Grow and Juice Wheatgrass Yourself

by Aviva Natural Health Solutions February 07, 2008

Dorothy Edison

There are many products on the market that make growing fresh wheatgrass at home convenient.

The best wheat to use for growing wheatgrass can be found at health food stores - red winter wheat berries should be placed in a bowl and soaked in room-temperature or slightly warm water overnight.

Wheatgrass can be grown in any shallow tray, such as those sold at gardening centers for starting seedlings. Line the trays with peat moss, then fill each tray with an inch of good potting soil. Moisten the soil just enough so that it becomes a friendly environment into which you can introduce the wheat berries - too much water will make the soil soggy and can ruin the seeds.

Drain the wheat berries, and place them in a single layer over the potting soil. Don't worry about their placement. These seeds can grow close to each other, like all grass seeds. Dampen sheets of newspaper and cover the trays, then cover the newspaper with plastic. After two or three days, you can remove the plastic and newspaper. You will see tiny sprouts growing from the wheat berries. These will be whitish in colour (at first), but will take on their green hue when introduced to light.

Place the trays in a place where they will not be exposed to harsh midday sun, from about 11am to 3pm. Also make sure that animals or children will not disturb the trays. Seedlings are very delicate, and the trays should be left unbothered for up to two weeks, except in the case of watering. Make sure to keep the soil moist, watering the wheatgrass once a day.

The grass is ready to be cut when it reaches 5-7 inches in height. Use scissors to snip the grass shoots as close to their base as possible. If you have soil on your cuttings, rinse them very carefully under cool water.

If you plan to reuse the trays, turn the potting soil over by breaking it up as little as possible. Add a few earthworms, cover with plastic to keep it moist, and let it rest for about three weeks.

By growing and juicing wheatgrass yourself you can save the cost of hyped-products that don't give you better wheatgrass or better juice. You can do this all at home with simple equipment with little cost and little effort.