Wheatgrass is packed with essential vitamins and nutrients that help keep you vital and healthy in body and mind. Taking a "shot" of wheatgrass juice for breakfast is a healthy way to start the day, but it is very expensive. If you want to use wheatgrass routinely in your diet, try growing it at home instead of buying it in the form of juice. This article describes how to grow wheatgrass from seeds and use it best when it is ripe.
Steps
Method 1 of 4: Part 1: Soak and Germinate Wheatgrass Seeds
Step 1. Get yourself and seeds
Wheatgrass seeds are also called winter wheat seeds or wheat berries. Buy a bag of seeds online or at a herbalist's shop. Look for organic seeds from a reputable supplier to be sure the seeds have not been treated with pesticides and will turn into a healthy and vital herb.
Step 2. Prepare the seeds for soaking
Before the seeds are soaked and germinated, they need to be dosed and rinsed.
- Dose enough seeds to create a thin layer in the tray you use to grow the herb. For an area of about 40 x 40 cm, use about two cups of seeds.
- Rinse the seeds in fresh, clean water using a colander with very small holes or a filter. Dry them well and put them in a bowl.
Step 3. Soak the seeds
By soaking, the seeds begin to germinate. By the end of the process, the seeds will have given birth to small roots.
- Pour fresh water, preferably filtered, into the bowl of seeds. Add water about three times the volume of the seeds. Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic sheet and keep like this for about 10 hours.
- Eliminate the water and replace it with other fresh, filtered water, always three times the volume of the seeds. Leave to soak for another 10 hours.
- Repeat the process once more for a total of three long soaks.
- Towards the end of the last soak, the seeds should have roots. This means they are ready to be planted. Dry them and set them aside until you are ready to plant them.
Method 2 of 4: Part 2: Planting the Seeds
Step 1. Prepare the tray
Line the tray with paper to prevent wheatgrass roots from developing in the holes in the bottom of the tray. Spread an even layer of about 5 cm of compost or potting soil into the tray.
- If possible, use paper that has not been treated with chemicals or dyes. Recycled paper without added chemicals is easily found everywhere.
- Use moist compost or potting soil, without pesticides or other chemicals. It is important to use natural earth to get the best benefits from wheatgrass.
Step 2. Plant the seeds
Spread the seeds evenly over the compost or soil layer. Press the seeds lightly into the soil, but not completely covering them.
- It is fine if the seeds are in contact, but avoid accumulating them in large quantities in one area. Each seed needs a certain space to grow.
- Lightly wet the tray, making sure that each seed receives a little water.
- Cover the tray with a few sheets of newspaper to protect the seedlings.
Step 3. Keep the seeds moist
It is important that the seeds do not dry out in the first few days after you plant them. Keep them moist while they develop roots in the tray.
- In the morning, lift up the newspaper and water the tray completely without flooding it.
- Use a spray bottle with water to lightly wet the soil in the evening before going to bed. Also spray the newspaper to help keep the environment humid.
- After four days, discard the newspaper. Continue watering once a day.
Step 4. Keep the grass in partial shade
Direct sun damages the grass, so be sure to keep it in a shady place inside the house.
Method 3 of 4: Part 3: Collecting the Wheat Grass
Step 1. Wait for the wheatgrass "to divide"
Once the shoots are ripe, a second generation of weed will start growing from the first shoots. This process is called "division" and means that the wheatgrass is ready to be harvested.
- At this point the grass should be about 15 cm high.
- The grass is generally ready to be picked after 9 or 10 days of growth.
Step 2. Cut the wheat grass above the root
Use scissors to cut above the root and collect the grass in a bowl. The wheatgrass is ready to be made into juice.
- Harvested wheatgrass can be kept in the refrigerator for about a week, but it tastes better and is better for your health when it is harvested just before being transformed into juice.
- Continue to water the wheatgrass to get a second harvest. Collect this too when ripe.
- Sometimes a third crop is harvested, however it is generally not as tender and sweet as the first. Empty the tray and prepare it for another batch of seedlings.
Step 3. Start the process again
You need a lot of wheat grass to make a few glasses of juice. If you plan to use wheatgrass as part of your daily diet, you need to grow more than one tray at a time.
- Time the growing and harvesting cycle so you have a new batch of seeds soaking while the previous batch is taking root. If you have two or three seedbeds at different levels of growth, you will be able to produce enough wheatgrass to have a shot of juice every day.
- Wheatgrass has a beautiful bright green color, and gives a natural look to the kitchen or veranda, wherever you have decided to grow it. You can grow wheatgrass in a decorated pot next to other plants, in order to appreciate the beauty of wheatgrass and its health effects.
Method 4 of 4: Part 4: Transforming Wheat Grass into Juice
Step 1. Rinse the wheatgrass
Since wheatgrass has been grown from natural seeds in compost or in organic soil, it does not need a thorough washing. Do a light rinse to remove debris and dust that may have collected from the air.
Step 2. Put the wheat grass in a squeezer
Some specific wheatgrass juicers are designed to get the best out of this fibrous plant.
- Avoid using normal juicers, because wheatgrass can clog and damage them.
- You can use a blender if you don't have a juicer. Once the wheatgrass is completely mixed, use a filter to remove the solid parts.
Step 3. Enjoy a shot of wheatgrass
You only need about seventy grams of juice to feel the effect of this powerful mix of vitamins and minerals.
Advice
- Wheatgrass is said to eliminate toxins from the body. Drink the juice to eliminate stress and regain energy.
- If the tray shows signs of mold, air circulation in the growth area increases, even with a fan. Collect the wheat grass above the mold layer; it can still be consumed in a healthy way.
