Post by johngalt on May 11, 2016 23:06:20 GMT
I found this here. It's an article on growing food on boats for cruisers.
There's a bunch of other good info here, but I concentrated on the part about sprouts for several reasons.
1) You need very little space.
2) It's a big nutritional bang for your buck.
3) They can be grown quickly in as little as a few days.
I'll copy the relevant part of the article here.
- GROWING SPROUTS ON A BOAT -
You will need:
1)A large (quart or liter), wide mouthed jar.
2)A sprouting lid to fit the jar.
The lid is very important. The sprouts need air, and they need to drain. You can buy a ready-made sprouting lid online or at the health food store, or you can use some cheese cloth, mosquito netting, muslin or fiberglass screening (available at hardware stores), and secure it with a mason jar ring, a recycled lid with the middle cut out, or even just a big rubber band.
3)Seeds or beans to sprout.
Most seeds or beans will sprout, but some definitely taste better than others. Some favorites are alfalfa (what you normally find in the grocery store), radish, sunflower, green peas, red clover, broccoli, red adzuki beans, garbanzo (chickpeas), mung beans, and lentils. Whatever you choose, you need clean, untreated seeds and beans. Seeds that are not specifically sprouting or eating seeds (those packaged and sold for planting in a garden) may be treated with chemicals that inhibit pests or rot, and you don't want these to end up in your sprouts. When sprouting, two ounces of seeds (like alfalfa) will yield 1-2 pounds of sprouts, while 8 ounces of dry beans (like mung) will yield about 1 pound of sprouts.
4)A bowl to drain the jar, and a dark place to keep it.
The sprout jar will need to drain after each rinse, so a bowl that fits snugly in a dark cupboard is an ideal place to keep your little produce farm.
5)Fresh water.
You will need to rinse the sprouts for several days while they grow, so consider this if you have little fresh water available on your boat. You can, however, re-use the water for other cooking once you've used it to rinse the sprouts.
6)Time.
It takes about 3 minutes labor a day, and the sprouts are ready in 3 to 7 days, depending on the variety.
Growing Sprouts on Boat
Sprouting Directions:
1. Put 1 to 2 Tbsp. of seeds, or 3 to 4 Tbsp. of beans, in a wide mouth jar. Put sprouting lid (of any design) on jar, and rinse with cool water two or three times. Fill jar 3/4 full with fresh water and soak overnight in dark place (cover with a towel if it won't fit in a cupboard).
NOTE: Soak beans or seeds at least 6 hours, and up to 24 hours.
2. For about 3 days, rinse and drain the sprouts twice daily with water (never hot water), inverting the jar, and propping it at angle in the bowl to drain - out of the sunlight. Make sure you place the drained beans or seeds at a slight angle, not completely upside down with the beans crammed against the net - they like air and to be moist, not too wet or dry.
NOTE: If you have plenty of water, you can rinse them two or three times before draining. This extra rinsing ensures the sprouts don't get slimy, especially in warmer weather. While this extra rinsing is usually not necessary for seeds, it is more important for beans (especially chickpeas and mung beans) which like being rinsed several times in a row, 3 times a day.
3. On day 3 or 4, move sprouts made from seeds to a place where there is some sunlight (while still rinsing them twice daily), and they will become green with chlorophyll after a day or two. Sprouts from beans should usually stay in the dark until ready to eat, in order to prevent them getting bitter.making sprouts on boat
NOTE: After a few days, some beans such as mung beans or large yellow lentils may outgrow their jars, and will need to be divided into two jars. Don't forget to taste the sprouts as they are growing, to see when you like them best. As a general rule, seed sprouts like alfalfa are 1" (2.5 cm) to 2" (5 cm) long when ready, as are mung beans. Other bean sprouts, like lentils, are 1/4" (.5 cm) to 1/2" (1 cm) long when ready to eat, as these are more tender when small.
4. When ready, sprouts can be used in salad, soup, stir-fry, sandwiches, or by the handful. Once you harvest one batch, start another, and store any unused sprouts in a covered container (refrigerate if practical).
There's a bunch of other good info here, but I concentrated on the part about sprouts for several reasons.
1) You need very little space.
2) It's a big nutritional bang for your buck.
3) They can be grown quickly in as little as a few days.
I'll copy the relevant part of the article here.
- GROWING SPROUTS ON A BOAT -
You will need:
1)A large (quart or liter), wide mouthed jar.
2)A sprouting lid to fit the jar.
The lid is very important. The sprouts need air, and they need to drain. You can buy a ready-made sprouting lid online or at the health food store, or you can use some cheese cloth, mosquito netting, muslin or fiberglass screening (available at hardware stores), and secure it with a mason jar ring, a recycled lid with the middle cut out, or even just a big rubber band.
3)Seeds or beans to sprout.
Most seeds or beans will sprout, but some definitely taste better than others. Some favorites are alfalfa (what you normally find in the grocery store), radish, sunflower, green peas, red clover, broccoli, red adzuki beans, garbanzo (chickpeas), mung beans, and lentils. Whatever you choose, you need clean, untreated seeds and beans. Seeds that are not specifically sprouting or eating seeds (those packaged and sold for planting in a garden) may be treated with chemicals that inhibit pests or rot, and you don't want these to end up in your sprouts. When sprouting, two ounces of seeds (like alfalfa) will yield 1-2 pounds of sprouts, while 8 ounces of dry beans (like mung) will yield about 1 pound of sprouts.
4)A bowl to drain the jar, and a dark place to keep it.
The sprout jar will need to drain after each rinse, so a bowl that fits snugly in a dark cupboard is an ideal place to keep your little produce farm.
5)Fresh water.
You will need to rinse the sprouts for several days while they grow, so consider this if you have little fresh water available on your boat. You can, however, re-use the water for other cooking once you've used it to rinse the sprouts.
6)Time.
It takes about 3 minutes labor a day, and the sprouts are ready in 3 to 7 days, depending on the variety.
Growing Sprouts on Boat
Sprouting Directions:
1. Put 1 to 2 Tbsp. of seeds, or 3 to 4 Tbsp. of beans, in a wide mouth jar. Put sprouting lid (of any design) on jar, and rinse with cool water two or three times. Fill jar 3/4 full with fresh water and soak overnight in dark place (cover with a towel if it won't fit in a cupboard).
NOTE: Soak beans or seeds at least 6 hours, and up to 24 hours.
2. For about 3 days, rinse and drain the sprouts twice daily with water (never hot water), inverting the jar, and propping it at angle in the bowl to drain - out of the sunlight. Make sure you place the drained beans or seeds at a slight angle, not completely upside down with the beans crammed against the net - they like air and to be moist, not too wet or dry.
NOTE: If you have plenty of water, you can rinse them two or three times before draining. This extra rinsing ensures the sprouts don't get slimy, especially in warmer weather. While this extra rinsing is usually not necessary for seeds, it is more important for beans (especially chickpeas and mung beans) which like being rinsed several times in a row, 3 times a day.
3. On day 3 or 4, move sprouts made from seeds to a place where there is some sunlight (while still rinsing them twice daily), and they will become green with chlorophyll after a day or two. Sprouts from beans should usually stay in the dark until ready to eat, in order to prevent them getting bitter.making sprouts on boat
NOTE: After a few days, some beans such as mung beans or large yellow lentils may outgrow their jars, and will need to be divided into two jars. Don't forget to taste the sprouts as they are growing, to see when you like them best. As a general rule, seed sprouts like alfalfa are 1" (2.5 cm) to 2" (5 cm) long when ready, as are mung beans. Other bean sprouts, like lentils, are 1/4" (.5 cm) to 1/2" (1 cm) long when ready to eat, as these are more tender when small.
4. When ready, sprouts can be used in salad, soup, stir-fry, sandwiches, or by the handful. Once you harvest one batch, start another, and store any unused sprouts in a covered container (refrigerate if practical).