow but the cold will slow the process down. You can keep the sprouts in the jar, placed in a container upside down so the water can still drain freely. Or you can buy a plastic container with a grate at the bottom. These are usually available at most super markets. The grate allows the sprouts to be elevated from the drained excess water, leaving them fresh for longer. Sprouts sitting in drained water can spoil immediately. The container will need to have holes in the lid for breathing. Sprouts are a living food so need to be able to breathe so drill plenty of holes in the lid to allow for this. Properly stored sprouts can last up to a week. The normal time frame for keeping them is about 4-5 days. Sprouts should not be kept past 7 days.
