🌱 Happy December!

the holidays are back =:-)

Curried Lentil Sprout Salad - a new recipe for an old favorite.

OUR NEW WORLD

My oh my, life is different for me (Gil) and Lori. After 50+ years in harness - we basically now have only customer service and educational responsibilities. The big thing is that there’s no set schedule. We’ve been 9-5ing (and way more) it since we were in our late teens. Removing the yolk after all those years - well - it’s just mind altering! I’ve spent more time in our garden this last month than I did all year. I now have time to really smell the roses, meet strangers and their dogs, and gaze at or ponder - well - anything - - at any time. I am so overjoyed that I’m actually finding it difficult to translate the joy into text. Shocking, no?!

We spent all of October clearing out our warehouse. Since I told you about that last month, I won’t tell you again - but since we returned our keys to the landlord, we’ve been on cloud 9. We’ve always been working people. We think nothing of all the years we have worked. It was just the thing to do. That the last 32 of those years have been working for ourselves has been a blessing - but you’re always thinking about it when it’s your’s - so I suppose this freedom is somewhat more intense than if we’d only been 9-5ers the whole time. Our parents were depression era folks, who conveyed their work ethic - so we have basically hit a new landmark. We’re still Sproutpeople - and so we’re still working - but we’re not doing any of the heavy lifting anymore. It’s as close to retired as we ever expect to be - but it is Awesome!

I’ll come back to this subject later, in the picture section - and it’ll be a common theme in future Newsletters. Not having to do all the day-to-day work will allow us to focus in ways we’ve not known previously. I can see that these publications will henceforth be all about education and sharing. We’ve passed the baton to our partners. They’ll be taking care of business - and so I’d love you to sign up for our short Newsletters (like the one we sent on the 25th) - because we want you to know everything that’s going on at Sproutpeople, and like I said in that one - they’ll be running more sales than Lori and I have been able to manage in recent years - and since this monthly publication won’t have anything about sales, inventory, and all the other day-to-day stuff - you’d be kind of incomplete without it, Sproutpeople wise =;-)

Sproutpeople has been shrinking for years (except for the boom year of 2020). Over 32 years it’s had ups and downs, like any business - but due to so many factors (which I’d prefer not to bore you with yet again), it was declining precipitously and faced extinction, so the two of us were desperate for help. We weren’t going to let just anyone take over. We had only one company in mind - and that’s who we got. We have The Prefect partners now - and they have so may profoundly wonderful people working for them - - which was always our dream for Sproutpeople - - that we can see a long and bright future again.

FOOD INSECURITY

I have been bemoaning the horrible economy for years now - so again - I won’t bore you with repetition, but a couple things happened recently that made us more fully aware of how precarious the situation is for some/many people. We’ve never made or had a lot of money, but we have been very secure when it comes to food - especially these past 32 years.

I always think of 1999 - when the little town we were in (Gays Mills, Wisconsin) was actually formulating a plan to deal with the coming havoc of Y2K. The town hall was right across Main St. from Sproutpeople. We had so little space for seed storage that we had stacks and stacks of seeds in our office. They were literally a wall between us and the outside world. We felt like it was our bunker. We were never fearful of the change in millennia - but we had tons of seed, so we didn’t even have to consider it.

The government shutdown wreaked havoc on our transition, but it caused so much hardship for so many, that our woes seem nothing in comparison. The disruptions in the SNAP program made it so many people didn’t even have money for food. A lot of these people have jobs but can’t keep up with rising costs. Not having food is just not okay - especially if you’re working and have a family to support.

A friend who was visiting from Brooklyn told us about a homeless encampment in Stockton, CA - where his mom lives. He showed us video he shot. He was in shock. Another friend had to pull over on a highway, because his trunk came open. He said that as soon as he opened his door, a couple young men came running towards him - arms waving and shouting; can you spare a buck?!

Our doorbell rang one night last week when I was sound asleep. I assumed it was Alice (both our kids are currently living at home), and that she’d forgotten her key. I stumbled down and buzzed the gate (which are common in houses like ours - which have a “garden entry” that leads up steps to the front door) and stumbled back to bed. Realizing I’d not unlocked the front door too, I went back to do that. I heard Sam (who had come through the garage from his room on the lower level) and so looked out the window. He was leading a young man out. This guy asked him; can I get a meal?

I am unable to draw a good word picture of this. Sam was kind and gentle - saying “no dude, I’m sorry you can’t be here right now” - but the half-asleep image I have in my head - well - it rattles me. This 20 something fellow was confused and hungry. He rang our doorbell in the middle of the night - looking for a meal. Really! Times are tough.

I can see that this subject is not going to fit here. I will have to write A Lot of words to talk about how we feel about working, societal structure, and all the many elements involved. The basic point is - that it made me painfully aware of how truly desperate some people are - and how untenably precarious their situations are. I’m talking about people with jobs - or trying hard to get one. Times are just too tight for too many.

We no longer have tons of seeds - so we’re not as secure as we’ve had the luxury of being these past 3 decades, but we still have a lot of seeds - and we have been saving what $ we could (it’s part of those lessons from our parents) over our 50+ working years, and if Sproutpeople gets stronger - well - we’re certainly more secure than many - - and thanks to our partners we’ll add some security for others - starting at the source of food - the farm.

The main reason we needed partners was the loss of our second biggest seed source, in 2024. We went to Lisa Mumm, at our biggest seed source and we worked out this partnership over several months. Lisa, as I’ve said in previous Newsletters is carrying on and expanding on what her parents started. She not only grows seeds - she works directly with other small organic farmers to grow seeds. This provides family farmers with security - which is hard for them to come by in the age of Big Ag. It can take years for a farmer to get totally in the groove with a new crop - but she’s on the farm with them, and everyone involved expects and enjoys hard work - and they are all endowed with a gift that has become all too rare - perseverance, so over time there will be more and more farmers growing more different seeds. Security isn’t easy to come by - but we’re all doing what we can, day-by-day to do all we possibly can.

CHECK YOUR SPAM/JUNK

I am sorry to harp on this again, but we are so worn out by this that I must. Too many customers email us saying they received no Order or Shipping confirmation from us. We know where they are - in their junk/spam - but our responses (asking them to check their junk/spam) go there too - so they think we’re ignoring them.

I spend (literally) 30-60 minutes answering a single email sometimes. Growing questions can require that, and I’m happy to share my knowledge - but I absolutely abhor when those go to junk/spam! So, if you’re ever waiting for any kind of email from us - please remember to check there too. We never ever ignore anyone (unless they’ve violated our no-assholes policy =;-) who comes to us - - even if they bought their seeds elsewhere.

CURRIED LENTIL SPROUT SALAD

I have told you about this dish before, but I still haven’t gotten around to editing our online recipe (which is also great). I will, soon - and really I should do that instead of sharing it here - but I just feel like doing it this way right now, so here is an updated version of the recipe. This is the one Lori has made for our annual neighborhood block party for years. She made the online version for several of those years - but has modified it dramatically over time…

• Lentil Sprouts - 2 pounds of dry Lentils, sprouted to your preferred size

• 1 large Red Onion - diced coarsely

• 1 bunch Italian Parsley - leaves chopped

• 1 pint (or more) Cherry Tomatoes - cut in half

• 1 Tbs. Curry Powder

• 1 Tbs. Dill Weed

• 2 tsp. Salt

• 2 tsp. ground Black Pepper

• 3/4 cup Olive Oil

• 1 Cup Vinegar (Lori uses an Anjou Pear Balsamic)

This recipe creates about 2 quarts of food - so adjust down for a smaller serving. Try it at your next pot luck. The one year Lori made something else for our block party, people kept asking - Where’s the lentil sprout dish?

Sprout your choice of Lentils to whatever size you prefer (we like them short - at about 36-48 hours, post-Soak). Dice onion (Lori does a large dice) and chop parsley leaves to desired size. Mix the curry and dill into the oil and vinegar - and then blend all together. As you see in the picture (atop this Newsletter), she used the cherry tomatoes as a ring - but you can mix them in too. It’s your food - so do your thing.

OUR 4 LEGGERS & LIFE

Before sharing pictures of our 4 legged family and friends - I’m going to share a glimpse into how deranged I am. Once we were done with our warehouse, and had our garage vaguely organized (it looks like a miniature version of our warehouse), I spent every minute I could, preparing our garden for my fall garlic planting - and for next year. My friend, Jason - who built our greenhouse (with my assistance) in 2020, had steered me to a You Tube gardener with a no-dig method. I’m not opposed to digging, but our soil is horrid - despite ten years of my efforts to improve it. Our part of San Francisco has really sad soil. It’s basically water repellent sand, and it’s cool and foggy through the summer - so it’s not an easy place to grow much, but like the farmers we so admire - perseverance is something I have in abundance, so I went nuts!

We had hundreds of brand new cardboard boxes left, so those came and became the first layer of mulch. The theory is that the cardboard decomposes, over several months - and that - when covered with 3 plus inches of soil, compost, or mulch - will kill off the vast majority of weeds under it. Additional material has to be added every year - but - if I understand correctly - the cardboard is a one time thing.

I was going to try this on a small part of the garden - but we had a lot of boxes and I got carried away, as I’m wont to do. I ended up using all the boxes, and went hunting for more. I spent hours peeling tape and labels from used boxes - because I just had to make the paths weed free too. In the end - if nothing else - I surely changed the look of the garden. I sure hope it works! I live to grow food.

Lori moved as much of the 5 yards of soil we had delivered as I did, but she let me go to town on the paths. I made 6 separate trips to get cedar mulch, and had one delivery. Truly, I’m certifiable.

For reference - as you go through these fisheye photos - our greenhouse is 10 x 6 feet.

So, I broke the seam on every cardboard box we had, laid it directly on our beds (whether empty, planted, or weedy) - making sure to overlap or patch any gaps. I then laid out 2x4’s (which had been the frame of the counter we filled your orders at these past 25 years (it moved twice)), so we’d know where to put the 5 yards of soil/compost we had delivered. More cardboard was added later, in order to make wider (theoretically “weed free” in future) paths around the beds.

A different angle after the soil has been placed. It’s 4 inches deep.

When removing the wood I realized that, due to the slight grade in our garden - i needed to retain the soil. In some areas that just meant deeper mulch, but in a few places I’ve used bricks. Our garden was part of a backyard 100 years ago. It had had long brick paths which led from the house (75’ behind me) out through the wooden gate - to the sidewalk. I took bricks from parts of the path that still had them to shore up the beds - but I’m saving pictures of that until I’m completely done with that project.

The main path looks good, but we have had our volunteer Tomatillos grow along the greenhouse for the past 5 years. Now I’ll have to get new seed and find a new location for them.

The reverse angle shows the scope of my madness. I feel very odd having naked beds over winter. I have always planted green manure (usually Crimson Clover), but it was too late to get it going - and then the rodents would have been eating it - if the birds didn’t get the seed first - and mostly - I’ve always turned it under in Spring - and this is No Dig gardening - and I was uncertain about the idea of just cutting it at soil level - which is what myYou Tube “instructor” suggests - because experience tells me that it regrows - so whatever! I just have to feel this way until I don’t.

I even did the whole thing to another bed in the back of the garden. This is much bigger than the test I was planning - but given all the soil issues we’ve had - it’s fun to have a winter to, at least dream of a glorious season come 2026. If it is successful, I’ll surely share what I learn. If it’s not - well, you’ll see that too - - but I’m envisioning glory for now =%^)

Ira, like Chester and Dobie before him - Loves the block party! So much food and so many dogs make life pretty perfect.

Again, like Chester - Ira likes to lie on the potato bed. It’s a tiny sliver on the north side of the garden - and this time of year is about the only place to find sun

At the dog park - Ira isn’t even aware that his pal Spike is about to steal his ball.

Ira’s friends Froto the pug and Jackson the magnificent.

With all the garden work and garage organization, Ira hasn’t been to the dog park but once in November. He does see his neighborhood pals on walks - but on this day I saw a woman with 3 dogs in a yard - so we stopped and visited. The woman runs her own dog rescue in Ensenada, Mexico (on the Baja peninsula) - and brings her dog and a couple adoptable ones when she comes up to visit. The light brown one, Martine was untouchable - even by his rescuer, but Ira spent some time with them and before long he was all fun and games - and allowed plenty of petting. This gift Ira has - to help socialize dogs - makes me very, very proud of him.

Lori and I have a particular fondness for bull terriers. I’ve seen several when driving over the years, but on this day - I saw this one - and drove on, as I always have (because I had some schedule to keep). 1/2 a block later I said to myself; “You have time! Meet her.” I turned around, parked illegally and asked the man if I could meet his dog. He was more than happy, and so was she. We spent 20 minutes talking about the old days in SF, dogs, and what not - and I got all loved up by this sweetie. I am So Enjoying having time!

Django likes to spend time at night, in our “garden entry”. The gate I buzzed the stranger into is to the right. Maybe the chest freezer (which is still awaiting me figuring out how I’m going to get it inside the garage) made him think we were a restaurant. I’m sorry to share a picture of our clutter - but it is a huge transition, to move as much as we did from our 1,500 sq. foot warehouse into our similarly sized home - with a 300 sq. ft. garage taking 95% of it - so it takes time

Django used to hang out with me in the kitchen, while I clean up before bedtime. He did it again last week for the first time in ages. He is a prince.

Gus in Yoshi’s outdoor house - on our neighbor, Paula’s backyard deck. Django was in Yoshi’s bed, close by. They do not miss him, but we (95% Lori) are still trying to find him.

Ira joins us in the search for Yoshi, who disappeared September 27th. Lori has made multiple versions of flyers (you can see the final (3rd) version in the picture below) - which she’s posted, and later removed - all around our (greatly) extended neighborhood.

Lori laminated 18 flyers and we walked the ‘hood removing the old ones and placing these in the blocks we’re sure Yoshi’s living in now. The flyer is an invitation to adopt him. We’d love Paula to get him back, but the primary issue is Yoshi’s happiness - so if someone has taken the little charmer in, we sure wish they’d follow through. We do understand anyone who’s fallen in love with him being afraid we’d take him back - but really - we just want him to be safe and well - - and Gus and Django have made it clear that they are taking over his place in Paula’s yard =;-)

Lori made postcards a week after we posted the laminated flyers. She and Alice and me, and Paula - and Ira helped deliver them to every house in the area we think Yoshi is in.

Ira has always wanted us to move to a fancy house. He loves going right up to people’s front doors, so he was more than happy to assist us with distributing flyers - and finally - just this past week, postcards - in our last (we think) effort to find Yoshi.

This is an angle we see every time we walk from home to the garden. The Forest Hill neighborhood we live near (and garden in) is full of fancy houses. We love to think Yoshi is living happily in one of them.

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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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