Growing Wheatgrass

People start growing wheatgrass because fresh wheatgrass is not usually readily available and also it can be expensive. So the best solution is to grow your own. You just need the room and the desire to grow your own superfood!  Its a good idea to have 3 trays for this process.  One is for the early stage of growing, one is for the end stage of growing, and the third is for the cover.

Materials:

• Wheat seeds (also called wheat berries) – These can be purchased at health food stores or online.

• Two metal or plastic trays – These can be purchased from gardening shops or greenhouses.

• Your soil – Many people use a 50/50 mixture of peat moss and topsoil.

Procedure:

• Soak about a cup of winter wheat berries in water for 12 hours. Pour off the water and let the seeds drain for another 12 hours or so. Rinse them a couple of times during this time so that they won’t dry out.

• Drill several small 1/4″ diameter holes in the bottom of the planting tray for drainage. Fill the tray with your soil mixture to about an inch deep. Sprinkle the soil lightly with water to dampen it a little.

• Sprinkle the seeds evenly over the soil surface. Cover the planted tray with the second tray, to help keep the moisture in. Leave this alone for three days.

• On the fourth day, remove the cover tray and water the sprouting wheatgrass. If possible place the uncovered tray in sunlight, and water it once a day for three days.

• Be careful to not water too much, and do not cover during this time, as mold can form on the wheatgrass. Also try to make sure there is plenty of good air ventilation. If mold happens, just cut the grass above the mold when harvesting.

• When the grass is 7-8 inches in height, it is ready to harvest. This usually takes about 7 days.

• Harvest with scissors or a sharp blade as close as possible to the roots (or at most, 1 cm from the soil). The harvested grass will keep for several days in the fridge.

• A 14×18 inch tray will yield about 6-8 ounces of juice.