Sweet. Nutty. Tastes a lot like a Sunflower Seed.
What do I do with them?
If your wondering what to do with them the answer is everything you would do with lettuce and more. They are definitely an awesome addition fresh in salads, sandwiches and wraps. But also cook well with fresh eggs, mushrooms or just about anything. Just remember that if you chose to cook them, add them to your dish after you take them off the heat. In this way, they will maintain their crunchiness. For a quick snack - heat oil and minced garlic and a skillet until fragrant, turn off heat, and toss in Sun Shoots. You can also add a little pepper flakes and a drizzle of honey for a delicious sweet, spicy snack.
General Nutrition & Benefits.
Sun Shoots are full of fiber; making them a nutritious energy booster. They also contain about 25% protein, which makes them ideal for vegetarian dishes. Sun Shoots also have a high content of Vitamins A, B, C, D and E. And contain Beta-Caretone, Lutein, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Potassium, and Phosphorus.
Know How We Grow.
We start the growing process of our Sun Shoots by first soaking our sunflower seeds in water for 24 hours. After the seeds have soaked, we rinse them and expose them to fresh air, for another day. This is called "priming", the seeds are allowed to dry and as they dry, they start to germinate.
Often times a tap root starts to form and poke out of the seed - this is the time when we plant them in growing flats filled with our own blend of our finished chicken compost (Thanks to the Hens & Pip) and locally washed sand. We don't use any fertilizers, wetting agents, mined peat moss, mined perlite, vermiculite, hydroponics solutions or hydroponic grow pads.
The seeds are then sprinkled on top of the soil instead of underneath like you would normally plant a seedling. The flats are then stacked one on top of each other for four days.
This does two things; it forces their roots down into the soil from the pressure of the flat on top & it causes the seedling to grow a thick long crunchy stem from the weight and lack of light.
After fours days the shoots are un-stacked and placed under LED growing lights until the seedlings form.
Once they are ready, we cut them by hand and package them into jars (or bags - when jars aren't available).
