soak

These are the basic requirements you will need to get started. The jar should have a wide opening to allow as much air circulation as possible. A small piece of muslin cloth to make a lid for your jar. A rubber band to keep the cloth! in place. A Tablespoon to measure out the seed.

I only make up five heaped tablespoons of seed mix at a time, but you could make up bigger quantities if you want. The soaking method is the same. Put the seed in to the jar and place the muslin cloth lid on. Pouring the water through the lid swirl and rinse the seeds three or four times to remove any dust, which can contain bacteria and fungal spores.

SOAKED SEED

The mix I use is a ready-made mixture bought from the pet shop. I phoned the seed merchants in this country to find out what seeds they have used in the mix! And what percentages they are mixed at. See below.

10%	Hemp seed
20%	Red Rape seed
20%	Black Rape seed
40%	Japanese Millet seed
10%	Niger seed

Now fill the jar with room temperature water and leave it to soak for 12 hours at room temperature. You may use a few drops of bleach (not the thickened bleach) in the water to discourage bacterial & fungal growth. This will not harm the seed.

After the twelve hours drain the water and rinse the seeds three or four times then lay the jar at an angle and allow the water to drain well for five minutes. With the jar on its side, roll it around to evenly spared the seed throughout the jar, with the jar on its side let it stand for another 12-24 hours. The seeds need good air circulation to start sprouting. Also give the seeds another rinse during this time period.

In this time period you should start to see the seed beginning to sprout tiny little tails about 1/8" inch long. The seed at this stage are at their nutritional peak, again rinse several times before feeding to the Java's. The sprouted seeds should have a nutty smell to them to be OK, if they smell bad don't feed them to any birds throw them away and start again.

Linolenic acid is an essential fatty acid needed in a Java's diet. Safflower cooking oil from Specialized shops like organic farm shops or health food shops is very rich in linolenic acid. You can add a teaspoon of the cooking oil to about one cup of sprouted seed. Also it helps to keep the sprouted seed from drying out to quickly. You can keep your sprouted seed up to seven days in the fridge

If you have not sprouted seed before this whole process my sound like a big production but it isn't. After a couple of goes it will be simple, if you keep the jars of soaked seed by the kitchen sink so they are handy for rinsing, it only takes a couple of minutes a day to rinse the seed and you will have excellent nutritional food for your Java's