Growing Alfalfa

...and no, I don't mean Alfalfa from The Little Rascals, but Alfalfa... er... Sprouts. (Hehe, Corny!)

My former boss and mentor, MC, would always bring Alfalfa to work. Then she would literally force everyone to try it with pâté and bread or crackers (I think I take after her when it comes to convincing co-workers to explore food. So far, I've forced people to eat Durian, Arugula, Champorado, Guacamole, etc.). So anyway, because of her, I've come to appreciate Alfalfa with just about anything -Salads, Sandwiches, Crackers and even just snacking on it with Cream Cheese by the spoonful.

The thing about store-bought Alfalfa is this - you don't know how long it has been sitting there. Sure, it sits in the chiller section, but many times in the past, I've purchased a pack that had wilting Alfalfa inside (you can't quite see the roots). After reading a few articles on the internet, I've learned that Alfalfa is pretty easy to grow. The hard part is finding seeds.

I work close to a bunch of garden shops, and often go to get compost, etc for my planter box garden. Once, when my dad had me go to get him something for his garden, I noticed they actually sold Alfalfa seeds!

Condor Seeds is distributed by Allied Botanical Corp.
http://www.alliedbotanical.com

So, last year, we started growing our own Alfalfa. It takes 5-6 days! Nothing to it!

WHAT YOU NEED:
Packet of Alfalfa Sprouts Seeds
500g Disposable Food Container w/ lid
Paper Towel
Hand-held Water Sprayer 
Water

Get a Disposable Food Container and line it with a folded paper towel.

I didn't have plain ones that day. Oops.

Sprinkle some seeds onto the towel (about a teaspoon or two would do). Fill the water sprayer with water, and spray your seeds until they are completely wet.

The paper towel will hold moisture and keep your seed damp.

Cover the food container overnight. Keep your little sprouter container in a dark place. I just kept it sitting on the kitchen counter, under the shelves.

This will encourage seed germination.

Because it is currently hot and humid, spray your seeds with water twice a day.

RL took charge in spritzing the seeds everyday. 

Some tutorials call for you to thoroughly rinse your seeds every 12 hours. You can do this, too, to make sure you wet your sprouts. Use the lid to filter the water and prevent the seeds from spilling out of your container.

I prefer to just spray with water for the first 3 days.

On the fifth day, you can move your container to a windowsill for it get a little sun. This will encourage your sprouts to turn green.

Ready to eat!

Rinse your sprouts with filtered water a few times to get most of the husks out. Keep in the refrigerator until use. These can keep in the refrigerator for about a week at most. We usually eat within a couple of days. Remember to rinse thoroughly before serving!

Use them on hamburgers, sandwiches, salads, and many more!

Cream Cheese and Mango with Alfalfa sandwich. NOM!

Cream Cheese and Alfalfa on a cracker. Perfect snack! NOM!

I've actually tried growing Alfalfa in a mason jar (as most tutorials online show you how to grow them that way), but it didn't work for me. The sprouts don't grow as fast, and when mine were still less than half an inch long after a week, I decided to just throw them out.

I have watched a few videos on it lately, and I shall try again soon (although I followed instructions to the T that first attempt). Anyway, this way works for me.

Have you tried growing Alfalfa? Have you tried EATING Alfalfa?

Alfalfa contains a concentrated amount of vitamins and minerals - these include calcium, vitamin K and vitamin C. The best part? Alfalfa contains just 8 calories and 0 grams of fat per cup.