Sprouting seeds are one of the quickest crops to grow, and can be grown without and soil, or even any light! They'll grow indoors all-year-round providing a great, low-cost, addition to stir-fries.

Growing calendar
Sow indoors	All year
Harvest	All year

How to grow sprouting seeds

Soak seed in tepid water overnight and rinse. Scatter seeds on to damp tissue paper in a shallow tray, cover with polythene (reuse a clear plastic food bag if possible) and place in the dark.

Rinse the sprouts daily. Keep the tissue constantly moist, but not too wet as the seeds may rot. Drain any free water from the tray.

Harvesting sprouting seeds

Harvest as required. If you want to 'green' the sprouts (e.g for alfalfa, cress, fenugreek, mustard and radish, move them into the light. Keep pale coloured sprouts (e.g mung beans and aduki beans) 'forced' in the dark.

Growing notes
Difficulty	Easy
Germination time	4-10 days
Average time to harvest	1-2 weeks
Equipment needed	Shallow tray, tissue paper
Average plant size	5cm tall shoots or roots
Key nutritional content	Vitamins A and C, folate (mustard and cress)