GEO Terradisiena 4-Tier Terracotta Sprouter

After much research I was convinced terracota is the best medium for sprouting. I then went on trying to find the best option out there and, well... leave it to the Italians to come up with the most handsome terracota sprouter one can find, period. It has become a conversation piece with visitors! And the price was not bad at all for this three tier super-handsome 5-piece set in comparison with similars. Super easy process: I leave 1oz of seeds in water for a day, then transfer them to the trays; spray the seeds once in the morning and once in the evening, for about 4/5 days. Store in a container over paper towels of cotton cloth sprayed with 1.5% H2O2 solution (to avoid fungus growth). The pictures show my fourth batch of three trays of delicious broccoli sprouts, which cost me a fraction of store bought ones!

Ive had many versions of sprout jars and containers but this one far passes any of them. It looks beautiful on the counter as well as sustainable. I love that it holds three kinds of different sprouts and it has a tray at the bottom. Very easy to use and clean. Even if the alfalfa sprouts stick sometimes, a little pin put through the holes does the trick. Now I know what to give as presents to my other organic sustainable friends who seem to have everything But this. Love it!

I really like that this is terracotta, not plastic. That is why I chose it. It looks lovely on the kitchen counter, beautiful design that you want to use. It is a great gift idea for new sprouters and is fun to use. That being said, here are the negatives: The tiny holes in each layer do get clogged if using small seeds like Alfalfa. It takes a loooong time to poke them all out with a needle in between sprouting. For that reason, I'm going to start using other non plastic sprouters and reserve this pretty one for sprouting large beans instead of tiny seeds. Also, although I am very careful with this, it already has a chip in it and a little crack around one of the feet. I hope it lasts a long time because I do like it, just have to be careful with it.

I have 4 raw clay 7.5 plates I was using before I bought this and I actually like them better. The Geo is smaller and the drain holes can be a pain. Plus the feet, are delicate. Here are a few suggestions to make the most out of these. 1. Line it will a coffee filter for small seeds or only use it for larger seeds. 2. If you aren’t going to use a coffee filter get a tool to make it easier to clean the drain holes. The plus is that it looks nice and takes up little to no counter space and it does work. Update 1/14/23 Still unimpressed, I have also noticed a few chips in the feet, not to mention even with purchasing lab utensils to clean the holes it’s still a pain. Even though I only use bugger seeds like peas, mung beans and sunnies the roots still grow in the tiny holes. Update 5/9/24 Let me first say, you can’t beat the terracotta environment for growing sprouts and Microgreens, I love it! I just don’t love the GEO, keeping it clean for me is stressful and pain trying to clean 60 or more tiny holes per tray. I have finally broken up with my Geo and I am giving it away. I have a GAIA sprouter which I got from the UK with larger and less holes as well as one I ordered on Etsy and they are do much easier to clean. It’s not a bad product if you can find an easy way yo clean it, I know of plenty of people who love it.

I have 3 of these sprouters and love them. First I had one of them and a plastic set but the sprouts in this terracotta sprouter seemed to taste better and grew faster. I just felt they were "happier" if that makes any sense. So I put the plastic one in the closet and got 2 more of this type. I'm assuming that terracotta creates a better environment for seeds. We grow a lot of broccoli sprouts (small seeds). I use a glass spray bottle and wet the tray. Then I sprinkle the seeds into the tray and spray them too with the spray bottle. If I do it that way, the small seeds don't get washed into the drain holes. By the next watering time, the seeds are a little bigger, so there is less danger of them clogging the small holes. Then I just pour a cup of water through (I water 2 times a day, sometimes 3 times in the summer) but I also check the sprouts tray by tray and use the spray bottle again if necessary. Some roots will grow through the drain holes and after harvesting, I poke those out with a paper clip. Then I wash the trays with a stiff brush. I haven't had any trouble with mold. From time to time I put the trays into the cold oven and heat them to 300F for an hour to just make sure nothing strange is growing in there. The greening also works great by just stacking the trays sideways. I would definitely buy this sprouter again. I stacked the 3 sets in 2 towers, which leaves me an extra bottom tray. I use that for chia and arugula seeds and this is the first time that I'm able to grow them successfully. Here I just use the spray bottle.

I was planning to return this item after the first week of usage but was dragging giving it more chances, but passed the time of return cause was not aware of it and now I am stuck with this useless item. The clay is beautiful as a decoration item with zero functionality. It takes 7-10 days to grow something and the end product is weak.

I knew it would be kind of risky purchasing something like this online where it had to be shipped to me from far away, but considering all of that, it arrived in better condition than I anticipated. It was packaged well where each layer had a layer of thick cardboard in between with custom cutouts for the tray's "feet." The "foot" part that chipped (as shown in the pictures) did so because it was slotted through the packaging divider which meant that it touched the other terracotta layer below. You can see how the chipped piece landed in the tray underneath. This only happened with one piece and it doesn't affect the functionality. It's also not visible, so I'm not that bothered by it. TLDR: It's beautiful and if you chose to order it, just set your expectations that it could arrive slightly damage since you're ordering something big/fragile online.

Seeds love this thing! I started out sprouting for food, and ended up sprouting every tough seed I couldn't sprout other usual ways for my farm. It's very porous terra cota clay and that makes seeds wake up in a constant moist but not boggy environment, so they don't rot. I recommend it to both gardeners for sprouting fruit/tough veggie seeds, and for sprouting for food. I use it every day of my life!