Buckwheat Sprouting Seeds (NOT to TAS)
Whole, unhulled buckwheat seed (Fagopyrum esculentum) in its dark hull, for growing buckwheat greens on a tray, from 200 g to 2 kg. This product cannot be shipped to Tasmania. WA customers: maximum 10 kg.
This is not hulled buckwheat groats. The seed keeps its hard, woody hull, which stays hard after soaking and is not eaten, so it is not a jar sprout. Pale, hulled groats sold as food are a different product. This seed is grown on a tray of mix and cut as mild, tender greens, usually 8 to 12 days from the start of the soak.
About 33 seeds to the gram.
How to grow buckwheat greens on a tray
- Rinse the seed and pick out any chaff, stones or broken seed. Allow about 250 to 350 mL of dry seed for a 25 x 25 cm tray.
- Cover it with two to three times its volume of cool drinking water and soak for 8 to 12 hours, the shorter time in a hot kitchen.
- Drain, then rinse and drain every 8 to 12 hours in a jar left upside down, until most seeds show a tiny root tip.
- Fill a shallow tray with drainage holes with about 3 cm of damp seed raising mix. Spread the seed in one even layer, press it lightly onto the surface, cover the tray and leave it somewhere dim.
- When pale shoots push at the cover, about day 4 to 6 from the soak, uncover the tray and move it into bright light. Water the mix from below and keep air moving.
- Brush off the hulls riding on the leaf tips, then cut the greens with clean scissors just above the mix when they stand 5 to 10 cm tall with both seed leaves open.
Rinse the greens just before eating and pick off any hull still clinging. Store them dry and sealed in the fridge at 5°C or colder and use them within a few days. Buckwheat leaves contain fagopyrin, which can make skin sensitive to sunlight when large amounts are eaten, so eat the greens in modest serves and stop if your skin reacts to the sun.
Food safety
Buckwheat greens start as a raw sprout and can carry Salmonella, E. coli and Listeria, even when grown with care at home. The NSW Food Authority advises cooking all sprouts thoroughly before eating. People who are pregnant, aged 70 or over, children under 5 and anyone with a weakened immune system should not eat raw sprouts. Wash, rinse and sanitise trays, jars and tools between batches. Potting mix can carry Legionella bacteria: follow the warning on the bag, wet the mix down, wear gloves and a P2 mask, and wash your hands afterwards.
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