An equal blend of four small seeds — a full 25% of each, no filler. Grow it two completely different ways from the same bag: as jar sprouts in about six days with nothing but water, or as soil microgreens in about ten days for a bigger, sweeter, leafier crop. Both methods are below.
What’s in your bag
Broccoli
Mild, fresh and faintly cabbage-sweet. The one people come for, and a full quarter of the blend.
The headliner
Alfalfa
The classic salad sprout. Fine, pale and tender with almost no flavor of its own — it carries the others.
The body
Daikon Radish
Peppery and bright magenta. The biggest, fastest seed in the bag and the one you will taste first.
The kick
Crimson Clover
Sweet, delicate and faintly grassy, with pink-tinged stems. Softens the radish heat.
The sweetener
Two ways to grow the same seed
Jar Sprouts
Water only · 5–6 days
- You need
- A jar and a mesh lid. Nothing else.
- Seed
- 2–3 tbsp per quart jar
- Soak
- 4–8 hours
- Ready
- Day 5–6
- Yield
- Typically 5–6× by weight; a pound runs 14–20 jars
- You eat
- The whole thing — root, stem and leaf
- Taste
- Peppery, crisp, a little sharp
Choose this if you want the fastest, cheapest, least-equipment route, or you have no window space
Soil Microgreens
Tray & light · 8–12 days
- You need
- A shallow tray, potting mix, a bright window
- Seed
- About 2 tbsp per 10×20 tray
- Soak
- None — sow dry
- Ready
- Day 8–12
- Yield
- Typically 8–12 oz of cut greens per tray
- You eat
- Stem and leaf, cut above the soil
- Taste
- Sweeter, greener, more substantial
Choose this if you want a milder, sturdier green for salads and plates, and you don’t mind a tray of soil
These are small seeds — do not soak them like beans
4 to 8 hours is plenty (up to 12 does no harm). Broccoli, alfalfa, radish and clover are a fraction the size of a bean and take on all the water they need in a few hours, so a long soak buys you nothing. If you also grow our bean mixes, note that those genuinely need 8–12 hours — the two are not interchangeable.
Jar sprouts — five moves
Step 1
Soak
4–8 hours
Put 2–3 tbsp of seed in a clean quart jar with a mesh lid. Rinse, then cover with cool water and leave it on the counter.
Step 2
Drain
Every time
Pour the water off and rest the jar mouth-down at 45°. Draining hard is the whole skill with small seed.
Step 3
Rinse
2× daily
Every 8–12 hours, fill, swirl to break up clumps, pour off, drain fully, return to the angle. Three times a day in hot weather.
Step 4
Green Up
Day 4
Move the jar to indirect light — a counter near a window, not a sunny sill. Keep rinsing. Leaves turn green.
Step 5
Harvest
Day 5–6
Pick when most leaves are open and green. Rinse, drain very well, refrigerate.
What each day looks like
Evening
Soak
2–3 tbsp in cool water, 4–8 hours.
Day 1
Drain & start
Seeds swell and stick together. Rinse, drain hard, set at an angle.
Day 2–3
White tails
Radish leads and the others follow close behind. The jar starts to fill. Seed hulls loosen.
Day 4
Into the light
Pale yellow leaves appear. Move to indirect light and they begin to green.
Day 5–6
Harvest
Leaves open and mostly green, jar packed full. This is the finish line.
Beyond
Diminishing
They keep growing but get stringy and the radish sharpens. Little reason to wait.
The greening step is what makes them look like the picture
Through day 3 your jar is pale and yellow-white, and that is correct — sprouts do not need light to grow. On day 4, move them somewhere bright but out of direct sun and keep rinsing on the same schedule; the leaves open and turn green over the next day or two. Sprouts deep inside the jar stay yellow no matter what you do, and taste the same.
Pick your sprouting method
Mason Jar
The classic
- 2–3 tbsp seed in a clean quart jar; fit a mesh sprouting lid or cheesecloth under a canning ring.
- Rinse, cover with cool water, soak 4–8 hours.
- Drain completely; prop mouth-down at 45° in a bowl or dish rack.
- Rinse and drain twice a day, swirling to break up the mat.
- Day 4 into indirect light; harvest day 5–6.
Best for
Almost everyone. Small seed mats together, so swirl at every rinse and never let the jar sit flat.
Almost everyone. Small seed mats together, so swirl at every rinse and never let the jar sit flat.
Sprouting Tray
Biggest crop
- Soak in a separate jar or bowl — trays are for growing, not soaking.
- Drain, then spread the seed in a thin, even layer across the tray.
- Set over the drip pan with a slight tilt so water runs off.
- Water gently twice a day and let it drain right through.
- Day 4 into indirect light; harvest day 5–6.
Best for
A large, even, easy-to-cut crop. Trays green up beautifully because light reaches every sprout.
A large, even, easy-to-cut crop. Trays green up beautifully because light reaches every sprout.
Bag or Colander
No gear needed
- Bag: soak in the bag in a bowl, lift, drip, then hang over the sink.
- Dunk the bag in cool water twice a day and hang to drain.
- Colander: soak in a bowl, drain into a fine colander, cover with a damp towel.
- Rinse under the tap twice a day, shake dry, re-cover.
- Uncover on day 4 for light; harvest day 5–6.
Best for
Travel and tight counters. Use a fine mesh — these seeds are small enough to wash through a coarse colander.
Travel and tight counters. Use a fine mesh — these seeds are small enough to wash through a coarse colander.
Seed-by-seed notes
| Seed | Share | Behavior | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broccoli | 25% | Last to finish | Germinates evenly, greens up well, and is mild enough that it never fights the others. Usually the last of the four to finish, so it sets the harvest day. A full quarter of the bag, not a garnish |
| Alfalfa | 25% | Fine, tangles | The finest seed in the mix and the one that mats together — swirl hard at each rinse or you get a solid plug. Nearly flavorless, which is the point |
| Daikon Radish | 25% | Fastest, boldest | Biggest seed, first to sprout, and it sets the heat level of the jar. The magenta stems are the colour you see through the glass. Gets hotter after a day in the fridge |
| Crimson Clover | 25% | Quick, delicate | Fast and easy, and the sweetest of the four — tender with pink-tinged stems. It is what takes the edge off the radish heat, and it is well up by the time the broccoli finishes |
Jar sprouts — something went wrong
| What you see | Why it happens | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Fuzzy white growth on the roots | Almost always root hairs — very common on broccoli, radish and clover. Bright white, uniform, only on the root tips right below the seed, no smell. Mold is uneven and cobwebby or powdery, spans several sprouts, may be grey or green, and smells musty. | If you are not sure, throw the batch out. Root hairs need nothing — they are a healthy crop. For anything else, discard, scrub and sanitize the jar and lid, and start over with less seed and a third rinse each day |
| A solid mat or plug in the jar | The alfalfa and clover are fine enough to knit together, and once matted, water cannot reach the middle. | Swirl and shake vigorously at every rinse to break the mass apart. Use less seed — 2 tbsp, not 3. A tray sprouter avoids this entirely |
| Sour smell, slimy seeds | Water sitting in the bottom of the jar, too much seed, or a warm kitchen. Small seed is less forgiving than beans here. | Drain much harder — keep the jar at a true 45°, never flat. Move to three rinses a day, cut the seed quantity, and find a cooler spot. Caught on day one it recovers; if it smells bad, start over |
| Still pale and yellow on day 5 | No light. Sprouts grow perfectly well in the dark, they just never colour up. | Move to indirect light for a day or two and keep rinsing. They green quickly. Sprouts buried in the middle of the jar stay yellow regardless and are fine to eat |
| Tan flakes through the crop | Seed hulls, mostly from the broccoli and radish. Completely normal. | At the final rinse, fill the jar, swirl hard, and pour the floating hulls off the top. Two or three passes gets most of them. They are harmless if some stay |
| Too spicy | The daikon radish, which is the assertive one in the blend and gets hotter after a day in the fridge. | Harvest a day earlier, and eat them fresher. Mixing the crop into a sandwich or salad rather than eating it plain also softens the heat considerably |
| Little or nothing sprouted | Seed that dried out mid-cycle, water that was too hot, or a cold room. | Keep the jar at room temperature, use cool water, and never let the seed go fully dry once started. Never soak in warm or hot water — it can kill the seed outright |
Harvest & store your sprouts
- De-hull first. Fill the jar with water, swirl hard, and pour off the tan seed hulls that float. Hulls are edible but they hold water and shorten fridge life.
- Dry them well. The step people skip. Drain 8–12 hours, or spin in a salad spinner, or roll in a clean towel. Wet sprouts spoil in days.
- Container. Loosely covered, or a bag with a paper towel to catch moisture. Not sealed airtight while damp.
- Fridge. 40°F or below. Best within a week; a well-dried crop can go well beyond that.
- Toss anything dark, slimy, or smelling sour or musty.
Ways to eat them
- Sandwiches and wraps — the classic use, and where the radish heat works hardest.
- On top of anything hot — soup, chili, a baked potato, eggs. Add at the table, not in the pan.
- Salads and slaws — a handful loosens up a heavy salad.
- Smoothies — a small handful disappears completely.
- Avocado toast, tacos, grain bowls, sushi rolls — anywhere you want crunch and a peppery edge.
Growing it as microgreens
Same seed, different crop. Microgreens grow in a shallow bed of soil, get real light, and are cut above the soil line — so you eat stem and leaf, not root. They take a few days longer and need a tray and a bright window, and in exchange you get something sweeter, sturdier and easier to plate.
What you need
| Item | What works | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Tray | 10×20 nursery tray, or any shallow food-safe container | 1–2″ deep. Drainage holes over a solid tray is ideal, but one solid tray works if you water carefully |
| Medium | Potting mix, seed-starting mix or coco coir | Fill about 1½″ deep and level it flat — a flat bed is what gives an even crop; low spots stay wet and grow mold |
| Seed | About 2 tbsp (20–25 g) per 10×20 tray | Scale down for smaller trays: about 1 tbsp for a 10×10, 1 tsp for a 5×5. No soaking — sow the seed dry |
| Cover | A second tray, a board, or a cake pan | For the blackout phase. A light weight on top — up to about 3 lb — is optional and straightens the stems. Do not overdo it; these are fine seeds and crush easily |
| Light | A bright window or a shop light | Any window with several hours of daylight. A cheap LED shop light 6–12″ above the tray gives sturdier greens than most windows |
Microgreens — five moves
Step 1
Sow
Day 0
Level moist soil in the tray. Scatter 2 tbsp of dry seed evenly across the surface — dense, but not a solid carpet. Do not bury it. Press gently so every seed touches soil, then mist well.
Step 2
Blackout
Day 1–3
Cover with an inverted tray, optionally weighted. Check daily and mist if the surface looks dry. Growing in the dark against the cover pushes roots down and stems up straight.
Step 3
Uncover
Day 3–4
When the seedlings are lifting the cover, take it off. They will be pale yellow. Move to bright indirect light and they green up within a day.
Step 4
Water
Daily
Once uncovered, water from the bottom — pour into the outer tray and let the soil drink up. Water on the leaves is what invites mold. Keep the soil damp, never soggy.
Step 5
Cut
Day 8–12
Harvest when most seedlings have two open seed leaves and stand 1–3″ tall. Cut with scissors just above the soil line.
What each day looks like
Day 0
Sow & cover
Seed down, misted, covered and weighted. Nothing to see.
Day 1–2
Cracking
Roots emerge under the cover. Radish first. Mist if the surface dries.
Day 3–4
Lift-off
The cover is visibly being pushed up. Uncover. Pale yellow stems, and that is right.
Day 5–6
Greening
Seed leaves open and colour up. Magenta radish stems and pink clover stems show.
Day 8–12
Harvest
1–3″ tall, leaves fully open. Cut the whole tray at once.
Beyond
True leaves
A second set of pointed leaves appears; flavor sharpens and stems toughen. Cut before this.
Expect an uneven tray — that is the blend, not a mistake
Four different seeds in one tray do not finish on the same day. Daikon radish is the largest seed and comes up first and tallest; alfalfa and crimson clover follow; broccoli is usually the last to finish. By day 8 the tray will be at three different heights. Harvest on the majority — when most of the tray has open seed leaves, cut it all. Waiting on the last of the broccoli only lets the radish get sharp and leggy. Cut it together on day 9 or 10.
Microgreens — something went wrong
| What you see | Why it happens | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Tall, floppy, falling over | Too long in blackout, or not enough light after uncovering. The stems stretch looking for it. | Uncover as soon as the seedlings lift the cover, and get them under stronger light or closer to the window. A shop light 6–12″ above the tray fixes this permanently |
| White fuzz on the soil | Usually root hairs on the surface roots, and sometimes damping-off mould from overwatering and still air. | Switch to bottom watering only, ease off the volume, and get some air moving — a cracked window or a small fan. If it is slimy, spreading up the stems, and smells musty, compost the tray and start again |
| Patchy, bald spots | Uneven sowing, a lumpy soil surface, or dry spots during germination. | Level the soil properly before sowing and mist thoroughly at seeding. Scatter in two passes at right angles to each other for even coverage |
| Tray is three different heights | Expected. Four seeds germinate at four speeds — radish is up first, broccoli finishes last. | Harvest on the majority around day 9 or 10. Sow varieties separately if a uniform tray matters more to you than a mixed one |
| Soil in the harvested greens | Cutting too low, or top-watering that splashed soil onto the leaves. | Cut higher — leave a little stem behind rather than scraping the soil. Bottom-water only once uncovered, and harvest onto a dry plate rather than into the tray |
| Bitter or harsh flavor | Grown past the true-leaf stage, which sharpens the radish and toughens every stem. | Cut at the seed-leaf stage, day 8–12. Once a second set of pointed leaves shows, you have gone past the sweet spot |
Cutting & keeping
- Cut dry. Skip the watering the morning you harvest — dry greens keep far longer.
- Sharp scissors, just above the soil. Take a handful, cut, set it in a bowl.
- Usually no washing. Bottom-watered greens never got dirty. If you rinse, dry them fully.
- Store in a paper-towel-lined container in the fridge. Best within 5–7 days.
- Expect 8–12 oz per full tray; yields swing with lot, light and warmth.
- One cut only — they do not regrow. Compost the mat and re-sow.
On the plate
- Salad, on its own. A bowl of these with oil and lemon is the whole point — sweeter and less sharp than the jar version.
- Finishing green on steak, fish, roast vegetables, pizza, soup.
- Sandwiches — sturdier than sprouts, so they hold up under a heavy filling.
- Eggs and avocado toast — the pink and magenta stems are the reason to bother.
- Garnish anything you would otherwise put parsley on.
Growing them safely
- Clean hands, clean jar or tray, clean tools. Wash equipment in hot soapy water between crops.
- Use drinkable water for soaking, rinsing and watering.
- Rinse and drain on schedule — steady drainage is the best defense against bacteria in a sprouting jar.
- Grow at normal room temperature, out of direct sun and off warm appliances, and refrigerate promptly at 40°F or below.
- The FDA advises that young children, older adults, pregnant women, and anyone with a weakened immune system avoid raw or lightly cooked sprouts of any kind; thorough cooking reduces the risk.
- That advisory is about sprouts specifically. Microgreens are a different commodity — cut above the soil line, so the roots are not eaten, and federal produce rules treat them like other fresh greens rather than under the sprout-specific requirements. Microgreens are not sterile, though: refrigerate promptly, and anyone pregnant, elderly, very young or immunocompromised should ask their doctor about raw greens of any kind.
- When in doubt — off smell, sliminess, discoloration — throw it out and start fresh.
Questions we get a lot
Can I grow part of the bag as sprouts and part as microgreens?
Yes, and most people end up doing exactly that. Same seed, same bag, two methods — just scoop what you need and reseal.
Do I need a special lid or a grow light?
No. Cheesecloth under a canning ring sprouts perfectly well, and a bright windowsill grows a good tray. Both just make it easier.
Can I reuse the soil?
Not for another tray of microgreens — the root mat is spent. It composts beautifully, or goes straight into a garden bed.
Why is the mix an equal blend?
A full 25% of each. Broccoli is the expensive seed in the four, and it is the one people are buying the mix for, so it is not thinned out.
Storing the rest of your seed
Reseal the bag and keep it cool, dark and dry — a pantry is fine, a freezer is better. Kept dry, sprouting seed stays viable for years. Never return damp or soaked seed to the bag.
Questions about your crop? We actually answer.
Todd’s Seeds is a family-owned business. If a jar or a tray didn’t go the way you hoped, tell us what you saw and we’ll help you get the next one right.