February and March are the months that I do the most sprouting. That is the time of year that I am miss growing my own produce the most. This February, I was at the Garden Expo picking out the seeds for this year's garden like I look forward to doing every year and came across a packet of sprouting mix. Garden Expo is one of those events where impulsive side takes over and although I usually get my sprouting seeds from the bulk food aisle from my local co-op, this year I splurged on a Salad Mix selection from Botanical Interests that contained a wide variety of seeds including; clover, kale, amaranth, clover and alfalfa. Be sure you select sprouting seeds since regular seeds are pasteurized and irradiated which is not conducive to sprouting.

!. Purchase sprouting seeds, radish and alfalfa are the easiest. I would suggest making your first batch with one kind and then combine with other varieties for future sprouting projects.

2. Use a straight sided jar with a 3" diameter opening. Either cover the top with a layer of cheese cloth wrapped with a rubber band or use a sprouting screen.

3. Place 1 T of sprouting seeds in the jar and fill with filtered water and soak for 6-12 hours.

4. Drain the water and set the jar at an angle like in the third image above. If you are using cheesecloth, remove it and drain over a fine mesh sieve and replace the cheesecloth. Set in a place that gets no direct sunlight. I keep mine in a darker corner on the kitchen counter because if I put it in a cupboard I might forget about it.

5. Rinse the seeds 2-3 times a day with filtered water. Sprouts will begin to show on day 2 and reach maturity on days 4 or 5. When they are a minimum of 1" long, I put them in a brighter part of the house, not in direct sunlight for 6-8 hours and they will green up a bit.

6. Rinse them one final time and place in a covered container in the refrigerator for no more than a week. This will yield about 1 cup of sprouts.

I used them to top a scallion, lemon and cream cheese combination on toast.