Homegrown edible greens - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

cmac2012 · #1 06-21-2008, 08:31 PM

I've been digging sunflower greens for years now. The Berkeley Bowl used to have them in bulk at a decent price but suddenly, no one in the Bay Area has them any more. Whole Foods used to carry them too -- must have been just one supplier in these parts that went out of business.

So I finally started growing my own. What the hell took me so long, I'm thinking. Excellent price, the stuff is way fresh and tasty, and I have access to fresh greens even if I have no refrigeration, something that's not out of the question these days, what with power outages.

This is on a little platform I built under one of the skylights in my warehouse.

The one in the middle is getting towards the end of its lifespan. The seeds sprout up at different rates which is actually useful to me, as I can sorta graze on one tray for a while. The one on the left has seeds that were started about 3 days apart on each side. Another way to assure steady output.

I like it better than lettuce. Tastes similar, but with a firmer texture and a sort of nutty undercurrent. Supposed to be highly nutritious.

That 3rd one is wheatgrass, stuff is as close as you're going to find to a fountain of youth, IMO, but you need the special juicer, which I have. I just wish it was as much fun to drink as coffee.

ImBroke · #2 06-21-2008, 10:14 PM

My wife eats beet greens. So, of course we have some planted. Not for the beets, of course.. lol I can't stand them, but as long as someone eats them. Never tried Sunflower greens.

Chad300tdt · #3 06-22-2008, 01:27 PM

That looks worth trying. Where do you get the sunflower seeds? I imagine you can't use the "toasted" variety found at the grocery store ... or can you?

Hammertime · #4 06-22-2008, 08:31 PM

Berkeley! ...surely you must have tried the White Widow blondies and brownies..... mmm..Dee-Lish!

SwampYankee · #5 06-23-2008, 08:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chad300tdt

That looks worth trying. Where do you get the sunflower seeds? I imagine you can't use the "toasted" variety found at the grocery store ... or can you?

Any good seed supplier should have them.

If you can't find one's intended for planting, the only real difference between bird seed and seed for planting is a germination test.

My only caution would be that seeds raised for sprouting (as opposed to the fully mature end product) are raised differently. Extra measures are taken with the soil and fertilization to ensure no pathogens/diseases are present that could be carried by the sprout and consumed. Once the plants grow out that risk drops drastically. Bot could probably speak better to that than I. Back when broccoli sprouts were all the rage there were some instances of e. coli being passed on because the crop wasn't raised for sprout use.

SwampYankee · #6 06-23-2008, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmac2012

That 3rd one is wheatgrass, stuff is as close as you're going to find to a fountain of youth, IMO, but you need the special juicer, which I have. I just wish it was as much fun to drink as coffee.

Somewhere along the line, somebody decided to market wheatgrass as Catgrass (not us, we're just copycats. groan.) for cat owners to plant and grow for their cats so that they wouldn't eat their houseplants. Pure marketing genius! We sell an 18g packet for $1.59 and can't package it fast enough.

Chad300tdt · #7 06-23-2008, 08:59 AM

Thanks for the info Swamp. I wonder if Hart Seed Company carries the goods.

I can only assume that Hammertime was insinuating that I was "high" and therefore unable to guess that cmac is buying his sunflower seeds from the place that he mentioned no longer carries sunflower greens in bulk. I guess that's a logical assumption, but ...

... maybe it's just my paranoia.

Chad300tdt · #8 06-23-2008, 09:16 AM

Here's a source that mentions the seeds being used for sprouting:
http://www.truefoodsmarket.com/product_info.php/products_id/5161

Is $13.51 for 5 pounds a good price? It sounds good to me considering it's being labeled as "organic".

Hammertime · #9 06-23-2008, 03:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chad300tdt

Thanks for the info Swamp. I wonder if Hart Seed Company carries the goods.

I can only assume that Hammertime was insinuating that I was "high" and therefore unable to guess that cmac is buying his sunflower seeds from the place that he mentioned no longer carries sunflower greens in bulk. I guess that's a logical assumption, but ...

... maybe it's just my paranoia.

No I was saying Berkeley..California...yeah !!!

Chad300tdt · #10 06-23-2008, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hammertime

No I was saying Berkeley..California...yeah !!!

That was my other guess.

So is Berkeley the home of "White Widow"?

Hammertime · #11 06-23-2008, 11:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chad300tdt

That was my other guess.

So is Berkeley the home of "White Widow"?

Can't read the menu...my glaucoma is acting up again...

cmac2012 · #12 06-24-2008, 12:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chad300tdt

That looks worth trying. Where do you get the sunflower seeds? I imagine you can't use the "toasted" variety found at the grocery store ... or can you?

Well, Berkle-town is a place to find that kind of stuff, you're right, they do have to be raw in the shell -- I don't think you can do it with the shelled raw seeds, has to have the protective membrane in the shell to grow right. I imagine someone would have them in your vicinity -- might even be a bird feed item. Mail order is a possibility, I might do that myself if I get a good savings.

The Berkeley Bowl has the raw in shell seeds in bulk -- about a buck and half a pound. I haven't done any sort of calculation on my cost growing them myself but I can tell it's a big savings. One two pound bag has gotten me mucho greens, and they used to sell for $5 a pound bulk (when you could find them that way which was rare) or $2 for a little 2 or 3 oz shrink wrap bundle, but like I said, they're not available for now anyway.

Things are way tasty -- they have a crispness that is appealing. Everything I've found about them says they're way nutritious -- makes sense, tender young shoots is sort of a hunter-gatherer type staple.

That's why they say of me: "cmac . . . .eats, shoots, and leaves."

cmac2012 · #13 06-24-2008, 12:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chad300tdt

Here's a source that mentions the seeds being used for sprouting:
http://www.truefoodsmarket.com/product_info.php/products_id/5161

Is $13.51 for 5 pounds a good price? It sounds good to me considering it's being labeled as "organic".

The un-hulled seeds are usually cheaper than that.

Hulled seeds, that's what I see in the photo, can also be sprouted but that's for eating them when they're still tiny, before the stem and leaves get bigger like the way I'm doing it. I think those are usually referred to as sunflower greens, whereas the sort you sprout from the hulled seed is sunflower sprouts, you eat them when the nub, the growing out part, is about half an inch long. Those are quite tasty too, supposed to be great protein, but I'm having trouble with those, I hate to admit.

I don't get it, I used to grow them just fine -- might be the summer heat, but about half of them start to get funky -- I put them in a bowl and rinse it thoroughly, and the bad ones sink. You can save some of it that way but it's a pain.

cmac2012 · #14 06-24-2008, 12:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hammertime

Berkeley! ...surely you must have tried the White Widow blondies and brownies..... mmm..Dee-Lish!

Not sure, but I think I've encounterd some White Widow in burnt offering form. I've never done well with brownies, I end up OD-ing and feeling like a vegetable for about 8 hours.

cmac2012 · #15 06-24-2008, 07:30 PM

I used this web site to get me started:

http://www.sproutpeople.com/seed/sunflowergreens.html

I'd seen it done before but this did iron over a few unknown spots.

When I do the overnight soak of the seeds, I put them in a large mayonasie jar, fill it up with water and then dribble water over the top with the seeds bulging upwards and then screw the top down -- ideally you want no air in the mix, but you end up with a few bubbles. The seeds w/hulls float so you have to do this to get them all soaked.