Botanical Interestes Seed Sprouter Seeds & Seed Starting

Botanical Interests Seed Sprouter: Product Review

We independently evaluate all recommended products and services. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation.


Botanical Interestes Seed Sprouter-Review

I’m a huge fan of fresh sprouts: a handful makes a sandwich or a salad something delightful. In the old days we used any old jar, topped off with a paper gauze called a J-Cloth, held on with a rubber band. (Do those still exist?) It was simple, but it worked. I was a regular alfalfa seed sprouter, but got out of the habit. I’d purchase supermarket sprouts, but they weren’t always at the peak of freshness. Then there were the horror stories of people getting sick from tainted sprouts.

Enter the Seed Sprouter, which is a much more scientific operation than the jar method. It’s a system of stacking square plastic trays, quite shallow, with holes in the bottom of each bin to let moisture and air get to the sprouting seeds.

There are two trays for sprouting, a clear plastic lid with perforations for air, and a solid bottom tray to catch excess water. The perforated lid is meant to diffuse the water when rinsing the seeds, but I admit I just took it off to rinse.

Botanical Interests seed sprouter trays - Image from www.lehmans.com

The trays are easily stacked. The top tray is meant to disperse water throughout the lower trays to rinse the sprouts below – but you can just take off the top tray to rinse.

It’s a very flexible system, as you can use both sprouting trays or just one, depending on how many sprouts you want to create at one time.

At 6.5 inches square, the Seed Sprouter is large enough to grow plenty of sprouts but not too large to keep on a shelf or countertop.

If you are a sprouting connoisseur, you’ll like the fact that each tray has a removable insert that divides the tray in half, so that you can simultaneously germinate different types of seed, keeping each type separate. I haven’t attained this level of seed sprouting myself, so used the multi-seed mix that was provided with the kit, and didn’t bother with the dividers.

The dividers are easily removed if you want to grow only one type of sprout per tray - image from www.lehmans.com

The dividers are easily removed if you want to grow only one type of sprout per tray

The instructions for making sprouts is ridiculously easy. You basically just soak and rinse the dormant seeds with water, which starts them on their germination journey. Then you wait.

Once your seeds have soaked, leave them in a bright area for germination. Seeds germinate at different times, but between 2-5 days is the usual time frame.

Rinse daily. Keep them moist, and don’t ever let them sit in water. The bottom tray catches excess water after rinsing.

Once they have grown to the stage you like, put them in the fridge.

Botanical Interestes Seed Sprouter-with sprouts

The instructions for making sprouts is ridiculously easy.

One area of concern with sprouts is food safety. It’s often recommended using bleach in your initial rinse water to ward off any pathogens. Previously with my home-made system, I’d never done this, and hadn’t experienced any problems. Mixing bleach and food didn’t strike me as appetizing—or particularly organic—but the Seed Sprouter instructions advised it “for maximum safety”, so I followed it to the letter. Better safe than sorry. There was no taste of bleach, as the dilution is very small. There are, however, differing opinions on whether “to bleach or not to bleach” seeds. Some say “it’s hardly worth eating sprouts if you feel the need to bleach them.”

You can instead use a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution for disinfecting, and always make sure your seed sprouter has been washed well every time you use it.

Botanical Interests recommends hand-washing, although they say it is top-rack dishwasher safe. Maybe they know people don’t always pay attention to the top-rack caution. I did put mine in the dishwasher and it came out fine.

Botanical Interestes Seed Sprouter-results

My seeds, from Botanical Interests, germinated extremely well and produced a tangy mix of sprouts.

Recommendation

5 Shovels Rating from Gardening Products ReviewMy seeds, from Botanical Interests, germinated extremely well and produced a tangy mix of sprouts. The unit is easy to use and allows for quick germination, and easy operation. Because the trays are flat, the seeds spread out more than in the jar method. This allows the sprouts to have better access to light so they can green up easily. With a good light source, the seeds can grow beyond just white sprouts and more into microgreens. I love knowing I now have an easy way to make such a tasty, fresh food.

Where to Buy

The Botanical Interests Seed Sprouter is available on Amazon for $19.99 plus $5.99 shipping. You’ll also find it on the Botanical Interests website for $24.95.

Now over to you – Have you tried a seed sprouter before? What did you use and how did it work? Let us know in the comments below!

If you liked this review, please sign up for our monthly newsletter to get new reviews, special offers and giveaways.

See Our Related Reviews

 

Five Keys to Successful Seed StartingFive Keys to Successful Seed Starting
Growing Seedlings Under Indoor Grow LightsGrowing Seedlings Under Indoor Grow Lights
When to Start Seeds IndoorsWhen to Start Seeds Indoors
Where to Buy SeedsWhere to Buy Seeds

Disclaimer – GPReview would like to thank Botanical Interests for giving us a free Seed Sprouter to review. There was no expectation that it would be a positive review and we received no compensation for writing it. All opinions expressed here are those of the author based on personal experience using the product.

Please note that the Amazon links (and only the Amazon links) above are affiliate links. Should you choose to purchase products through these links, GPReview will make a small commission (at no extra cost to you) that helps to support this website and our gardening product reviews. Thank you!

Enjoyed This Review?

If you liked this review, please sign up for our email updates with reviews, how-to articles and gardening videos!

Disclaimer – GPReview would like to thank the manufacturer/distributor for giving us a free sample to review. There was no expectation that it would be a positive review and we received no compensation for writing it. All opinions expressed here are those of the author based on personal experience using the product.

Please note that the Amazon links (and only the Amazon links) above are affiliate links. Should you choose to purchase products through these links, GPReview will make a small commission (at no extra cost to you) that helps to support this website and our gardening product reviews. Thank you!