Monday, July 19, 2010

Something to Sprout About!


My sprout orders have tripled in the past few months, with sprouting taking over almost half of  the kitchen counter space--a big problem during Farmers Market baking season.  In addition, the weather has been so hot and humid, the sprouts are growing too fast.  So, this weekend we transformed the unused little bathroom in the nice cool basement into a sprouting room.
The spot where the toilet used to be makes a nice alcove for wire shelving  for the sprout trays.  We removed the door from the shower surround and set up the sinks inside.  The sinks drain into a pipe that will empty into a 5-gallon bucket so I can capture the  rinse water  for watering my plants (sprout rinse-water is supposed to be full of plant growth enzymes.)  If we ever move or I  discontinue c growing sprouts, it will be very easy to revert this space to a normal bathroom.
After sanitizing all the surfaces I painted the walls with scrubbable paint--bright alfalfa sprout green with white wainscoating.
The biggest expense for this project was the  sink.  I was delighted to find a stainless steel double sink that fit perfectly in the oddly-shaped shower stall, but it cost $350. We needed a way to support the sink, and  serendipitously, we had two stainless steel racks that that worked perfectly  to suspend the sink at the right height.
All I need now is a small work surface for spinning out the spouts and a radio to keep me company  during the rinsing hours.

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