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A simple but useful stacking tray sprouter from Europe. Add one bio-salad to another and another and another to build your own sprout skyscraper! |
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Sprout School & Shop Sprouting Seed Info Center
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A Tray Sprouter from Europe that allows for tray stacking. Not as good as SproutMaster but inexpensive, attractive and fun.
Bio-Salad is made up of 2 growing trays, a cover and a base that collects water. The bottom of each growing tray is full of slits which allows for fairly good Drainage, though as usual, you still have to play an active part. Bio-Salad will do a better job with bigger seeds, but can grow anything, including vertical Leafy sprouts.
Each tray will grow approximately 6-8 ounces of Alfalfa/Clover type sprouts or 12-16 ounces of Bean or Grain sprouts.
Growing Capacity
Per Tray : 1.5 Cups
Eat More Sprouts + Grow More Often - Easily!
These seeds are a Perfect match for Bio-Salad:
Leafy Sprouts: Alfalfa/Clover and Mixes - Leafy sprouts can be grown vertically, roots down, leaves up in Bio-Salad, but the drainage slit configuration makes it a bit difficult. If you really want to grow vertical Leafy sprouts use SproutMaster.
Brassicas - Broccoli, Radish, Mustard, Cabbage, etc.
These will work just great as long as you remember to keep them from forming a mass. Do Not try to grow Brassicas vertically!
Alliums - Garlic, Leek and Onion
Beans - All (see Mung Note below)
Mung Beans - The 2 big issues with growing large, thick rooted Mungs is keeping them dark while growing and applying weight to the growing sprouts. Bio-Salad, though not deep is fairly dark inside and applying weight is easier with this device than with most others. Soak 1/2 cup of Mung Beans per tray. The only other issue is the soak period we suggest while growing Mungs. You can submerge the tray in a pot of water to accomplish that. Read the notes further down the page.
Grains - All
Nuts and Seeds - Almonds, Pumpkins, Peanuts, Sunflower, etc.
Grass and Greens - Because the Bio-Salad has a top and bottom it can hold moisture well which makes it possible to grow grass and greens without soil. Doing so always requires extra attention but as long as you keep the seeds moist all through growing, it can be done. WE ARE NOT suggesting this as a good way to grow these crops but we are saying that it is possible. Experiment Freely! The major problem is that the roots will grow out of the holes in the bottom - in a big way. Be sure to cut them off when you harvest. If you try to pull them you could hurt Bio-Salad.
Do Not even bother trying Sunflower Greens - they taste horrible (or bland, depending on your taste buds) without soil (our opinion).
Impossible:
Micro-Greens are not possible in Bio-Salad.
Bio-Salad
Sprouting Instructions
Specific Sprouting Instructions are found on
the page devoted to the Seed or Mix you are interested in.
Below are Bio-Salad specifics.
Not all seeds require this step. See the seed information page to see if you need to do this for the seed you are sprouting.
Bio-Salad is good at allowing you to run water through seeds, but getting the seeds out to Soak would be a problem with small seeds, so you'll be happier if you don't prep any but big seeds (beans, grains, greens, etc.) with Bio-Salad.
You can Soak in the bottom (water collecting base) tray if you wish.
In theory (and in the manufacturer's instructions) it is possible to Rinse by pouring water through the cover (which has slits in it). The water will trickle down through the 2 growing trays and collect in the base. We strongly discourage that method and suggest that you Rinse each tray individually and Drain well before re-stacking. Hold Bio-Salad under your faucet or better yet, your sprayer for 15 - 20 seconds - using cool (60 - 70°) water (unless instructed otherwise by your seed supplier). Move the sprayer or the trays around to get all of the crop watered well. The rule to remember is: Rinse at least until the water runs clear from the bottom of the tray.
If you do the Rinse through the top, trickle down thing, you will end up with quite a bit of water remaining in each of the growing trays. That water retention is a common concept in stacking European sprouters and is also the worst thing about them. It is never (I suppose I shouldn't say never) a good idea for seeds/sprouts to sit in water! We suggest instead: When you are done Rinsing you need to get as much of the water out of the trays as possible. Bounce it until no more water comes out.
When you are growing big seeds it is easy enough to get most of the water out, but when they are small seeds, there will always be some water left, so bounce more than you think is necessary. It can't hurt unless you are trying to grow vertical Leafy sprouts. If that is what you are doing, bounce gently!
Sprouting, Greening and De-Hulling
Stack your trays - if stacking - after they have been well Drained. Do be aware that air-circulation is reduced in Bio-Salad - especially in the lower trays of a skyscraper - so Rinse more often or separate your trays. You'll have to separate the trays if the sprouts grow taller than the trays or need light anyway - which is about the time that reduced air-circulation becomes an issue. Don't feel confused - just pay attention to your sprouts - they'll do great!
If you are growing sprouts with leaves, uncover trays and locate them where they can get some light (according to the directions on that seed's information page). Since you are dealing with trays you can get away with more light than when using enclosed sprouters. You can even use direct sunlight, but do pay attention as the sun hastens drying and heats up the sprouts, so you might have to rinse more often with cool water to compensate. Experiment and see. You'll do fine with minimal light too so don't feel like you have to push it.
One of the greatest potentials of Bio-Salad is hull removal when growing vertical Leafy sprouts. All you have to do is turn the tray at an angle and spray the hulls off with a sprayer. A faucet can even do it. By the time you get to this stage your sprouts should be firmly rooted enough that you should be able to turn the tray at a pretty steep angle. We call this form of de-hulling: "Shaving".
Seed Specific
Sprouting Instructions
If you have a particular seed type in mind,
read on to discover further details of Tray sprouting that seed type.
Refer to the seed's main information page for detailed instructions.
Leafy Sprouts
This is one of the things that attracts people most to Bio-Salad. You can grow these sprouts vertically - roots down and leaves up! We have done this for years as professional sprout growers (though we use different - larger - trays) and have found ours to be the most beautiful Leafy sprouts we've ever seen. Vertical growing also makes de-hulling virtually automatic - as the leaves open and shed their hulls, the hulls wash away during Rinses. This is also the method that achieves the most greening as almost all of the leaves are exposed to light. None of these things are necessary for great Leafy sprouts. Regardless of the growing method you use, the sprouts taste great and are full of nutrition!
The method for vertical growing is written on each of the Leafy sprout information pages, but here they are anyway:
The trick to doing this is to keep your sprouts in place (don't "break them up" as you do in a non-tray sprouter) from day 3 onward. It is easy to do if, when Rinsing, you use a sprayer (that attachment most sinks have - the one that pulls out and is gun-like or a faucet attachment that offers spraying when pulled down) instead of your faucet. We have grown many tons of Leafy sprouts this way. Here is a breakdown of the specifics (Rinse numbers are based on 12 hour intervals - adjust as needed):
Rinse 1 (right after soak): Use faucet or sprayer and rinse thoroughly (use water at high pressure and use plenty of it).
Rinse 2 and 3: Use faucet or sprayer and rinse thoroughly.
Rinse 4: Use sprayer and while Rinsing thoroughly, spray your sprouts evenly across the bottom of the tray. You can use your hands to spread them too. The goal is to spread them evenly.
Rinse 5 and 6: Use sprayer with less water pressure. Rinse well - (which since you are using less water pressure means - for a longer time) but don't disturb the sprouts.
Rinse 7 - 10: Use sprayer. You can turn the water pressure back to high - your sprouts will not be easily moved (broken up) at this point and the higher water pressure feeds oxygen to your sprouts as well as "cleaning" them, which is a wonderful way to produce healthy long lasting sprouts. Rinse and Drain thoroughly.
Rinse 11 (if you need this many) or your last rinse: Use Sprayer. Hold your tray at an angle (90° will work but less is OK too) and spray across the top of the sprouts to remove hulls. We call this form of de-hulling SHAVING and it can be done at any Rinse or every Rinse - starting when hulls begin to be shed by the opening leaves. Rinse down into the sprouts too. Drain as thoroughly as possible after your last Rinse - you want your sprouts to dry enough to refrigerate in 8-12 hours.
Vertical growing CAN be done without a sprayer too but it is more difficult. If you want to try all you have to do is regulate your water pressure - trying to keep your sprouts undisturbed during rinses 4 - 6.
Greening is done according to the directions on the seed information page.
If you don't wish to grow vertically just follow the standard seed directions on the seed information page. If you have your heart set on vertical Leafy sprouts you really should consider buying SproutMaster instead - it does it flawlessly!
Maximum dry seed = 4 teaspoons per tray.
Beans
Follow the seed information page instructions for the bean you are growing.
Maximum dry seed = 3/4 cup per tray.
Mung Bean
If you are going for small sweet Mungs you need only follow the directions on the Mung Bean information page. If you are going for big and thick, read on...
The 2 big issues with growing large, thick rooted Mungs is keeping them dark while growing and applying weight to the growing sprouts. Bio-Salad, though not deep is dark inside and applying weight is easier with this device than with most others. Whenever you try to grow big thick rooted Mung Bean sprouts, you need to keep them from moving: Don't disturb the sprouts - they need to be tightly packed, so after the first Rinse, apply weight directly to the sprouts - anything that will fit snugly inside Bio-Salad will work. (There is plenty of detail on the Mung Bean information page.) When you Rinse you need to do it gently the first few times. Soon they will be so firmly massed together that you couldn't move them with a fire hose! The only other issue is the soak period we suggest while growing Mungs. Since you can't soak in Bio-Salad you 'll need to submerge the tray in a pot (or similar unit) of water. Just be sure that your Mungs are firmly massed before submerging them.
Maximum dry seed =
3/4 cup for small sprouts or 1/2 cup for big sprouts per tray.
Brassicas
Broccoli, Radish, Cabbage, Mustard, etc. need to move while sprouting or they will form a root mass (beginning around day 3) which is at least unpleasant and often lessens the sprouts' quality. Solution: Break Up/Loosen the mass. Use high water pressure at every Rinse to keep the sprouts loose. If they mass together despite your high pressure efforts (which is not uncommon - especially if you are growing the maximum amount of sprouts Bio-Salad can grow), transfer the sprouts to a big bowl or pot type container. Fill the container with cool water (you can also use high pressure water to fill the container if you want to get a head start on loosening) and reach in with your hands (as long as they are clean, hands are always the best choice) or a fork or the like and gently separate the sprouts. Go ahead and skim any hulls that are floating on top and then transfer your Brassica sprouts back to Bio-Salad. You don't have to, but we Rinse again once they are back in their tray. Keep breaking up the mass at every rinse or 2 after that as well.
If you just won't believe that Brassicas can't grow vertically, go ahead and try it - there is no better way to learn and learning is a good thing (as long as you don't hurt anyone!). You should try it with Radish if you must, as it will be the least bad of the Brassicas (it can even produce an edible crop of micro-greens if you get lucky). Just follow the directions above for leafy sprouts. I bet you've never seen blue roots before.....
Maximum dry seed = 1.5 Tablespoons per tray.
Alliums
Garlic, Leek and Onion require no extra information. Just remember - these all take up to 2 weeks to finish sprouting so keep Rinsing and Draining!
Maximum dry seed = 2 Tablespoons per tray.
Grains
Follow the seed information page instructions for the bean you are growing.
Maximum dry seed = 1 cup per tray.
Nuts and Seeds
Follow the seed information page instructions for the bean you are growing.
Maximum dry seed = 1 cup per tray.
Grass and Greens
Because the Bio-Salad has a top and bottom it can hold moisture well which makes it possible to grow Grass and Greens without soil. Doing so always requires extra attention but as long as you keep the seeds moist all through growing, it can be done. WE ARE NOT suggesting this as a good way to grow these crops but we are saying that it is possible. Experiment Freely!
The major issues are: Keep rinsing/watering regularly. As the crop grows it needs more and more water (relative to the size of the plant basically) to keep growing big and tender. Also, the roots will grow out of the holes in the bottom of the tray - in a big way. Be sure to cut them off when you harvest. If you try to pull them you could hurt the trays.
Bio-Salad is a great Pre-Sprouter of course!
Maximum dry seed = 1 cup per tray for Pre-Sprouting.
If you want to grow all the way: Determine how much seed to soak by spreading dry seed evenly on the bottom of the tray. If you evenly cover the bottom of the tray with dry seed, you'll have the right amount of soaked seed to grow Grass or Greens.
Micro-Greens
Pre-Sprouting only!
Just like the picture: Solid green drip tray on bottom, growing tray, growing tray and the cover on top.
If you wish to stack trays, go for it! All you do is add more trays - you always only need one drip tray and 1 cover.
Cleaning: If you sprout small seeds in Bio-Salad you might need to poke a few out of the slits. We use a paper clip or toothpick. Scrub well between crops with soap and water. Rinse well!
Sterilize: Scrub and soak in bleach water. We do this every 2-3 crops because a clean sprouter produces better sprouts a sterile sprouter is a great place to begin a crop.
SPROUTPEOPLE®
170 Mendell St.
San Francisco, CA 94124
Toll Free:
877/777-6887
(877/SPROUTS)
We only use the phone for emergencies.
Back in 2001 we were still using the phone. One day I was talking to a long-time customer while pushing my (then 4 year old) daughter on the swing in our backyard (this is what a mom n' pop business is like on the internet). It dawned on me that my priorities were severely messed up, so I stopped using the phone. I love to talk and I love to help, but my family would never see me if I picked up the phone again, and that's just wrong don't you think?!
The very best way to contact us is through E-mail =:-)
We are quite fast and VERY thorough. We love to help.
We have been an internet only business since 2001. We are not a big corporation. We are but 2 people, Mom n' Pop Sprout. We decided after years of juggling our family's (kids, dogs, cats and even our own) needs, and the needs of Sproutpeople, that we had to make more time for our kids, so we stopped talking on the phone. All calls go to voice mail and have since 2001.
We are very fast to fill orders and answer e-mail, and though we wish we could make the time to talk, we just can't seem to get more minutes into a each hour. We are many years older than when we started and our days are too short and made up of too few hours to do everything. This limitation in our business has not kept us from pleasing our customers, nor from growing (as we have every year since 1993). We do what we do as well as we can, and we think we do it very well indeed.
We appreciate your patronage more than we can say. We ask that you use the phone for emergencies only and that you search our site for answers before e-mailing us. This site is bigger than any 4 sprout books put together, it is always available and it is free, and we know that almost all questions are answered here.
Thanks again for your support and your many kind words.
Sproutpeople