sprouting for farmers market

May 23, 2010

I have sprouted in jars off and on since I was a kid, but lately I began

researching sprouting more--I read Sproutman's book and the Sproutpeople

website--and I decided to design my own sprouting baskets and sprout for the

farmers market. I've built about 24 baskets (7 " x 18 " )from non-pressure treated

wood and plastic/vinyl screen from Home Depot. The sprouts are looking

beautiful--I've done two times at the market so far and nearly sold out both

times--the second time I grew half again as much.

(I'll post a link to photos of the sprouters when I get them on the internet.)

But I do have a lot of questions that I'm hoping people on this group can help

me with. The main thing I'm concerned about now is sanitation. The sprouts stick

so much to the edges, and it's hard to get them out. My husband just pressure

washed the sprouters we harvested from yesterday. I am planning to brush them in

the morning when they are (hopefully) dry to get the rest of the pieces out. But

I think they need to be soaked in something like bleach. I don't use chlorine

bleach because I think it is toxic to the environment. But I have non-chlorine

bleach (hydrogen peroxide) but it is not food-grade. I am planning to buy some

food-grade soon. Do you all think I should soak the sprouters in hydrogen

peroxide solution, and if so, how much peroxide to how much water, and for how

long? I just don't want mold to grow in the wood since it is non-pressure

treated and stays wet so much.

I'm hoping my design is okay because several of my customers want me to make

them baskets.

Also, do you think it is unsanitary for water to drip from one basket to the one

below when they are stacked? I thought maybe it would be; if there were a

problem in one, it would get into all the others. But we had plastic stapled to

one edge of the bottom of each sprouter, and my husband just took it all off,

because he said it is too hard to clean. I was also concerned that the plastic

would keep the wood wet and not let it dry out. So now I am thinking of making

little trays with the plastic stapled to a wooden frame to put below each

sprouter. What do you all think?

Luann

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