🌱 Sitting Here in Limbo

where have we been?!

Mixing seeds is one of the great joys of being Sproutpeople

WE OWE YOU A NEWSLETTER

I (Gil) apologize. It has been over 2 months since last we sent you a communique. That’s so long that we’ve even had customers write asking if we’re okay.

We are okay. Our amazingly slow (sales wise) year continues. Thanksgiving marks the end of our slow season (which starts typically around the end of May), so we’ll get a little busier - but given the economy - and the year in general - we don’t expect a dramatic change.

A big part of our silence is due to our inability to procure certain seeds. Some seeds have been out-of-stock way too long! Since we have so many mixes - being out of a single seed causes not only that seed to go out-of-stock - - but eventually the mixes that include that seed also run out-of-stock. Since Newsletters usually increase sales - albeit briefly - we didn’t want to sell more seeds - until we get in what we are waiting for. It’s a tough spot. Low sales and the lack of inventory to improve them.

We have always prioritized our mixes, so when we get to the last 100 pounds or so of a seed - I put it out-of-stock and keep that seed so that the mixes that require it can stay in-stock. Amazingly that has worked for 3 decades - until this year. Hulless Oats are the main problem. They are a rare crop to begin with - and the few farmers that do grow them, grow something quite different than those grown by our long-time farmer friend, Mark in Nebraska. Mark’s are bigger and tastier - and texture wise they are all together different. To us they’re WAY better!

Mark is our age - closing in on 70. I have no plan for when he retires, but I’ll talk to him about it. Talking is something we did for many years. We originally found Mark from a printed list of organic seed farmers that we got from our organic certification agency in 1993. I cold called many of them, but when I called Mark we hit it off right away. Mark is to seed farmers what Sproutpeople is to sprouting seed companies. We’re both about variety.

He’s a 3rd generation farmer who took over his dad’s wheat farm - transitioned to organic - and then chose to grow 40 types of seed instead of just the one - which is all that most farmers in his region have ever grown. I’ll ask him if he has any young organic neighbor farmers that might add his Hulless Oats to their farm. I also need to ask him which other businesses he sells to that are like the one that was owned by our mutual friend David.

David just recently sold his business. He has been in organics since the early 1980’s. He was one of our seed suppliers for three decades. His business supplies a wide range of organic products (beans, grains, flours, nuts, dried fruits, coffee, etc., etc.) - but he loves seeds and we two also hit it off - so he treated us especially well. I won’t bore you with the details - but I will say that losing him may mean we can no longer get seeds from his company - - seeds we’ve long counted on him for. I think Mark will have ideas for me. We’ll see.

It’s tough times in the seed world - - like it is in the world in general - though nowhere near as dangerous. Finding new sources is difficult - and I'm very demanding. Organic standards have been so watered down over the past several years that buying from a certified organic source isn't enough for us. We need the farmer/supplier to adhere to the old standards. To be True Believers in organics. To be in it as a mission - not for the money. They must also be professional and good to work with. It's a lot to ask, but that's what we require

The good thing that’s come from this mess of a year is that I now pick up the telephone and call Mark. At some point email took over and we stopped talking - and then I started getting Mark’s seeds from David - because David’s company was way better at shipping pallets of seed. Now that David’s gone - and his replacement doesn’t have any history with me - I decided it’s better to again work with Mark directly. Both Mark and I are tired of technology and all the time saving efficiency (as if!) it promises. We’re thrilled to talk again - and conversation satisfies us far more than email. I’m so very happy to have reconnected!

So - Mark is going to ship us 3 times as many Hulless Oats as Sproutpeople usually buys in a year. He is an actual farmer - so he has really hard work to do before he can get those seeds to us - but he’s going as fast as he can. He has other crops to clean and test and bag too, but he’ll get his Oats and other seeds to us as soon as he can. I’m hoping that means we’ll have them again before the end of the year.

The reality is that we are likely to run out of other mixes that have Hulless Oats. We’ve been out of Oats & Groats for months now - and possibly before Mark gets us seed we will run out of 4 Legs of Love and Amber Waves of Grain. Because I fear running out - I’ve cut the maximum amount you can purchase. I’ll return it to where it belongs as soon as we get the seeds we need. I’m so very sorry. I know some of you count on these mixes as part of your regular diet. I've been pushing to get these Oats for months. I will keep on it and we’ll get them as soon as Mark can get them finished and on their way. I am so very sorry!

Please know that Oats are the only serious seed problems we have. We see no reason why we’ll run out of anything else - and we can still get by for the most part without them. Cat Grass may temporarily have a slightly different recipe - but it will be 98% the same. The same is true for Amber Waves - but there is no way to mix 4-Legs without them. We'll keep hoping and I'll keep pestering. We’ll be stocked up again soon and stocked for a long while.

WAITING

That’s been the name of the game in 2024. Waiting. Besides waiting for Mark’s seeds we’ve been waiting - since March - to move sproutpeople.org to a new system. That move is actually - finally - really - Very Close now! Our web guy - (conveniently named) Mark and I have been working like crazy to wrap everything up so we can flip-the-switch.

To be sure there will be plenty of work for me to do after we switch over - but the site will be better and it will integrate with other systems - which we’re told, will improve our sales. At my insistence we are dropping some pages that became redundant when we had our last major upgrade, several years ago. Unfortunately the pages that we’re getting rid of (their info remains on the site - but in a more logical place - where I want it) are very highly ranked by google. Disappearing those pages will likely lower our search engine rankings - possibly a lot. It's a dangerous decision - but I want the site the way I want it!

We’ve been online at sproutpeople.com or .net or .org since 1996. Our site is so very full of information that it should top any search for sprouts and microgreens - but google utterly dominates search nowadays - so making big changes can dramatically shift how it ranks us. Our site appears to be “my life’s work”. I like to think I’ll do more good stuff in my remaining time - but working on this site - and making it exactly perfect has been a long standing goal. I’m only 28 years into it - and this new system looks like it will make it easier for me to edit - so hopefully I’ll get it just how I want it - and hopefully google will eventually rank us where we belong - at the top - again.

Whatever comes we hope to have time for other things - other life's work - like moving back to the country, raising chickens and other animals, more dogs and cats of course - and hopefully some parrots and other wondrous winged beings, growing more food, putting it up, fruit trees - - all that self-sufficient stuff Lori and I started towards in 1991.

THE HOLIDAYS

We usually do something special this time of year - but we have to focus on basics now - so we won’t have any special Kits this time - but we trust you will find our usual offerings to your liking…

If you want to introduce someone to Sprouting - we suggest our Beginner’s Sprout Kit. If Microgreens are more their thing - we have a Mini-Microgreens Kit as well as a Master Microgreens Kit - for the serious grower. Want to get a bird person a present? Our Bird Sprouting Kit is perfect. We have others - for expecting and new mothers, cats, dogs, hamsters, and many more.

We may not publish another big Newsletter until 2025. I will probably put out a little one when we finally flip the switch and our new site goes live - but this is probably it for long ones this year.

We have to focus on the new site and getting our seed inventory back to where it needs to be - and as it’s now just the 3½ of us (me, Lori, Sam - our son, and Alice - our daughter - who is the ½ because she isn’t with us working in the warehouse and fulfilling orders - but does do social media for us) - so there’s more than plenty for us to do. Learning the new system is a challenge we look forward to - but also dread. You know - old dogs - new tricks. Really it's good that sales are so slow. It gives us more time to adjust.

We wish every one of you the happiest possible holidays!

GIFTS

You should know - we absolutely adore shipping gifts! Giving ‘the gift of growing’, as I’ve liked to call it for many years - is just a Joy! To be sure, we love shipping all of your orders - but gifts just light us up! Besides loving it - when it comes right down to it - we can only survive if new people discover the wonderful world of Indoor Farming - so Thank You for giving The Gift of Growing - and for expanding the population of home growers!

So - Gifts. Be sure we know if your order is a gift. Both our current site and the new one that will replace it any day now - have clear Gift specific buttons. Use them - and if you want to be extra sure - drop us an email telling us if your order has special needs. Please reference your order number if you go this route. Doing so helps a lot.

We’ll make sure it gets to your recipient in time (unless you procrastinate too long =;-) and that they will feel the awesomeness of seeds and the joy of growing. We’ll write notes on the box if you wish - - Don’t Open ‘Til Christmas! is a popular choice - - all you need do is write your gift note to the person/people you’re giving to — and then leave us a note at checkout with any special instructions and/or drop us a line.

Have a wonderful holiday season!

OUR FURRY FAMILY

Though it’s been over 2 months since our last Newsletter - I don’t have the time or space to add all the pictures I’d like to - but here are some pics of our boys - and know that there will be many more. Ira, Django, and Gus send their love!

Django enjoying time in the garden.

Ira and a butterfly pose for me on a picnic table at our neighborhood dog park.

Gus loves using Ira’s beds. Really he’s claimed this big one as his.

Though he does like to share it with Ira.

Quite often.

Gus loves beds. He’s 11 now, and though he still goes out and wanders the neighborhood - he spends more time lounging nowadays.

Ira on our bed with one of his toys.

He’s got a basket of toys under our living room coffee table. He pulls out whichever one(s) he wants to play with and even puts them back in the basket - occasionally.

Being partially hairless, Ira loves covers more than most dogs we’ve had. When he comes out from under he often provides us with photo ops.

Sometimes - like here at Sproutpeople’s world headquarters - he drags his cover with him, like a train.

Django and Gus love each other. Here they are taking a break - though they still have their GPS collars on because there’s more outdoor time to come.

Django in one of our window basket beds.

Mid yawn.

Ira lets me talk portraits of him at the park - once in a while.

On our last warm and sunny day, Lori got me to go along on a long walk around the fancy neighborhood we live next to. Ira loved it too!

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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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