Seeds are dormant packages of biological miracles. Sprouting is basically just waking seeds up from their dormancy. Sprouting is done by exposing seeds to water and letting them do what they are genetically programmed to do – to grow.

When you eat sprouts, you are eating LIVE food. Fresh plants that you can grow ALL year long inside your home. The wider the sprouting variety the wider spectrum of nutrients you will be consuming.  Sprouts are considered one of the healthiest food groups you can eat.

When you soak seeds, a complex process is kick-started inside the seed. It wakes up. It sheds its anti-germination enzymes and goes through a metamorphosis. The seed contains all the nutrients for it to start on this awakening. The seed has enough to get it to the next stage of its life – to get nutrients from its environment. It does this by producing a root and a stem. One to get moisture and nutrients from the growing medium and the other to be exposed to light to generate energy.

A sprouted seed become much more than the dormant seed. It is more nutritious, it is more digestible and it is a live food. When we sprout we become connected to this process.

Earth’s General Store is Edmonton’s premiere sprouting store. It has been a core component of our product and healthy lifestyle offerings for over 8 years.

ALL of our sprouting seeds are certified organic and supplied by Mumm’s Sprouting Seeds in Saskatchewan.

Sprouting is quite easy to do but it is good to have some guidance and to learn from some good resources. The internet has lots of videos and resources how to do it and you can ask most of our staff for guidance.

That being said, perhaps a good place to start is at the website of our supplier – Mumm’s Sprouting Seeds.

As pointed out by Lisa in this video, a simple mason jar with a screen over the top is one of the easiest methods of sprouting.

Sprouting Vessels

We offer the most commonly used sprouting products – a mason jar and a sprouting lid. This is also the least expensive way to get into sprouting. If you have a mason jar at home you will only need to purchase the lid. If you have some screening at home then you can use that (avoid mosquito window screen since that deteriorates).

We have Sprouting jars, hemp bags, lids, Easy Sprout, and more.

Sprouting Wheatgrass

Red Hard Winter Wheat seeds are the type to grow wheatgrass. These are quite often referred to as wheat berries (wheatberries) or wheat kernels. All this means is that the wheat seed has not been processed beyond having its outer sheath removed.

There are some excellent resources on the Internet to introduce you to growing wheatgrass. Some are more complicated than others. I like this video from Hippocrates Health Institute.

The Difference Between Sprouting Seeds and Seeds for Growing Plants

People quite often ask me about the difference between the kernels that we have in the bulk food bins and the seeds we have in our sprouting section. They are both seeds of the plant and should grow into a plant under the correct conditions.

Let’s take hard winter wheat seeds as an example. When a farmer wants to grow a field of wheat they source some seeds (either one they saved or from a seed supplier). The farmer chooses seeds that will produce as much grain as possible under the conditions of their farm’s environment and inputs. The end game of their choice is the production of wheat grain/kernels (seeds) at the end with a high protein level.  The farmer is also looking for seeds that will germinate at a level that is acceptable – perhaps 90%.

The kernels that the farmer produces are for purposes other than growing a future crop. The kernels are for making bread or some other product not for growing a plant. The germination rate is unknown.

Hard winter wheat sprouting seeds, on the other hand, are selected for their germination rate not how much grain it produces when fully matured or whether it is drought tolerant. Sprouting seeds are periodically tested for germination rate and I believe the rate needs to be over 95% to be considered an acceptable sprouting seed.

The germination rate is important insofar that when seeds don’t sprout they tend to rot (nice moist conditions in a sprouting vessel). Rotting seeds can contaminate your sprouts so it is advisable to get seeds that have a very high germination rate – ergo, sprouting seeds.

Sprouting Cuts Down on Gas

We are continuously told by health experts that we should be eating less meat in our diet and that there are really good alternatives like beans and other legumes.  Lots of people avoid this food group because they have problems digesting them – they can give a person bowel discomfort or an increased level of gas (farts).

When you sprout any seed it becomes more digestible and greatly reduces the likelihood of producing any bowel discomfort or excess gas. Even just soaking your beans overnight and then rinsing and cooking them will reduce gas or discomfort.

Sprouting and Microgreens

What is the difference between sprouting and microgreens? The basic difference is that sprouts are grown in water and a moist environment and microgreens are grown in soil. You eat the seeds and stem of a sprout and the microgreens you eat the stem and leaves – not the seed.

Both sprouts and microgreen are nutritionally denser than their mature stage of growth.

Sprouting and Hydrogen Peroxide

Since sprouts grow in a damp environment they are more susceptible to mould. Mould is not overly common but people have used a small amount of hydrogen peroxide in their rinse water to clean the seeds and baby sprouts. We carry food-grade hydrogen peroxide (35%) for this and other purposes.

Sprouting Central

Earth’s General Store is your sprouting partner. We have a good selection of packaged sprouting seeds and you can save money and packaging by purchasing your seeds from our bulk selection. You can typically save about 40% if you choose bulk seeds.

Here is a list of the packaged sprouting seeds we carry and corresponding bulk prices (I have also listed the savings you will make on the same package if you buy in bulk).

As you can see, there are significant savings to be had by buying bulk sprouting seeds. We encourage people to bring in their own containers and bags (we charge 5 cents for new bags and we reward you with five cents when you bring in your own bags/containers). I believe you will find that not only are our packaged prices the best in Edmonton but that our bulk prices are the VERY best prices.

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Please note that our packages are somewhat larger than in other stores.

Prices are as of March 23rd, 2018 but may change without notification or update of this page.