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Sprouting Green Ideas
Sprouting beans and seeds couldn’t be easier. I have been growing them in recycled pickle jars with a piece of muslin secured by an elastic band by my kitchen sink for years. I was therefore intrigued by a hi-tech hydroponic unit plus seed packets John acquired for testing this month. You just fill up the trays in the Easy Green Automatic Sprouter with seeds (hemp, alfalfa, wheat, barley, mustard, broccoli, red clover...), fill the water tank, set the timer and go. The whole system is totally automatic, running in cycles controlled by an electronic timer. All you have to do is maintain the water level daily and watch your sprouts grow. The waste water from the irrigation process can be collected for reuse on indoor plants or plumbed to waste. Within days you are harvesting nutritious sprouted seeds for use in salads or juicing, and as each tray is used it can be resown and replaced with no need for presoaking.
The advantages of this unit is that it generates mist, which provides the oxygen rich, humid environment that healthy sprouts require. It can sprout seeds either with or without soil, requires a minimum of human intervention and can be stacked up to five units high. It is suitable for domestic and light commercial use (such as an organic café) and produces high quality sprouts at a competitive price per growing area. The system can even be adapted to incorporate automatic water filling which would allow unattended growing for up to ten days in some cases. If I lived in an apartment or modern house with little room to soak seeds, rinse and drain various large sprouting jars, plant outdoor seed trays, and regularly tend them, I’d definitely buy one. The money spent buying the Easy Green Automatic Sprouter could be quickly saved from not needing to buy them from shops and the health giving effects of freshly sprouted seeds is legendary.
Maddy Harland
Many people have come up with ideas to save water by limiting the amount flushed down the toilet each time it’s used, but until now they have all relied on reducing the volume available. Now a Yorkshire inventor has come up with a brilliant device which allows you to adapt your existing siphonic cistern, so that you control the amount of water flushed as required. The Interflush works by adding a simple air valve to the siphon tube, which allows you to stop the flush at any time. It works on the ‘hold to flush’ principle so when only a little water is needed to clear the pan you let go early or if you need a full flush you hold it for a few seconds longer. Water savings of up to 47% can be achieved which is much higher than by any other devices and represents a considerable environmental saving and a financial one as well if you are on a water meter.
The Interflush works in most low level front handle syphonic cisterns and only requires a little patience and basic DIY skills to fit. I fitted mine in thirty five minutes using the kit and tools provided, plus a drill and a flat bit screwdriver. Being male I didn’t read the instructions first. This was a mistake as the instructions need to be followed to the letter and work much better if you have read them through first!
Once fitted it worked just as it should and hopefully will go on doing so for many years to come.
John Adams
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Easy Green Sprouter in use
Easy Green Sprouter
Interflush in use
Interflush in use
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