Victorio VKP1013 Round Three-Tray Kitchen Seed Sprouter
|
List Price: Our Price: $10.00 You Save: $9.95 (50%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Kitchen See more product details |
|---|
Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Victorio VKP1013 Round Three-Tray Kitchen Seed Sprouter
Customer Review: This is an AWESOME Sprouter. Don't be fooled by operator error
Summary: 5 Stars
I recently went raw (mostly anyway about a month ago) I have NEVER gotten mold, slime or anything of the sort. I didn't even look at the directions though. ALSO, you can use the top and bottom for sprouts (I do). Here is how you should used this.
1. Soak your seeds per instructions
2. Drain your seeds (completely)
3. Put the seeds in a layer on the bottom of one of the tiers
4. The next day (notice there wasn't a large amount of rinsing or rewatering) pour water in the top part (enough to make it flow down to the bottom. You can even forget about it and come back and drain it later.
5. Take the layers apart and slowly (to help you keep more of the seeds) drain off the water (all of it. Don't worry about them not having enough water. The Sprouter has a lid. Put it on the moisture isn't going anywhere and as the plants grow you might notice some condensation occuring. (like it's it's own little greenhouse)
6. Later that night (or the next day) do the same thing.
7. When the sprouts get large enough to hold down with your hand, Take off a later, turn on the running water, and "rinse" them off under running water. Drain and do the other levels instead of pouring water in and waiting for it to go down the holes. You can also rinse them by sort of shaking the level under running water, then holding the sprouts down and letting the water drain off. You'll see some husks run away with the water also this way.
In 3-6 days (depending on what you planted) you'll have some awesome sprouts
But what about the husks or skins of the plant? Rinse them off when you're done growing or even eat them. I use my largest bowl and running water. Takes about 10 minutes to get most of the skins off, probably less because the skins float and the sprouts don't. (not as much anyway)
The problem is not the sprouter, it's people using too much water and expecting things to work like magic. Your average land plant of any sort doesn't like to be submeged like that. I noticed the water level was higher than my seeds the first day I tried using this, so I adjusted by pouring some of the water off. Now I have a 5 tier sprouter that thinks it's a 3 tier. I'm going to attach a video of the process soon. The only thing I would say is the company probably should make those little holes smaller or adjust their "instructions".
Customer Review: Garden of Miracles
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased one of these sprouters to include in my provisions for a 4-month bicycle trip from Mexcio to Panama. At first I was a bit concerned about the ruggedness of what seemed like clear brittle plastic. All but one survived to the end, enduring all kinds of stresses. And it performed absolutely great! See the additional product pictures of mung bean sprouts.
Those who gave it lesser reviews either are not keeping it level, are watering too frequently, have it in a place that is too hot or cold, and/or have chaotic kitchen cleanup programs wherein they lose any of the the four identical "little parts". No doubt these people have other problems involving lost and misplaced items. For cleaning the drainage grooves, simply use a toothbrush and some organic citrus based dish soap.
When treating your sprouting operation with the reverence of a garden... which it truly is... it works wonderfully. I now own three sets and use them produce sprouts including: kamut, buckwheat, winter wheat, mung, radish, fenugreek, broccoli, pea, sunflower. My advice is to think about the seeds would like if you were planting them in the soil. Broccoli, radish, mustard and kale and even peas, for instance, like it a bit cool. Sunflowers and basil like it a bit warmer, but you do not want direct sunlight shining on your operation for long.
Do not use municipal water. Always use the purest water you can obtain, filtered in glass. Mineral water from a well free from agricultural and other run-offs is good too. Give the sprouts the best you can offer and they will return the favor.
Happy sprouting!
Customer Review: It Looks Cheerful in a Window
Summary: 3 Stars
Although maybe you're not supposed to put them in the window, come to think. However, that truly is the best thing about this sprouter device. It looks nice. Otherwise, not so much. It tips terribly easily if you touch it, and you have to touch it a lot because the drainage system messes up easily (gets clogged and will not drain or will not drain completely in any case). You also have to handle it to put the filled water 'tank' on top, and then you have to handle it again to empty the water reservoir on the bottom, once it drains through. And each time you touch it you dislodge the trays a little or a lot. They will sometimes topple over completely, spilling the seeds all over the counter etc. etc. dismal etc. Also, there are these very small marigold shaped plastic devices to fit over the drain holes to keep seeds from migrating through the three trays, and they will be lost by day three. And the company doesn't send extra. Without them the whole thing doesn't work. I am back, after owning this for a year and using it until I spilled seeds all over the counter and into the crack between the counter and the stove, and they sprouted, and stank. It puts one off one's appetite for sprouted seeds. However, a year has passed, the seeds, stored in the frig, appear to be okay, so with winter coming on, I'd like to try again. So I am back at Amazon looking for a better seed sprouter. I wish I could remember the seed sprouter system we had back in the hippy days when we lived on sprouts. I think I can't remember the designs because the days were just too darn sweet. If ya know what I mean.Customer Review: Great sprouter -- but not fully automatic
Summary: 5 Stars
Okay, first let me admit that I'm a science geek. I love the physics behind a well-designed product almost too much! Therefore, I find this product to be really, REALLY cool for different reasons than most people might care about.
I *love* the siphon technology used. In short, it allows each tray to fill (fully covering the seeds each time) before the time-delayed drain kicks in and passes the water down to the next level. I admit that I sat and watched the whole process each and every time. TOO COOL! (Again... geek speaking here!)
Now, it's not perfect or fully automatic. Sometimes the siphon caps don't dry between waterings, which means they remain "primed" and will drain immediately, not allowing the time for the tray to fill. Also, as another reviewer pointed out, small seeds like alfalfa can drift in and get lodged, also breaking the siphon seal. So, before each watering, I separate all levels, remove the caps, dry them, brush the seeds away from the hole, then replace the caps and restack the trays. This allows the watering to work as perfectly as it did the first time. The whole process takes less than a minute, so it's not a big deal. Then I sit and watch the watering process. BTW, did I say it was WAY COOL to watch? TOO COOL!
Oh, and if someone cares, after a few days, the sprouts tasted great, too... I have a "black thumb" and usually kill things I try to grow (don't even ask me about my Topsy-Turvy Tomato disaster!), but these sprouts were a complete success!
Customer Review: Mixed feelings
Summary: 3 Stars
Having used this sprouter for about 7 mo. now, I have really mixed feelings about it. I wasn't a sprout-eater before and this introduced me to them. That said, I'm not in love with it.
My biggest problem with it is just that it is terribly flimsy. I've already broken one of the little caps so one of the trays is now useless. It claims to be dishwasher safe, but I really don't think it could stand up to the heat. The little grooves are nearly impossible to clean so they are permanently brown colored, which isn't super attractive. Admittedly a toothbrush fixes this, but it's a lot of work.
It doesn't drain completely as other people have mentioned but this hasn't hurt anything. I'm wondering if some of what is taken as "mold" is actually just the tiny hairs that sprouts will get. I also have had success with alfalfa and broccoli sprouts. There is the minor irritation that they some times get stuck in the caps, but it works (or else I'm not knowledgeable enough to know that it isn't working optimally).
If you're just starting into sprouts, I think I would recommend this. It makes things really easy, and I remember being rather enamored with the whole process the first couple months. I think when this one breaks completely and heads off to the recycling bin, I will get an old trusty mason jar, and maybe a fancy lid (or maybe just some cheese cloth) and do it that way.