Hulled (out of shell) Pumpkins are a very quick crop. They soak for only an hour and are nutritional dynamos at that point. They don't store long, but they taste so good that that isn't usually a concern. Do not try to grow them longer or store them more than a day or so - they just don't do that.
We consider these SOAKS, as opposed to SPROUTS.
Pumpkin Note: I have to admit; I am almost sick of looking for sprouting pumpkin seeds. I have tested more bad lots of pumpkin than any other seed - and I haven't seen a GREAT lot for over 5 years. The difficulty is this: To sprout, we need to start with either Hulled or Naked (grown without a hull) seeds. Naked are far preferable but Naked seeds are almost impossible to find. Hulled seeds often sprout poorly, though I don't know why in this case. We need pumpkin for Madison Market Mix - otherwise we'd probably stop carrying them. They work in the mix because there are very few pumpkin seeds relative to the other seeds. But pumpkins are very nutritious and they are very tasty fresh - so - for solo sprouting we have this solution: Grow them only 12-24 hours and eat them all at that stage - fresh. do not store the sprouts - they keep poorly (even in a perfect world pumpkins are about as bad a keeper as any sprout). As with all edible sprouting seeds - they are alive and super nutritious once soaked.
Sprouting Instructions
Yields approximately 1 Cup (1/2 lb.)
Prep 2/3 Cup of seed* then transfer (if necessary) into a bowl or into your Sprouter.
Add 2-3 times as much cool (60-70 degree) water.
Mix seeds up to assure even water contact for all.
Allow seeds to Soak for 1-4 hours.
We soak for 1 hour in our house.
Empty the seeds into your sprouter if necessary.
Drain off the soak water.
Rinse thoroughly with cool (60-70°) water
Note: Pumpkins tend to be a bit on the "dusty" side (it is a by product of the hulling process) so rinse and rinse some more - until the water runs clear from your sprouter.
and Drain thoroughly.
We stop here.
These are Soaks.
We eat them all now, we don't refrigerate them.
Hulled Pumpkins will never grow long edible sprouts. We stop growing before any root appears - while they are Soaks. They are crunchy, nutritious and delicious.
As with all seeds, once they have soaked up water they are alive and are now super nutritious. They are already without enzyme inhibitors (a very good thing) so they'll digest themselves and nourish you.
If you must refrigerate them:
Set anywhere out of direct sunlight and at room temperature (70° is optimal).
Harvest
Your crop can be refrigerated in 8-12 hours.
The goal is to minimize the surface moisture of your crop - - they will store best in your refrigerator if they are dry to the touch.
Refrigerate
Transfer your crop to a plastic bag or the sealed container of your choice - glass is good - and put them in your refrigerator - if you can keep from eating them all first.
Note: Pumpkins do not store well in the refrigerator. We generally expect only a few days at best. We eat ours immediately - these don't keep well - but they sure taste great - so Eat 'em Fresh!
* If using Single Harvest Pack use the whole bag.
Remember that the yield will be approximately 1.5:1, so in theory you can start with as much as 2/3 as much dry seed as your Sprouter has capacity.
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San Francisco, CA 94124
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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.
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Sproutpeople