🌱 We're having a Sale 🌱

SSSprouter seconds are available at 1/2 price

SLIGHTLY DINGED STAINLESS STEEL SPROUTERS ARE BACK

We again have a supply of slightly imperfect Stainless Steel Sprouters, so once again we are offering them at 1/2 price. You can only get to them via this link - and they won’t last long as we have only 28.

Their imperfections include tape residue, slight dents, or scuff marks. All are 100% new and perfectly usable. In many cases you won’t even notice the imperfections.

HONORING AN ORGANIC HERO

The co-founder of the Organic Consumers Association, Ronnie Cummins died on April 26, 2023. There have been other groups that claim to be organic advocates, but only OCA has remained true to real organic standards since their birth, in 1998.

Many of us who have long been organic growers were fearful when federal standards came into being. As is typical in any grassroots movement - corporations want a piece of the pie (if not the entire pie). The federal standards have been under constant assault since their inception. Like others who truly believe in the necessity of organic agriculture, we demand higher standards - like we had in the old days. We buy our seeds only from people like us - people who are certified by agencies with original organic principles. We will not accept less, and frankly we have felt since the day the feds took over organics that the movement would need to start over with a new word. Organic still matters to be sure, but it isn’t what it should be in some cases - and the loss of Ronnie Cummins means we all have to do more work to keep it relevant.

Thank you for all you did Ronnie! Here is a lovely tribute written by Children’s Health Defense.

NOW THAT WE’RE PUBLISHING USING SUBSTACK

One thing to bear in mind now that our Newsletter is coming from Substack is that some of our longer Newsletters will be truncated. You’ll be able to click a link to read the entire post - but some may seem to end abruptly. It’s not us - just the new publisher.

We’ll be working on perfecting this new system - but experience is my teacher - so it may take me a few months to feel comfortable. If your email doesn’t include pictures of our furry 4-legged love machines - then you know your not seeing the whole Newsletter. Besides the link - you can always visit our posts at https://sproutpeople.substack.com.

OUR SALES HAVE FALLEN OFF THE TABLE

We had a positive start to the year but our busiest months - March and April were down dramatically (35% in April). We’ve been Sproutpeople for 30 years and this is the first time we’ve seen this. We all know how expensive the world is now - for is out of hand and bank stability is certainly a concern - so we’re seeing this as an international economic problem and hoping it will pass - before we do @;-)

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The 4-Legged Boys…

Ira is spending a lot more time with us in the garden as it’s time to plant and there are still countless weeds to pull. Gus and Django have been repelled by our rainy days but rejoicing on the sunny ones. It’s always relatively mild here in the Bay Area, but Spring coming is always an exciting time, wherever you are.

Ira’s joy of spring has a lot to do with gophers. He has yet to catch one, but he’s gotten close. He’s still working on being patient enough to wait them out.

He’s a Pointer!

Gus and Ira enjoying some afternoon sunshine together.

Gus has a truly magnificent tail. He plays with Lori and me regularly, but he’s not always sure he can do so with Ira - but he’s learning he can trust him too.

Django absolutely adores Lori. He wants her to walk around the neighborhood with him, take him to garden early in the morning, and basically be his constant attendant. He is such a sweet guy - she basically complies with his every wish @;-)

Ira loves Sam’s playfulness. It helps him retain his puppy like joy of life.

It must be hard to be so close to the ground and have such an amazing sense of smell. Ira checks out our neighbor Paula’s yard regularly - hoping to find kitty treats that have gone unclaimed. He succeeds often

We came across this online and just had to share it.

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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.

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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