Today we introduce you to this survival plant with high nutritional value. We consider it one of our survival wildcards due to its high nutritional power and the fact that it can be harvested in just 7 days after sowing underground. It is essential in the garden and for those who eat healthy.
You need raw lentils that you soak for 24 to 48 hours. Meanwhile, prepare a well in the ground about 25 to 30 cm deep. You have to press the floor down a bit, as we show you in the video.
After this time, strain the lentils and the water can serve as irrigation and natural fertilizer, as this legume contains many useful nutrients for plants.
You spread the already hydrated lentils at a high density at the bottom of the well, much more densely than if you plant any kind in the garden.
And now comes a very important step, the lenses are not covered with earth, but with some wooden boards, if possible completely, so that no light gets in, to cover the hollow. No light should come in because we are basically preparing sprouts and want them to stay bright yellow. It is also planned that the lenses will be protected from animals.
Around the second and fourth day, depending on temperatures and if there has been no rain in the area, you will need to water your survival crops. Irrigation may not be necessary in humid areas.
After about a week, you can uncover your survivor plant and see how it has grown and what color it is. The idea is to leave it open for a few days so that the chlorophyll is activated and we can feed on its antioxidants, fiber, potassium, magnesium, etc.
A trellis must be installed to allow light to pass through, but the surviving plant will still remain protected.
When they have turned green, it is time to harvest them. You can cut them with scissors like all well-known sprouts and prepare many recipes.
All of these lentil sprouts are very tender and can be eaten whole without any waste.
To ensure continuous availability of these sprouts, we gradually make different wells with the hydrated lentils. At least 3 or 4 wells in continuous operation.
You can also let the cut seedlings grow back or replace them completely with new lentils.
Characteristics of this survival plant
It's a process that doesn't take a lot of time or money, and unlike eating lentils in a stew, this legume in sprouts increases its nutritional potential.
When sprouting, the lentil loses phytic acid, which acts as an antinutrient and usually complicates our diet. This means that when we eat lentils in a stew, we do not use all the nutrients that accompany them, nor what we consume later.
Therefore, eating sprouts makes it easier to digest everything we eat and we obtain all the nutrients, minerals and vitamins more efficiently. When we consume less, we receive more benefits.
Differences between sprouts in jars and in soil
You are probably wondering what the difference is between normally germinating seeds in a glass jar and growing them in the ground.
One of the differences is that when germinating in jars or bowls, the stem becomes a little more fibrous on the second or third day.
Although the properties are the same, when germinated in soil the entire sprout is tender and ideal for consumption.
And what's more, it gets more nutrients from the soil than if we just put water in the jar.
Eating sprouts, also called microgeens, is almost like consuming the sun's energy with all its power in our bodies. We consume live food.
With information from: