The bould Harold. Pic: Alan Rowlette
hen we first became aware that a young Greystonian was dedicating his waking hours to bringing locally-grown broccoli 
sprouts door-to-door around here, naturally, we thought he might just be mad.
hen we first became aware that a young Greystonian was dedicating his waking hours to bringing locally-grown broccoli 
sprouts door-to-door around here, naturally, we thought he might just be mad.Had he perhaps misunderstood the old adage that brocolli is good for your joints…?
Pic: Niall Meehan
Turns out, Harold Craston is a firm believer in the health-giving goodness of The Vegetable Formerly Known As Brassica oleracea.
And it certainly seems to be working its wonders, with Craston’s alter-ego MySproutman delivering broccoli sprouts daily all over Greystones, Kilcoole, Delgany and beyond.
So, we decided to find out why, where, WTF and how this all came together…
What exactly does MySproutman do?
MySproutman delivers fresh, Kilcoole-grown broccoli sprouts to people’s doors. And for two good reasons – sprouts are up to 40 times more nutritious than normal veg and an easy addition to most diets (just sprinkle a few onto any dish to ‘uplevel the meal’ without disrupting the taste), and also, helping people eat more local is a big part of the mission.
When did this bright broccoli spark happen, and how long did it take to catch fire?
I studied environmental economics as part of my university degree, as well as, more recently, culinary medicine. Given this, discovering that sprouts are both a very sustainable and highly nutritious food was very exciting! The project started in 2021 with my delivering sprouts on my bike to 7 friends’ houses in Greystones. Today, the team has 2 drivers and delivers to over 80 houses per week across Wicklow.
When did this bright broccoli spark happen, and how long did it take to catch fire?
Tell us something we don’t know about broccoli sprouts…?
Broccoli sprouts contain very high levels of sulforaphane, a plant compound that possesses anti-inflammatory and anti-disease properties, according to hundreds of studies. Broccoli sprouts contain 50 times the content of sulforaphane compared to other cruciferous vegetables.
Tell us something we don’t know about broccoli sprouts…?By switching from broccoli to broccoli sprouts, we estimate that our members have saved the equivalent of 3 million litres of water – that’s 60,000 showers!
