How to Grow Wheatgrass

Wheatgrass Growing Instructions

If growing Wheatgrass in standard 10″ x 20″ wheatgrass growing tray, we recommend 12 oz. of wheatgrass seed (1 1/2 cup). It should take 7-15 days depending on the weather and temperature.

1. PourWheat berries (wheatgrass seed) in quart jar, rinsing several times. Let soak in water for about 12 hours. The timing is not a hard fast rule. It means to soak your wheatgrass seed in the morning and then drain your wheatgrass seed in the evening. If experiencing mold problems, soak in a baking soda solution. 1 level Tablespoon of baking soda to 1 gallon of water.

2. Drain wheatgrass seed and rinse well. You can cover your jar with a cheesecloth and rubber band for draining, or use a sprouting jar, or just pour your wheatgrass seed into a colander. If pouring into a colander, cover with a damp paper towel while draining. If using a jar, set jar upside down at a 45 degree angle, let drain for 12 hours or overnight.

3. The next morning, empty the Genesis Wheatgrass Soil into the growing tray. (2 qts. of soil ) Spray soil with water to dampen. Spray with water as you spread the soil. If you spread the soil in the tray and then try to water, it will be very difficult to get the soil wet all the way through. Test wetness of soil by poking a hole in the soil with your finger. If using a different size tray, add enough soil for approximately 1/2″ depth.

4. Spread wheatgrass seed on top of damp soil.

5. Water the planted tray with spray bottle or watering can. Cover with a paper towel and then spray the paper towel, or cover the planted tray with an upside down tray, propping the corner up with a jar lid or other object to allow air circulation inside the tray. Keep damp for 3-4 days. Continue to water daily, once in the morning and once at night. The temperature of 60-70 degrees F. work best. The Wheat Grass Seed must be kept moist to germinate.

6. When the young seedlings reach a height of 1″ – 1 1/2 “, remove top tray and place in indirect sunlight. A general rule is to water twice daily. Humidity, temperature, and air circulation will determine how often you will water. What you water your wheatgrass with and how thoroughly you water your wheatgrass will effect how often you must water.

If you have a flexible spray hose in your kitchen sink, it would be ideal for watering. If you are watering with a spray hose, you are watering much more thoroughly than with a spray bottle. How do you know when to water? We lift up the wheatgrass and look under the root system. If the bottom of the tray is wet, we don’t water. If the bottom of the tray is dry we water.

7. Start harvesting Wheatgrass when it reaches 6-7 ” tall. You can prolong its shelf life by storing it in the coolest place possible. Some of our customers have purchased a used refrigerator at a garage sale to store their wheatgrass. It will last a week or longer. Some say, after cutting once, you can grow again for another cutting. Our thoughts are that the nutrients in the soil have been depleted from the first growing.

The same is true about composting the mats when finished. If this compost is used to grow wheatgrass again, minerals needed to be added back to re-energize the soil.We don’t compost our mats because of that. Instead we use the mats to mulch the top of the soil around out plants and trees. It keeps the soil moist and helps in weed control, and what ever nutrients are left in the mat will be leached into the soil around the plants. Works great in your garden around your vegetable or flowers.

Trouble Shooting

Poor germination: Usually caused by not keeping theWheatgrass seed moist during the germination period.Make sure you water well. Check to see if maybe an air vent is blowing on growing location, or if direct sunlight is shining on location.

Shriveled blades: Usually caused by not watering well. Could be air vent blowing on tray. If your home humidity is too dry a cool mist humidifier may be necessary. You need air circulation but not blowing directly on the Wheatgrass.

Obnoxious odor, muddy mat: poor drainage, not enough large particles in soil mixture, lack of air circulation.

There may be times with the right combination of temperature, moisture, and no air circulation, you will experience mold growing on top of the soil. Cooler temperature, less water and an increase in air circulation will help. You can also mix 1 tablespoons of Baking Soda per gallon of water when watering. If you experience mold problems cut the wheatgrass above the mold. Then wash the wheatgrass just as you would any vegetable.

Growing Tips

Wheatgrass is very prone to mold! To control the mold here are a few steps you can take:

1. Don’t soak your seed longer than 8 hours and plant right after you finish soaking, this will help stop the mold from developing.
2. Water with Real (Mineral) Salt, or elemite when the wheatgrass is very young. 1 Tablespoon per gallon.
3. Keep the growing temperature somewhat cool (70 degrees) and also dry.
4. If you still have mold, you can power rinse the mold off before you juice.

Ideal Weather

If it is too cold outside (50 degrees and below) where you are growing your grass, the wheatgrass will grow very slowly. If you let it get below 32 degrees, it will freeze. Anything above about 75-80 degrees and your wheatgrass will not thrive. Under the hot conditions you will experience more mold, and the roots will go sour and sometimes cause the grass to wilt. The ideal conditions for wheatgrass and barley grass are 1) indirect sunlight, and 2) moderate weather (70 degrees)

Growing Space

Space often can become a problem once you start growing lots of wheatgrass and sprouts. Very inexpensive racks can be purchased from a local hardware store, or you can make a rack with PVC pipes. This seems to be a better solution for those who have their wheatgrass scattered all over their kitchen.

Old Grass

If you don’t use the grass fast enough, your wheatgrass will get old, so here is a good solution! Whether you buy or grow your own flat of wheatgrass, if you don’t use the grass fast enough it begins to turn yellow and wilt (because it has used all the minerals from the soil.) Right as it begins to tinge yellow, cut all the rest of the grass off of the flat and put it in a plastic bag in your refrigerator. The grass will last for about one week after it is cut.

Related Articles:

• 40 Points about Wheatgrass and its Nutritional Values
• How to Drink or Take Wheatgrass
• Benefit of Wheat Grass Juice
• How to Use Wheatgrass Juice

Download all here

Where to get seedlings:

Manila Seedling Bank
EDSA cor. Quezon Ave., Quezon City

Bizu Head Office
2158 Pasong Tamo, Makati City
Phone: (02) 812-6451/6027
Mobile: 0917-8168794

source: www.tlrc.gov.ph, photo from botanicalinterests.com

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