Sprouting Wheat

[jthornton]

Some of you may remember me sprouting wheat a while back with a complicated watering and light system in a spare bathroom. While it worked fine it did take up the whole bathtub so this time I decided to sprout wheat feed in a way that anyone that has chickens can do. I have some 18 count styrofoam egg cartons. I put some wheat seeds in each compartment then give each one a spritz of water. I close the lid so the moisture stays in. I spritz them twice a day. For the first couple of days not much happens unless you look really close.

Day 3 you should see some seeds sprouting.


Day 4 even more seeds are sprouting.


Day 5 most should have sprouted by now that will sprout.


Day 6 the sprouts are about 1" long and time to put them outside in a plastic tray and start a new batch in this carton.


Day 7 the sprouts are starting to get a tad green. I use the mist setting on my hose to mist them a few times a day when I walk by.


Day 8 and Day 9 they are very green and a couple of inches long.


At this point you could start to feed them to your chickens.

Important that you use feed seeds and not planting seeds which may have chemical coatings.

JT

 

[centrarchid]

Have you tried oats in a similar manner? When I soak them for about two days (ambient temperature 50 to 65 F) they swell and start to split, which is point I feed them out. Birds fed such as a supplement jump all over greens when they can get them, so I may adjust approach to get properly sprouted material like you have. Red Wheat is only seasonally available here, but oats always available.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

The only problem is now that you’re using the egg cartons for sprouting, you have to store your eggs in the bathtub.

Seriously, though...good share of of an approach that can work at a small scale in a small space!

 

[jthornton]

I assume I have white wheat as I think red wheat is a winter variety.

I've not tried oats, 50 pounds of wheat takes a while to sprout. I also put the wheat in my grass boxes and they pick off what ever comes through the hardware cloth.

This is my third and preferred version of my grass box. Approximately 1' x 2' with 2x6 leftovers.


JT

 

[centrarchid]

That is cool. How many days do you get per box before you restart it?

 

[jthornton]

That is cool. How many days do you get per box before you restart it?

It lasts forever if I don't take the box off, sometimes they pull out some and I just sprinkle more in bare areas. Sometimes I'll take the box off and let them eat it to the ground if too many weeds are growing.

@centrarchid do you follow the Missouri thread?

JT

 

[jthornton]

I've refined my methods a bit for sprouting the wheat seeds after some experiments.

Day 1 Put 1 teaspoon seeds in each compartment and two sprays of water in each one.
Day 2 - 4 one spray of water in each compartment
Day 5 - 10 move them outside and keep the bottom of the tray wet so they have water all the time.

Day 1 - 4 (left most just started)


Day 3


Day 4


Day 5 - 10


JT

 

[jthornton]

I pretty much have a production line going now with the wheat sprouts. Having a bit of water in the bottom of the trays and they shoot out roots and grow like crazy. The hens just love them.



JT

 

[Lauravonsmurf]

Way cool

 

[RebelChief]

I pretty much have a production line going now with the wheat sprouts. Having a bit of water in the bottom of the trays and they shoot out roots and grow like crazy. The hens just love them.

View attachment 2160555

JT

I have a little growing operation in my house...tried outside and everything fermented. I'm using dollar tree bins and just cycle them as they are fed. I just sprinkle the seeds in the bottom in a thin layer, soak 24 hours, drain water, leave covered until they sprout and then I move them where they are now to grow.

I do want to make some grow frames for their yard....there's pretty nice composted soil so I might just try to build a cover for the ground and sew the seed directly in the dirt with the frame over top to protect the seeds as they grow. Wild bird seed seems to grow like crazy...and I have an Omega 3 forager blend I'd like to try growing for them.