We’re about 12 to 13 days away from Saleh Tahvil. Sabze is one of the most important center pieces on the Haft Seen spread.
There are three types of seeds usually used to grow the Sabze for Norouz. Wheat, Lentils, and Mungs. I’ve decided to grow all three and see how fast and how pretty they grow. My general knowledge is that Wheat it takes roughly 12 to 13 days for it to reach a good height for your Haft Seen spread. Lentils take a little longer (3 days or so). Mungs should be the same as Lentils.
Day 1:
First the Lentils(Adas), Unpelted wheat(Gandom’e sabze), and Mungs (Mash) need to be soaked in water. Make sure you check on them since they tend to absorb the water quickly and bloat (I experienced this with the Lentils and the Mungs). Once that happens add more water because they should always be covered with water (Roughly an inch or maybe 1-2 centimeters).
Day 1 - Soaking stage
Day 2:
Change the water for all three. Nothing else needs to be done today.
Day3:
This is the day that if you are using unpelted wheat or Lentils you should remove them from the water and and place them on a spread-out cotton cloth. You should cover it both on top and bottom. From here on out you would need to always make sure that you keep the cloth damp. No we wait for them to sprout and start their roots. Generally lentils take longer.
Now, if you are using mungs, you would need to only change the water for the mungs and not transfer them onto the damp cloths since the mungs will start sprouting under water, unlike the wheat and the lentils. So all you need to do on day 3 and day 4 for mungs is to change their water. By day three you can notice that it’s turning more and more white.
Day 3 - Transfer for 2, Soak for 1 !
Day 4:
Keep the wheat and the lentils damp. And change water for the mungs.
Day 5:
By this day your wheat and lentils are ready to be moved to their final dish. In the new dish you will not need the cloth on the bottom and only need the cloth on top. Make sure you untangle the roots as much as possible (especially for the wheat because they get tangled together), this way you can make sure you have an even surface for the seeds to grow long and green.
For the mungs, you need to transfer them to a dish with a cotton cloth on the bottom and on the top of them and keep them moist. So the mungs have now reached the same stage that the lentils and the wheat just passed. So we can wait for the mungs to get a little stronger and then remove the bottom cloth in about another 2 days.
Day 5 is a good day!
Day 6:
Nothing changes for this day. Mungs still should one to two more days to get stronger before we remove the bottom cloth. Keep the cloths damp and make sure there isn’t too much water present around the seeds.
Day 7:
More sprouts are showing for the Lentils and the Wheat. I’m beginning to have a feeling that the Mungs are not doing too well as their sprouts or their roots are not coming out as much as I hoped they would by now! I think tomorrow morning I’ll be removing the top cloth for the Lentils and the Wheat and let them see some “indirect” light.
Day 8:
Not much has changed. I can see that the sprouts are getting longer. I’ll remove the top cloth tomorrow and post pictures.
Day 9:
Today is the day I’m going to remove the top cloth because I can see that the wheat and the lentils have long green sprouts. See the picture. The mungs are still behind but once the sprouts come out I can remove the top cloth and let it see some light.
Wheat and Lentil sprouts
Days 10 - …. :
I will post a final picture of the sabze before eid is here. But from day 10 until the end (Seezdah be dar) you would need to spray it with cool water to keep your sprouts hydrated.
Have a wondering Norouz. Eide hamegi mobarak 
Keep asking questions by commenting on this post. Also feel free to answer anyone else’s question.
