Sprouts

I know this may be a dumb question, but when you sprout beans what is the sprout? It is the root, right? I cannot find a lentil supplier so I thought if I sprouted some I could just plant those.

I've never grown lentils but here is a seed source.

I'm no botanist, but I think the sprout you see is not the root, it's the shoot - think of sprouts that have leaves growing on them.

Many people pre-sprout seeds of difficult-to-germinate plants and carefully plant them. I've never grown lentils, but here is a good article on how to grow them:

http://www.harvestwizard.com/2009/07/how_to_grow_lentil.html

It says they should be planted in early spring, and take up to 110 days to mature. They can be direct-seeded or started inside early and transplanted. They can be planted up to three weeks before last frost date.

Do you mean bean sprouts like you would put on a salad or see on some types of Chinese food? Those are mung beans... and it is the root, not the sprout. Here is a good link:

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

I think these would not work well in a SFG, unless you wanted to get more beans for sprouting!

Sprouting to see if a seed is viable before planting is different than sprouting to eat the sprouts. To see if a seed is viable, just place a few in a wet paper towel inside a baggie -- usually the root pokes through first -- that is when you know the seed will grow. To grow for sprouting, you wait longer until the top grows a bit as well as the root. Some beans are an exception -- they put up the top piece quicker than the root.

To check for viablity, it doesn't matter which pokes through first -- plant it as soon as there is any evidence of growth. I had some old okra seed, so placed 30 evenly spaced on wet paper towels. As soon as the seeds swelled up and began to split I carefully separated them from the towel and planted them. Sometimes with larger seeds I'll tear off the piece of towel it is on and plant both seed and towel so I don't disturb the root.

Probably more than you wanted to know!

You are right, I think it is too late to plant lentils - even in so cal. It says it is cool season. I was looking towards next year. I wanted to see if it is viable to grow some real staples like lentils or dried beans - say if you dedicated an entire 6X3 or 4 bed to them. Just a pipe dream right now and probably not worth it especially as they are so cheap at the market. In my mind I was thinking if I could grow 4 big beds of lentils, corn, potatoes and black beans I would only need to buy meat and fats..and chocolate. I may be biting off more than I can chew.

Wait! Chocolate grows on bushes....I may have something here...

***Follow Up: Ooooooo. Looked it up. Needs constant warmth and rain and within 15 degrees of the equator. I am out of luck. Better stick with lentils.

Speaking of staples, Chopper, I am making a go of growing grain. Wish me luck!

You may be right that it would be cheaper to buy dried beans than to devote an entire bed to them, but I hope you grow a few to experience the taste of eating them fresh. IMO there is no comparison between eating fresh shelly beans and dried.

Too bad cocoa beans don't grow the same way. Maybe someday someone will breed a cacao plant that can be grown in a container. (Smiles in anticipation.)

Megan: Keep us updated on your grain experiment.

It's coming up. At least... I think that's what is in the middle of those squares!