Good Grains

[Kindred farm]

I do not feed my wether grain, but he gets everything else (hay, pasture, mineral, fresh water, and a handful of BOSS for a treat occasionally). He is only 3 months old and just about the same size as his mother--no kidding. I couldn't imagine if I fed him grain. BUT, I am NO expert, it is just what works for me. The vet thinks he is doing great and that he will be huge when he is full grown.

Kindred farm wrote:
Off topic but, kstaven--love the blue cow!

Actually, his cow is purple (photoshop) and is a holstein/jersey cross.
Mine is a blue and white holstein (naturally), a little on the dark side but, the only one I have. All the rest that come blue and white seem to be bulls.

I need to adjust the color on my monitor! Farmer Kitty--your cow is very nice looking, I like her natural color and markings.

 

[freemotion]

what do you use to sprout your oats ? where do you get it please

I buy a bag of whole oats and whole barley at a feed store when I can't get them directly from the farmer. It is better from the farmer, because sometimes if the harvest is wet and rainy, the grain will be put in dryers and may not sprout as well or at all. If you can buy from the farmer, he will know which batch to sell you, as they have some for seed, usually. If you can get this, get it UNTREATED. They often treat with a fungicide before planting.

For larger amounts, I use a system of buckets with tiny holes drilled in the bottom and a couple inches up from the bottom. One bucket with no holes.

I have a series of hooks over my sump pump in my cellar for cold winter sprouting indoors.

I put the desired amount of grain in the bucket with no holes and soak in cool/room temp water for a day. I add a glug of ACV to speed the process. Not too much, you don't want to pickle the grain! Just neutralize the germination inhibitors in the seedcoat.

Next day, dump that into a bucket with holes, drain, and rinse thoroughly with plain water. Hang it on the lowest hook. Fill another bucket to soak another batch.

Next day, do the same.....dump the soaking grain into another bucket with holes, drain, and rinse. Rinse the first bucket again, and put in one hook higher. Put today's bucket on the lowest hook.

Repeat. Each day, when you rinse the older buckets, place them one hook higher. This way you will know exactly which buckets have been rinsed and which one is the oldest.

Eventually, you will see sprouts. You can feed them just as the little sprout tip emerges, or you can let it get a little more sprouted. How long it takes depends on the temperature, mostly.

I find that I can feed my dairy goat more grain this way without her getting "dog poo" and she is also getting the higher protein needed to make milk for me. It also meets the poultry's need for protein in the winter when there are no bugs for the catching. And gets rid of the antinutrients and makes the nutrition in the grain more bioavailable.

If I get a bag that doesn't sprout or doesn't sprout well, I just lacto-ferment it and feed it that way. That is simply soaking for a day with whey from cheesemaking or from draining yogurt or kefir, then rinsing. Don't use powdered whey products, the fermenting bacteria are long dead. I can't feed as much grain to the dairy goat this way, and the protein has not gone up dramatically, but the antinutrients are gone and it is far, far more digestible and I get more bang for my feed buck. It has proven to be worth the trouble.

 

[kstaven]

Any hints for larger production of sprouts? I use pails now, plan to switch to trays for the coming winter. Rinsing and mold have been the issue with larger quantities, for me.

To stop mold ... use one drop of FOOD GRADE hydrogen peroxide in your first sprout rinse water.

When we sprout we use a moving water supply 24/7. trays stacked with a few holes in them to allow water to drain down to the next. A small fountain pump is all the water flow you need. Once again I use food grade hydrogen peroxide in the water and never have sour sprouts or mold. If you are doing large amounts of sprouted grains the normal way you really need to rinse them with fresh water daily.

 

[freemotion]

Any hints for larger production of sprouts? I use pails now, plan to switch to trays for the coming winter. Rinsing and mold have been the issue with larger quantities, for me.

To stop mold ... use one drop of FOOD GRADE hydrogen peroxide in your first sprout rinse water.

When we sprout we use a moving water supply 24/7. trays stacked with a few holes in them to allow water to drain down to the next. A small fountain pump is all the water flow you need. Once again I use food grade hydrogen peroxide in the water and never have sour sprouts or mold. If you are doing large amounts of sprouted grains the normal way you really need to rinse them with fresh water daily.

Hmmm.....might just be worth the trouble! Where does one get food grade hydrogen peroxide? And do you get your sprouts to the green grass stage? How long to you let them get, and how long does it take?

 

[kstaven]

Almost every sprouting seed supplier out there has the peroxide concentrate. BE VERY CAREFUL when diluting it. It can give you serious burns before dilution. I have had my sprouts tall enough to lift the top off a 4 inch deep tray. I really can't say for sure how long they took to get there on that one.

Normally I only let mine grow out for a week.

 

[freemotion]

Wow, thanks! I will be looking for that this summer for this winter's sprouting. I get my oats from the farmer so I'll have to do a search for the peroxide. I wonder if regular drugstore peroxide (3%) will do? I imagine you don't dilute it that much....?

 

[kstaven]

Wow, thanks! I will be looking for that this summer for this winter's sprouting. I get my oats from the farmer so I'll have to do a search for the peroxide. I wonder if regular drugstore peroxide (3%) will do? I imagine you don't dilute it that much....?

There is a BIG difference between drugstore (topical for external use) peroxide and food grade. Here is a link for you. http://www.sproutmaster.com/peroxide.html