🌱 Happy 2025 🌱

Resolutions, Passions, Goals...

Leafy Sprouts like French Garden are always wonderful. In Winter they are magic.

NEW YEARS Goals & RESOLUTIONS

A simple resolution we find easy, nutritious, delicious, and fun to keep is Eat More Sprouts and Microgreens - and of course Grow Your Own.

Every day is perfect for improving how we treat ourselves (and others). Being old-school we have long used the word Resolution to describe our plans to be better - but it is my (Gil) impression that the young folks are evolving the concept - from resolving to change - to indulging positive passions - or setting reasonable goals. However we do it - whatever we call it - change for the better is something we should all want - something we should all strive for - everyday.

So - Happy New Day! Let’s do better together.

Sproutpeople has long had our planet's Widest & Wildest selection of Organic Seeds for growing Sprouts, Microgreens, and Grass - and everything else you need to succeed as an indoor farmer. Our site contains both Brief (for the experienced) and Detailed (for the not yet experienced) instructions to grow every crop - including videos - and photos of each crop as it grows, day-by-day.

Eating is something we all need to do on a regular basis. Organic, home grown food is the best - and Sprouts are one of the most nutrient dense foods on this planet. They contain enzymes and help build a strong microbiome - and growing our own food is the most liberating thing we have ever done. It completely changed our lives! Let us help you in your quest to eat better, feel better, and be your best you.

GROWING OUR OWN FOOD

If you’re new to Indoor Farming we have suggestions to help you get started. We have a variety of Kits and Samplers that include everything you need to get growing.

If you want to grow Sprouts for sandwiches and salads - our Vertical Leafy Sprout Kit is ideal. If you want to snack, make soups, stir-fry, or prepare any of our many Recipes- you will do well to start with our Beginner’s Sprout Kit, so you can experience Bean Sprouts and Grain Sprouts - as well as Leafy Sprouts.

Broccoli is the most famous sprout nowadays - thanks to their incredible antioxidants. If you know that’s what you want to grow - We offer the perfect Broccoli Sprout Kit - and the Best Broccoli Seed Anywhere.

If growing and juicing Grass is your desire - we have a wonderful - small footprint Wheatgrass Kit, and if you’re focused on Microgreens - we have a very simple Mini-Microgreens Kit - and our Master Microgreens Kit is excellent for those wanting to grow bigger crops of Micros.

GROWING FOOD FOR OTHER BEINGS

We are exceedingly fond of other-than-human creatures - so we also offer Kits for growing - for Birds of all sizes, Cats, Dogs, and other little ones.

Bird Seed Sprouting Kit

Winter Cat Grass Kit

It’s a Doggie Dog World

Lil Critter Grass Kit

🌱 SEEDS ARE COMING 🌱

I never put an item back in-stock until it is actually-literally-physically with us in our warehouse, but we are expecting 3 pallets of seed to arrive on Friday January 3rd. These seeds should include Hulless Oats! Our beloved farmer, Mark in Nebraska had another great crop of these highly sought after seeds, and we’re grateful to him for getting them to us. We wish it had been 4 months ago, but Mark and his wife (and business partner - like Lori and me are - married and business partners) are 3+ decades older than when we started - so slower just sorta comes with the territory.

Expect to see Oats & Groats, Oat Sprouts, and Oat Grass to all be back in-stock some time on Friday. These wonderful Oats will also keep 4 Legs of Love and Amber Waves of Grain in-stock. The pallet from Mark will also include his fabulous in-shell Sunflower Seeds - which is what grows Sunflower Greens, and in-shell Buckwheat - which grows Buckwheat Lettuce. Our Wheat also comes from Mark, just FYI.

In other seed news - I’ve found a new source of Rye - so I’m hopeful that Rye and Rye Grass will be back soon. I’ve recently out-of-stocked Quinoa because we’re down to our last 50 pounds and we need that for our mixes. I have found a dandy new lot - but it may take us a little time to get it in house. There will be other seeds to worry about (there Always are), but we’re just Thrilled that Oats are coming - so we’ll leave this discussion there for now. Happy Oaty New Year to us all!

OUR NEW WEBSITE

First, we have a great big apology for you. Thanks to the new technology we’re using - (and learning as we use it) - our new e-commerce system sent an email to everyone who has ordered from us - since December 2010 (when we had our last major e-commerce platform upgrade) - asking for reviews of products purchased. We are aghast to think of the number of emails our most loyal customers (who’ve ordered dozens of times) received. That’s just not who we are. WE ARE VERY, VERY SORRY!

It was not a data breach. It was completely our fault that we didn’t know that the application in charge of Reviews was set to email our customers at all - let alone emailing folks who had forgotten us years ago. We invaded your privacy and for that we are Sincerely Sorry. We have now set it to email you only once - 10 days after you receive your order. Even that is difficult for us to do - because of who we are - - but we have to become more modern if we hope to continue as a business, so we have to compromise a bit to remain Sproutpeople.

That last sentence hurt me to write. There is tremendous pressure nowadays to use artificial intelligence and every technology possible to boost sales. We are old (67 and 70 in 2025) school. We want to write our own words. We still refuse to advertise. We published our site in July of 1996. It was all about how to grow Sprouts, Grass, and Microgreens. We embraced the internet to share information - which in our case is knowing how to grow indoor crops. We were thrilled that we could help complete strangers grow their own food! We did add the ability to shop on our site in 2001 - but in our eyes it is still all about sharing knowledge.

Tragically the internet has become more like a grotesque shopping mall than the beacon of worldwide communication that held the promise of connecting us all - for good (Yes, I know I’m naive). Thanks to mercenary people who care about nothing but money, people plagiarizing with abandon, and censorship, amongst other things - sharing knowledge and information these days has become a kind of weird nightmare.

In embracing the new year as a chance for renewal - we are accepting some help from the technologies available. We don’t feel like we have any other choice - but please tell us if this is too much. The only communication you should get from us now are Order Confirmations, Shipping Confirmations with Tracking info, and this Newsletter (and this only if you subscribe). We are allowing the new system to do two additional things - email you if you abandon a shopping cart (once) and email you 10 days after receiving your order - seeking product reviews. It is 2025 now - and though Lori and I are privacy hardliners - Sproutpeople’s survival is essential to us - so we’re compromising this far.

OUR FURRY FAMILY

We love spending time together over the holiday season. Our daughter Alice comes home, we make fires in the fireplace, eat well, and are generally festive. This year we also had our old friend, Daphne (the Italian Greyhound) visit - over Thanksgiving and New Years. It’s been very cold here (in the 40’s at night =;-) this year - which means a better garlic harvest from the garden come July - but I digress (as usual) - so let’s get to the important stuff - pictures…

Ira absolutely Loves when we have a fire!

Ira rolling around in Sam’s room.

Around Thanksgiving we had a lovely day in the 60’s, so we took a family trip to Crissy Field. Lori and I used to take our girls - Jupiter and Clementine - our first 2 dogs here 40 years ago. The walk along the beach ends near the Golden Gate Bridge. We all love going there.

It was Ira’s first trip - so he had a particularly good day. Here he is on the beach - all full of the zoomies.

Howling for joy with the Golden Gate in the background.

Full sprint on the big green lawn that was a runway back when this was part of the US Army’s Presidio Base.

Ira on the ride home - thinking of all the fun he had.

Ira relaxing. I think he looks marvelous - even through a fisheye lens.

Gus sitting in the backyard after an outing around the neighborhood.

Gus loves to look out the window onto the street - especially on sunny afternoons.

Gus and Django take over Ira’s bed in our bedroom. Ira doesn’t mind because he sleeps with us.

Django loves playing Hide n’ Seek. Finding him on our kitchen garbage can took quite a long time. He’s a sweet and playful fellow.

Ira sharing the big bed with Daphne.

Ira and Daphne don’t play much - but they like each others company.

This house - in the lovely neighborhood we live next to - looks especially good at Christmas time. They cut the top off a very tall tree and put it on top of their roof. Across the street and to the right (not pictured) is the house Willie Mays bought in the late 50’s.

A passerby was kind enough to take a picture of us all together during our day at Crissy Field. We all wish you a happy and healthy 2025.

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Essentials for those new to the world of Indoor Farming...

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SPROUTS AND MICROGREENS

To us the difference is that with Sprouts we grow with nothing but water and we eat the entire crop (with the possible exception of hulls and roots that grow out the bottom of our Stainless Steel Sprouters) - and they are alive when we eat them. Microgreens are grown on a medium and we harvest them by cutting them just above that medium - at which point they move from alive to not. Raw, great, delicious - just not alive.

While I'm on this subject I need to explain why we have two different names for the same seed - like Broccoli Sprouts and Broccoli Microgreens. This is the same seed. The difference is that each crop has its own page - you go to the Broccoli Sprouts page to learn how to grow the seed into Sprouts and you go to the Broccoli Microgreens page to learn how to grow it into Micros.

This seed will also grow a full sized - which is like 3 feet tall and 2 feet wide - Broccoli plant in a garden - given the proper climate and encouragement.

SEED STORAGE

If you don't yet know how to get the longest life for your seeds - and prevent pests - visit our Seed Storage page. The best way to store seeds is in the freezer, but do not use the refrigerator as its humidity fluctuations can harm seeds. There's a bit more to it - so perhaps just visit the page =;-)

Grow to Live - Live to Grow.

Be well and happy.
Gil + Lori

Sproutpeople.org is an encyclopedic resource of our creation - for indoor farmers of Sprouts, Microgreens, and Grass. It is so enormous that it gives some the impression that we are a big business. The reality is that we are basically 2 people who eat and breath Sproutpeople - and 2 part-time helpers (one being our son). Our site has been online since 1996. It's the employee that allows us to serve all of you.

In addition to a section that teaches the Basics of Sprouting and Growing, a goodly section of Recipes, a bunch of Videos, and a whole lot more -

Every Seed and Mix we offer has a profoundly detailed page devoted to it. Those pages feature two sets of Growing Instructions (Brief for the experienced and Detailed for the not yet experienced), a Video, Photos of the crop growing day-by-day, Recipes, Crop Specific Notes, Nutrition Info, and quite a bit more. Each of our Supplies also has a detailed page.

Our vast content is organized with Tabs (on computer) and Pull-Down Menus (on mobile devices). Click/Choose, for example Detailed Instructions on the page you go to when you click any of the pictures surrounding this text - and you will be presented Seriously Detailed Instructions. Click around. Growing Photos. Notes. Recipes. Please let us share what we know.

We survive by selling on the internet, but we live to educate anyone who wants to learn about growing sprouts and microgreens. Learning is what the internet was actually built for, so we're really just doing our part.

Please enjoy sproutpeople.org

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