You might think that since I can garden almost year-round, I wouldn’t be into indoor gardening—but I am! The thing is, I don’t have a great spot for much indoor growing. Luckily, all you need for sprouts is a windowsill.
Sprouts are packed with nutrients and a perfect way to enjoy greens during the off-season. Plus, they take up way less space than other indoor gardening methods.
Supplies for Growing Sprouts
You don’t need much to grow sprouts at home—just a container, a strainer, seeds, and water.
- Containers for sprouting – Fancy sprouting kits exist, but a simple mason jar works just as well.
- Strainer – If you use a mason jar, skip the regular lid and use a strainer. Mesh lids are handy, but cheesecloth and a rubber band also do the trick.
- Seeds – You’ll need more seeds than a standard packet provides. I recommend buying seeds labeled for sprouting since they’ve been pre-treated to avoid e-coli or salmonella. If you use regular seeds, pre-treat them with hydrogen peroxide (instructions at the end of this article). MiGardener offers several sprouting seed varieties.
- Water – Whatever you drink is fine for sprouting.
How to Grow Sprouts
Keep in mind that seeds expand a lot. For small seeds like kale, radish, broccoli, and alfalfa, one tablespoon of seeds makes about one cup of sprouts.
So, if you’re using a quart-sized mason jar for radish sprouts, stick to about 3 tablespoons of seeds—that’ll give you roughly 3 cups of sprouts, leaving enough room for rinsing.
Sprouts don’t keep well, so only grow what you’ll eat in a few days. It’s better to have multiple jars at different stages than one big batch (kind of like succession planting).
Steps:
- For broccoli sprouts, add 1 tablespoon of seeds to 2 cups of cool water in a quart-sized mason jar.
- Cover the opening with cheesecloth and secure it with a rubber band.
- After two hours, pour out the water (keeping the cheesecloth on).
- Rinse the seeds (still with the cheesecloth in place) and place the jar upside-down in a bowl to drain.
Every 12 hours, rinse and drain the sprouts for 3–5 days. On the last day, set them on a sunny windowsill if you want greener sprouts.
How to Harvest and Store Sprouts
When they’re ready, give them a final rinse and drain through the cheesecloth or mesh lid. I like to spread them on a clean kitchen towel to air-dry for about an hour.
For storage, line a glass bowl with a cloth napkin (or paper towel), add the sprouts, cover, and refrigerate. Use them within a few days.
More Indoor Gardening Ideas
Mixing different indoor gardening methods means you don’t need tons of space. Try:
- Herbs in windowsill containers
- Microgreens on a side table or porch
- A sweet potato vine in a big living room pot
