What are good plants to grow for edible sprouting seeds?

I was recently listening to a presentation by Doug Evans about his newly published book, "The Sprout Book".  In it he made a comment that caused a whole shift in my brain on how to view sprouts as food.  He noted that he uses sprouts as a significant source of his daily caloric intake, whereas most people view sprouts as more of a garnish.  I would say I was thinking of sprouts mostly as a garnish.  Neat, but not really worth the effort of growing just to accent a meal.  This presentation suddenly shifted my views to sprouts having the potential to be major sources of calories, and super nutrient dense calories at that.  They also could be seen as a decent way to store food for a couple years, or at least though the winter season, not to mention providing fresh "vegetables" for cheap at any time of the year, most definitely including the afore mentioned winter season.

So I got excited thinking about sprouts.  I ran some experiments to confirm that I was in fact capable of growing them.  Many types are really easy to grow.  I also confirmed that I would eat large quantities in a salad at the very least.  I'll have experiment more with other dishes.  (Tonight's dinner was red curry vegetables on a bed of alfalfa sprouts.)  Then I went and ordered a bunch of different types of seeds grown and packaged specifically for food sprouting.  The cost seems a bit high up front, but the cost per serving is actually quite low.  That said I'd prefer to be able to grow and/or harvest my own seeds.

This leads me to my question.  Are there other Permies out there growing and sprouting their own seeds?  What do you find works well to provide an abundant, easy to harvest and sprout seed?  This doesn't have to be just cultivated plant varieties.  Even better would be suggestions for wild plants that would work well for this.

For example, lambsquarters (Chenopodium album) is highly nutritious, is generally considered a "weed", and produces huge numbers of seeds per plant which are pretty easy to strip off.  Winnowing might be a bit harder, but the "chaff" is edible too I understand.  I would think this could be used for sprouts.  I plan to encourage any of these "weeds" I find growing in the garden beds this year to grow and flourish.

I have never had great success with broccoli in my gardens due to the cabbage moths turning the heads into writhing masses of the little green worms.  I know there are ways to control this that don't involve toxic gick, but what if I instead grew broccoli with no intention of harvesting the florets but rather letting it all go to seed and harvesting that?

Dames Rocket (Hesperis matronalis) is another plant my foraging books tell me the seeds and young plants are edible, as well as the flowers.  So why wouldn't the sprouts be edible too?  It grows wild on my little homestead and if I don't eat all the flowers it produces lots of seed pods.  This seems like a good one to try harvesting.

Amaranth is known for it's huge seed heads, potentially as much as a pound or more of seeds from one plant!  The Sprout People website even has instructions for how to sprout these seeds.  So I must try planting that this year.

I'm thinking the various forms of wild dock ( Rumex crispus) that grow around me would also be good as they are edible and produce an abundance of seeds.

Does anyone have some other suggestions?  I feel like this revelation of the potential for sprouts as bulk food is going to open my eyes to seeing the living landscape around me in a whole different way!

I never thought of sprouting Amaranth which is ridiculous when I KNOW the crazy seed production!!

We sprout alfalfa for our daily consumption, but we can buy that fairly cheaply in bulk. Will definitely be adding anamaranth section to the coming seasons planating.

I'll probably keep buying my alfalfa too.  Though I haven't tried harvesting alfalfa seeds myself yet I'm guessing it's not the easiest to get mass quantities quickly without a lot of processing equipment.

I did experiment with sprouting amaranth using some old seed I had.  It went poorly.  After finding the Sprout People website and reading their instructions for amaranth I realize my initial soak was way too long.  I probably killed a bunch of the seed there, not to mention using old seed to begin with.  That said, I did still have some sprout.  I figure this means my seed is still viable for planting if I sow it rather thickly.  Then I can harvest a ton of fresh seeds!  I should also try sprouting from what I have again though but with a proper soaking time.  That might make all the difference too!

I'd guess mung beans are sprouted as much as they are because they're one of the more efficient plants to grow for seeds for sprouts.
https://www.epicgardening.com/mung-bean-plant/#:~:text=The%20ideal%20USDA%20hardiness%20zones%20for%20mung%20beans,104%C2%B0F%20%2840%C2%B0C%29%20and%20as%20low%20as%2046%C2%B0F%20%288%C2%B0C%29.

I think you could sprout just about any kind of bean, it would just be a matter of whether it was worthwhile to grow whichever kind of bean, ... to save enough seed for sprouts.

If you're okay with stronger flavoured sprouts, mustard would be a good one. Easy to grow, produces whacks of seed, and easy to thresh and winnow.

I've got deitrichs wild broccoli raab from experimental farm network. This is my first year with more than a patch growing and it's just flowering now - profusely. I expect a large seed harvest. The entire plant is delicious, so I think it would be a more multipurpose plant to grow for sprouting seeds than regular seed mustard.  Probably whatever brassica grows best for you would be a good choice.

Black oil sunflowers might be a good one to grow for microgreens.

I always have more dill, parsley, and chive seeds than I know what to do with. Those would all make good sprouts or microgreens.

Thanks for the suggestions Jenn and Jan.  I should probably give the mung beans a try.  Right now would be the proper time to plant for my zone, but  based on the info in your link it might be iffy as whether or not I get enough growing season for them to mature.  Still I've got the seeds that I bought for sprouting so I know they are fresh, ready, and eager to grow!  Might as well plant some too.

I'm thinking brassicas as well Jan.  I've already planted a bunch of broccoli and kale seeds.  Usually the cabbage moth ends up infesting such things with all the green worms in my garden, but if I'm growing them for the seed that may not matter.  I thought about the chive seeds too.  I've got a bunch of garlic chive seeds I harvested last year growing as starts in the greenhouse already.  My hope is to get a big patch or patches going.  The seeds are easy to harvest and the plants are perennials, a great combination for this use!  I've got some parsley started too, which has produced a lot of seeds for me in the past.

I considered sunflowers, and may still try some this year.  However, when I've tried growing them just for fun in the past my results were poor.  Given how cheap a bag of sunflower seeds as bird food is I may just go that route if I get into them as sprouts/microgreens.

Anybody else have other suggestions or experience with things that make tasty sprouts and grow an abundance of easy to harvest seeds?

Jan White, a WILD raab?  I love broccoli raab;  a wild one sounds wonderful.  Just found Experimental Farm Network's store:
https://store.experimentalfarmnetwork.org/  

Nice!  

The thing about sprouting seeds is, since you're only growing the seeds into sprouts, you need a LOT of seeds;  just having a few extra isn't going to help much.  You need lots extra!  I've got a kind of radish, "Giant Luo Buo," bought from Baker Creek many years ago, which produces so much seed I haven't had to buy more seed since.  But there's also the work of saving the seeds;  for the radish seeds, that means, once you've grown the radishes to the point where they produce seed pods,  picking the pods, letting them dry, crushing and winnowing out the seed, and finally saving the seed somewhere safe.  Not a LOT of work in the case of my radishes, but it is SOME work.  

David Huang, not sure where you live, but here in N. Arkansas, I'm thinking I might go ahead and plant some (over 5 years old though!) mung seeds I've had in a jar.  Bound to be nitrogen-fixing.  Always a good thing.

Thanks Jan for mentioning the wild raab and Jen for posting that link.  I just peeked at the site and read what they said about it.  I got particularly excited at this line:

The soil need not be perfectly prepared: this is wild seed that competes in hayfields with perennial grasses.

Oh yeah!  That sounds like the thing for me!  A great food plant that you just need to get established and it can more or less take care of itself.  That's my kind of gardening.  As you noted Jan this seems like it could be good for sprouting seeds and other food. I do believe I'll be ordering some seeds later today.  I'll have to see what else they carry.

I put in an order for the wild raab too!  
Tho' not to be planted now;  and I do find planting for the fall to be difficult, it's too darned hot and dry in late summer and just doesn't feel "right" for planting seeds!  I have found, though, that most seeds will last at least a year (sometimes many years) in the fridge.
They had "dyer's chamomile," which I THINK is a plant I'd grown years ago and just liked 'cause it smells really nice and grows really easily.
And they have hablitzia (btw), and something called "Grandpa McKay's Cream Pea Cowpea," which might be good for sprouts??

David, thank you for starting this Topic.

I love to talk about sprouts and would love to see more threads on the subject.

I usually sprout mung beans, alfalfa, and pinto beans.

Since sprouts from pinto beans need to be cooked, I usually add them to chow mein.

I do sprouts mostly in the winter.

You are most welcome Anne.  It felt like we were a bit light on sprout threads in the forums.  I thought it would be something fellow Permies would be interested in and hopefully have insights to share.

I hadn't heard of sprouting pinto beans.  Good to know those would still need to be cooked.

I’ve sprouted caragana. It grows as a windbreak here on the prairies and I cook with the seeds. The seed portion is still hard when sprouted- is a mung bean the same?

Bok choi produces lots of seed that is easy to thresh and process. As an annual it produces seed more simply than biennial turnips, which are the same species. Mustards produce lots of easily threshed seed. Kale produces a lot of easily threshed seed in one growing season. Radish seed is really hard to thresh and clean with human scale equipment.

Chaff from amaranth can be mostly eliminated by rinsing prior to sprouting.

Alfalfa seed is hard to thresh, but is perennial, so easy to grow.

Dry beans produce large seeds that sprout easily. If a few seeds per hundred don't germinate, then they rot, and spoil the eating quality of the sprouts.

David Huang wrote:I hadn't heard of sprouting pinto beans.  Good to know those would still need to be cooked.

I've had some excellent tempeh made with sprouted pinto beans, in case you feel inspired to try.

Kate McKae wrote:I’ve sprouted caragana. It grows as a windbreak here on the prairies and I cook with the seeds. The seed portion is still hard when sprouted- is a mung bean the same?

No, they aren't. At least not when grown into long shoots, which is the only way I've done them. I haven't paid attention to what they're like when just barely sprouted.

I've harvested all my wild broccoli raab seed now. I haven't threshed it all, but I expect I'll get at least 2kg, probably more like 2.5. That's from a 4'x8' bed that I harvested plenty of raabs and leaves from all spring and early summer.  

They're very cold hardy, so there's enough moisture and time in the fall for the next generation to get started from seed that fell while harvesting. This 4x8 bed I just harvested was planted this time last year when I harvested seeds from the tiny patch I had that year.  I just chucked a bunch on the surface of the fairly thin mulch I had down. Then they came up once it started raining again in the fall. Since they're biennial, starting them in the fall mean they go to seed the following so, leaving no gaps in production.

And the seed is dead easy to thresh. The seed pods snap open readily. The chaff is big and clean, so you can just scoop it off the top of the seeds with your hands. There's a little bit of small stuff left over, but that just gets rinsed away when you soak the seed for sprouting, like Joseph mentioned.

I think this is going to be a good system for me. Luckily, I love brassica sprouts!

I've been sprouting beans for years. I am mostly just using pinto, black, and kidney now, but I've done many kinds.  They sprout easily and you get a real meal out of them.  Some seeds make sprouts and there is still hardly any food out of it.  One thing I like about sprouting beans is you are changing them from carbs to vegetables, which is a good thing, I think. It increases the bioavailability of nutrients and they are easier to digest.  Hardly any work at all.

John S
PDX OR

What do y'all mean when you say thresh? My mustard and kale plants produced enormous amounts of seed pods. How do you pop them open? I've been twisting them in my fingers, which is kinda a pain.

Rebekah Harmon wrote:What do y'all mean when you say thresh? My mustard and kale plants produced enormous amounts of seed pods. How do you pop them open? I've been twisting them in my fingers, which is kinda a pain.

If you have a 5gal bucket or less, I'd use an old pillowcase. Fill it half full or so, then whack it against a wall (outside😁) for a minute or two, maybe shaking up the contents a couple times. If you don't have a whackable wall, you can put the seed pods in a big tote bin, put on your rubber boots, and do a shuffle dance on them. If you don't have a big tote bin, you can use an old sheet or a tarp. Put all your seed pods in the middle and fold the sheet or tarp in half over the pods. Stand on the loose edges to keep them together and whack the lump of pods in the middle with a whippy stick. You don't need to whack very hard, but you'll probably need to stop and mix the pods around a few times to get them all.

Those are the methods I use.

Kim Huse wrote:

David Huang wrote:I was recently listening to a presentation by Doug Evans about his newly published book, "The Sprout Book".

Imma gonna look into this; need alternatives in my and hubbies diet; where did you get the sprouting rack at?

I actually made that sprouting rack from some grid beam parts I had leftover another project.  I understand a lot of people find certain types of dish drying racks work good for sprouting jars.

David Huang wrote:

Kim Huse wrote:

David Huang wrote:I was recently listening to a presentation by Doug Evans about his newly published book, "The Sprout Book".

Imma gonna look into this; need alternatives in my and hubbies diet; where did you get the sprouting rack at?

I actually made that sprouting rack from some grid beam parts I had leftover another project.  I understand a lot of people find certain types of dish drying racks work good for sprouting jars.

THank you!

Plantain, the narrow leaf native “weed”. Gave full half cup+ from approximately 1’ x 5’ “hell strip” in a parking lot. Really a lot more, the measuring was just curiosity. I had not yet read that they were edible. Anyone else have experience?

leigh gates wrote:Plantain, the narrow leaf native “weed”. Gave full half cup+ from approximately 1’ x 5’ “hell strip” in a parking lot. Really a lot more, the measuring was just curiosity. I had not yet read that they were edible. Anyone else have experience?

https://wa.kaiserpermanente.org/kbase/topic.jhtml?docId=hn-2148003#:~:text=Plantain%20has%20long%20been%20considered,or%20dermatitis%2C%20and%20insect%20bites.

8edited to add that  in the lower right hand part of the page, you will see "How it works"; click on it, and it well go over how it works, how its administered; then  you will see where it says Interactions on that page, lower right hand area, and  that page will show you what the interactions with other herbs or medicines are. On that page, you will see side effects; click that, the page concerning side effects are there, then the page for related information, and the next page link is references.

I like the site that I posted a link to because of this lay out. its very easy to navigate.

Leigh, I've read that plantain seeds are edible, but best used for vegetables as the whole seed stem when still green.
I'm not sure how well the actual seeds would work as sprouts, as they could get very mucilaginous. Psyllium husk, used as a food thickener and soluble fiber (to treat bowel problems) is a type of plantain. Makes me think they'd get very gluggy when soaked.
I'd be more inclined to dry and grind them to use for things like thickening gravy and puddings.

Sprouts and shoots are an important source of fresh greens in winter in cold climates like mine (zone 4).

We sprout buckwheat, peas, daikon radish, broccoli, mung beans, and scallions inside under a grow light  once the summer garden ends and nights get crisp.

These provide greens for sandwiches and salads all winter. Buckwheat shoots are a basic lettuce substitute, radish shoots have a bit of spicy kick, and broccoli shoots are another mild green with good texture. Pea shoots are tasty, but their texture means they are best used in n small quantities. Scallions are a favorite, and can be grown extremely densely. Mung bean sprouts are crunchy, a very different texture from the other options.

All of these will grow back a second time after being cut, and potentially even more times.

A little nasturtium to add a peppery flavor, and you have a good range of winter greens.

I eat pea shoots regularly, not because they are my favorite, but because I got a good deal.  I tried to buy them from a grocery store, and it was 2 pounds for $9.  I bought them from a restaurant supply company and they were $10 for 40 pounds.  The math is pretty easy on that one.  They sprout really well.  If I don't cook them at all, the taste is almost unbearable.  I feel like, why am I suffering like this? When I cook them just a bit, like a minute, they are so much better.  Not really great, but ok, and an astonishingly cheap plant based protein source that's high in bioavailable protein.  I mostly eat them in stir fries.  

John S
PDX OR

A favourite vegetable of mine for this purpose is Rattail radishes. They are bred to produce huge amounts of seedpods (the roots are small and tough). The greens are good in the spring, the fresh pods are good all summer for soups and stir-fries and salads, toward the end of the season I like to lacto ferment some pods as a pickle, and then leave the rest to dry for sprouting in the winter. The pods are a bit fiddly, but the rattail variety has far more seeds per pod than the average radish so its much easier to shell than other radish varieties.

Welcome to the forum, Daniel.

I have heard that radish seeds are good for sprouting.

How do you serve the sprouts?  Is one way better than another?

Radish sprouts are pretty versatile. I'll add them chopped up to bean salads and potato salad, or stir fry them briefly the same way you would use bean sprouts. They're pretty punchy when raw, but they sweeten up when cooked briefly, just like the roots. My wife likes to drop them into her egg-drop soup as well, just at the end to wilt them in. Good sandwhich filling too. Of all the sprouts I've tried, they're the easiest to work with

Daniel Sillito wrote:A favourite vegetable of mine for this purpose is Rattail radishes. They are bred to produce huge amounts of seedpods (the roots are small and tough). The greens are good in the spring, the fresh pods are good all summer for soups and stir-fries and salads, toward the end of the season I like to lacto ferment some pods as a pickle, and then leave the rest to dry for sprouting in the winter. The pods are a bit fiddly, but the rattail variety has far more seeds per pod than the average radish so its much easier to shell than other radish varieties.

Thanks for the suggestion Daniel.  I have done radishes in the past but I don't know that I had a rattail variety.  I shall have to look for those when the winter seed catalogs come in!  Your post reminds me that there are often many other edible portions of plants than we normally eat.  In this case the fresh radish pods.  Even though I kinda know they are edible I don't seem to think about it when they are in season.  I need to start actually preparing meals with them so I can mentally connect them to dishes I eat.

We don't really eat lots of sprouts, but in the spring, we do harvest Maple seeds.

Maple seeds are edible & tasty in my opinion. You want to harvest in the spring when the whirlydoos are still green, and plump, but haven't started drying out & turning yellow.

If you collect them when they're dry, they'll be bitter like acorns and you'll have to leech them in water.
The smaller ones are sweeter.

It takes a bit of effort to peel them out of their casing, but it's something that can be done mindlessly in bulk, while watching a show or just vibing with a buddy.
The green ones can be roasted with oil and seasoning, steamed like peas, or just eaten raw on a salad or as a snack.

The bitter big or dry ones can be boiled like beans for whatever you'd normally use beans for.

Tbh I'm glad it's a seasonal thing - it's a lot of work to harvest enough whirlydoos and hull them all to make decent snacking.
Def. not a main source of calories for me, but it's still a fun bit of variety when many other crops aren't ready yet.