DIY Self-watering Mung Bean Sprouter

How to sprout mung beans? I did some research online. Below are a couple of tutorials.

Mung Bean Sprouting Instructions.

How to Grow Mung Beans Without Roots. (Although didn’t understand what the narrator says, I got the idea.)

Basically, soak the beans over night, drain the beans, put in container, rinse and drain twice a day, you’ll have the sprouts in several days.

One thing I don’t like in these tutorials is that I have to rinse and drain the beans twice a day. Sounds like a lot of work. Inspired by the self-watering seed starters on the market, here comes the DIY self-watering mung bean spouter.

1. Soak the dry mung beans in water for 24 hours–doesn’t matter if soaked in a jar, a bowl, covered or uncovered. After 24 hours, we are ready to “plant” the seeds in the spouter. My seed bed is 8″ in diameter. I soak 2 table spoon of beans. They look like this:

2. Pick a pot with lid to be the sprouter. It needs to be at least 4″ deep.

3. Place a small plate in the pot, fill with water about half an inch, just below the rim of the plate.

4. Put the steamer rack on the plate. This will be the seed bed.

5. But wait, we need the self-watering part. Cut cheesecloth that a little longer than the rack (I used 4 layers and it worked perfectly), wrap the rack then put on the plate. Make sure both ends of the cheesecloth are soaked in the water. The cheesecloth will provide just right amount of water for sprouting.

6. Spread the soaked seeds on the rack, don’t let them drop in water. Cover the pot, put in the cabinet (to make sure absolutly no light). Set a reminder on your computer or smart phone to harvest in 3 days (at about 70 degrees). No need to check everyday unless you are curious. Here is how the beans look like after 24 hours.

7. Harvest time! Just pull out a handful of bean sprout and cut off the roots using a pair of scissors.

Notes: If you have a deep pot, you can stack 2 or 3 racks together. As in tutorial How to Grow Mung Beans Without Roots.

9. Same procedure to sprout alfalfa seeds. It takes 4 days instead of 3. Enjoy!