Grow your own wheatgrass

I got the idea to grow my own wheatgrass after buying a cat grass growing kit for my cat. Its pretty easy, grows well indoors and not a lot of supplies are needed.

Wheatgrass is a popular drink in juice bars or sold as powdered supplements at health food stores, but it can be rather expensive; this Instructable shows an easy and inexpensive alternative.

*Proponents of wheat grass make a lot of claims as to its nutritional benefits. Such as:
Wheatgrass is very is nutrient rich: 1lb of wheatgrass =23 lbs. of vegetables** (a great way to get your 3-5 servings of vegetables a day)
its detoxifying , prevents tooth decay
cancer and cardiovascular disease preventive
and is high in phyto nutrients, chlorophyl

I have no intention to promote or refute these claims this instructable will just show you how to grow the stuff.

*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheatgrass

**Meyerowitz, Steve (April 1999). "Nutrition in Grass", Wheatgrass Nature's Finest Medicine: The Complete Guide to Using Grass Foods & Juices to Revitalize Your Health, 6th Edition, Book Publishing Company, 53. ISBN 1878736973.

Step 1 Materials:

Wheat seeds (also called wheatberries)- they can be found at grocery and health food stores or ordered online (I use Mumm's organic hard red winter wheat ordered *online cost ~$6 for 1kg(2,2lb)) can also use spring wheat

*http://www.sprouting.com/

Growing tray with drainage holes- (I use an 8X4inch tray I got from a cat grass kit), you can get greenhouse trays from gardening shops, cafeteria trays, those plastic microwave diner containers, seedling containers (its better if it isn't very deep so you don't need as much soil to fill it)

soil, and/or compost, and/or vermiculite

clean container for soaking seeds, eg. mason jar

measuring spoon (tbsp.)

optional: clear plastic food container i.e.) berry container see picture if you are not sure what I mean, you may also need tape and scissors if you have to adjust size to fit growth tray.

trowel

scissors or knife for harvesting grass

juicer

Comments

[SeaLion]

I like the low budget option! :)

[lexkeepsitsimple]

I want to make my own wheat grass stand and grow hydroponically with ocean water (I will use glass "trays" perhaps... still thinking about it).

[ChrysN]

Cool, I haven't heard of using ocean water for this, let me know how it turns out!

[lexkeepsitsimple]

This is awesome, but also, if you grow the wheat grass hydroponically (use burlap as a substrate) in a small tray with ocean water (if you live near the ocean)- you will have even more nutritious wheat grass! :)

[bringageek]

Nicely done! Informative and thorough -- but still simple and easy to follow!

I do have a question though. Say I wanted to grow the wheat grass not for eating or juicing, but just because I like the look of it -- how could I go about keeping the grass alive and healthy and as pretty as it looks in your Day 5 photo?

Other than the right balance of sunlight, airflow and watering, what else could/should I look at doing differently during setup? or additionally after it's already grown?

Thanks again! And please let me know... I live in a condo and really want to bring a little more of the outside in.


Cheers,

Phil

[ChrysN]

If you want to keep the grass longer you will need more soil, I used a shallow tray for mine and it gets root bound very quickly, so definitely a deeper pot is necessary.
You should also trim the grass otherwise it gets long, spindly and either dries out and goes to seed. I would keep the height at about 5-6 inches, I guess it's like mowing the lawn.

I hope that helps.

[SIRJAMES09]

from the time you first plant it, Wheat grass takes 7 - 10 days to sprout, and about 2 - 4 weeks till you can get a first cutting from it.

Eventually I transplanted mine into a bigger pot(18 inch diameter) & am waiting for it to turn to seed at which time I will harvest it & start another planting. I will plant directly into a medium sized pot tho this next time.

[SIRJAMES09]

tar & nicoteen helps the grass grow stronger....it is not required, but it helps, so if you know someone who smokes, have them blow some smoke into the tray.

I remember this from a college science project.

another thing.

when I first started growing mine, I started it in a tererrium. that way, I never had to worry about watering it & the temperature stayed balanced till the grass out grew the tererrium. I'm sorry if my spelling is not that great.

[SIRJAMES09]

once this wheat grass gets to growing, you'll have fun trying to keep your cats out of it. :) they love it!! they will eat some, they will roll in it, lay in it, etc...

[lukeyj15]

So judging by what you said, my cat will enjoy having a patch to munch on

[ChrysN]

My cat does, oat grass is also great for cats.

[bowmaster]

This looks cool. I will have to try.

[Eric WhoRU]

Hi Whitedove,

As important aswheat grass and a vegan diet is, with the lousy invironment we live in our bodies need all the help we can give them. Our imune system is actually the key to eliminating joint pain, cancer, prostate problems, you name it, if our imune system is not given a boost eating a vegan diet is going to take many months to correct a sick overweight body. Long time recovery causes discouragement and back-sliding, however, I have come accross an imune system boost that I have been using for about three months with phenominal results, it is called MMS - Mirical Mineral Solution. It is so cheap it is almost free. It is so effective that the government is trying to outlaw it. It cannot be patented so big Pharma will not offer it - but, as I wrote, I have been using it and it works for me. As I am not a doctor I cannot give medical advice but I sure am glad I found out about it - it even does wonders for my teeth - tightening up teeth that were so loose in my jaw bone I thought they were going to fall out.

If you would like to know more go to Jim Humble's website below and read everything there - especially Jim's two books. Book one is free on line, he charges for book two but it is worth it. Jim is not all that good a writer and takes a while to get to the point so I suggest you do not skip any part. After tyou read Jim's two books go read all the rest of his stuff on his website.

As a little help, Jim writes a lot about eyedroppers and the different size of drops - do not try to sort all that out because the size and number of drops will be determined by the way each person's body reacts, so I adjusted the number of drops I use based on diarehia or heart burn, then I reduced my dose a little, following Jim's recomendations along those lines. I really like the large diameter eyefroppers I bought at Fred's Pharmact for one dollar each - DO NOT SWITCT THE EYEDROPPERS IN THE TWO COLUTIONS!!!!!

One other helpful hint - in his two books Jim writes a lot about mixing the MMS with fruit juices - but in his later writings he suggests putting the MMS - citric acid mix in veggie-capsules. When I read that I stopped the fruit juice mix and have been using veggie caps ever since - Jim also recvomments size ought - I tried that size and determined size double ought is much better. I purchased 2500 double ought veggie capsules on eBay for about $28.00, including shipping.

Jim also insists on a three minute mix of the MMS and citric acid - I have followed that and find it to be very important. I boughts a 3 minute hour-glass sand egg timer on eBay for less that $5.00.

One more point, in his later writings Jim advises using a 50% citric acid - this makes it much easier to mix the MMS and citric acid and I have been using the 50% cirtic acid - one drop MMS for one drop 50% citric acid.

Jim provides the proceedure for making your own MMS solution in his book 2.

The cost for one year of MMS imune system boost will be less than $50.00.

The MMS solution tastes horible - mixing it with fruit juice to cover up the taste only makes the fruit juice tast horrible - I put it in a capsule immediately before swollowing the capsule with a full glass of water, so I don't tast the MMS at all..

Jim Humble has two websites - jimhumble.com and jimhumble.biz - the biz site is where most of his stuff is located.

Cheers,

Eric Williams

[Eric WhoRU]

According to my seed supplier the only difference between feed seed and certified seed is the label and the price. He insists there is no difference and I have found this to be true - $7.50 per 50 pound bag of feed seed or $1200 for a bag of certified seed - I have used both. I grow my wheat grass in an automatic hydroponic sprayer in the closet of my house, with an inlet water and outlet drain lines poked through small holes into the laundry room. I have 12 trays, 2" x 13". I use one tray per day. With no dirt I juice one tray each day, roots, seeds, grass and all - I use a hand crank juicer and get almost a cup of juice each day. The automatic sprouter sprays a fine water mist over the sprouting trays for 5 minutes, six times per day. I have my own water well so I have good water - no fluoride or chlorine. After juicing my daily harvest I remove the pulp from my hand crank juicer and simmer it up into a cup of wheat grass tea. I would not say any of it is delicious, but it is nutritious so I just do it. I tried chewing the wheat sprouts but it takes too long and tastes horrible. The juice is not delicious but not all that bad. You can survive very well on wheat grass juice - at $12.00 per 50 pounds, consuming 1/4 cup per day, you can be very healthy while being very poor for a long time. I purchased 5 gallon food grade buckets at Lowes to store my seeds in to keep the bugs out - I keep my daily working supply in a one gallon glass jar. For those who are interested, I have been told you can also sprout hemp plants in the sprouter although the manufacture claims that such sprouting is not authorized - I have no personal experience but this is what I have been told. I am a total vegan - no meat, chicken, fish, eggs, milk or spiders and no booze. I weigh 143, 5'9", blood pressure 106/66, heart rate (at rest), 58. I am 74 YOA and challenge any person to keep up with me. I eat a lot of salads with home made dressing and lentils with brown rice and tomatoes and onions and garlic. No store bought canned or boxed garbage, or store bought salt poison, no sugar, no bread. I also eat rolled oats with raisins and honey (I have my own bee hive - come around and I'll introduce you to the Queen). I do not have a family doctor and have not been to such a villain for over 40 years! (Last time was a discharge physical in 1966). It is a given that I take no manner of medication! And absolutely NO kind of inoculations or vaccinations - flu shots or whatever - they will kill you! Infant inoculations are what causes SID - not malicious parents. If you have cancer it is because of what you eat - to cure it (and all maladies), changing what you eat! Cheers, I'm Eric, WhoRU??

[Whitedove1944]

I am Whitedove, 65 well 66 in a month, raised pretty much rot gut cheap food on food stamps. raised 4 on my own. A few car accidents and a bad spine and 100 pounds must come off. Problem is lathargic(tired) and pain. BUT been raw about 6 weeks, about 3-4 days a week, no regular bread in 6 months, meat maybe a subway one time a month. So I am starting.Went to the Rawspirit Festival in Presoctt, AZ this weekend awesome. A few ?? Is there any particlar food that helps with inflamation, My joints hurt and deep tissue damage over the years, I am sore all the time. Regular meds put me under the bed. Have morphine as a back up on bad days. 30 tablets 2 yrs ago and I have 15 left, so you see I don't rely on them. My mind is thinking right, my spirit is totally with the Lord. But the natural body needs any advice I can get my hands on. I admire what you have done. I will get there. I weighted myself a few days ago and have lost about 12 # this month so woo hoo. to keep my self in check. I am 278 #, what is great with all this junk my blood ## great sugar 81, Trigycerides 140 and b/p 120/70 I will write back to I am accountable to someone doing this life style, My hubbys is a trucker, with issues but just told him about "dave the raw trucker online. I f that guys can do it on the road, my hubby best start. Don't need a call from the law stating he drop dead.told him so to. I will lay hands on him, raise him and slap him. He needs to stop taking things for granted. this whole country needs a serious change.Even if is a few days a week well anyway thank for listen and will check what ever you send thank you and God bless you Whitedove

[pamrosec]

Hi Eric, I signed up to speak to you! You are amazing! I am just looking into making my own wheatgrass and purchasing a juicer. What a lifestyle change but I really want to be a vegan except I do want to eat eggs. I smile at your own hive. I was looking into purchasing a hive...you give me inspiration and I would like to continue asking you guestions if you don't mind!! Thanks, pam

[Eric WhoRU]

Hi Pam, Eating eggs will prevent you from being a true vegan but will not make you a bad person. Although I am now 76 YOA, I am otherwise the same man I was when I wrote what I did about wheatgrass. If you have any questions just ring me up directly at [e-mail].

[rlzzxx]

Hello Eric, My name is Roy. Just found the Instructibles web site and joined up. I've been looking for tips on growing wheat grass and want to set up an automatic system. I admire your diet and am envious of your health. I am trying an all raw diet but find it pretty hard and socially complicating. Though I've lived a rather "holistic" lifestyle, being vegetarian, vegan, even fruitarian for periods, I find myself burdened with health problems that I'm working to overcome. I would greatly appreciate any tips you might have on setting up a wheat grass grow op :) I can't tie into my plumbing so, am designing something with a pump and reservoir. Cheers!

[grandavi]

eggs and milk is not a meat product, why boycott those? not to mention they both are good for the body, as long as monsanto stays away from the milk, and you get eggs from a farm that does not do the production.

[Ahmady]

Thank you, Eric ...very inspiring to read about your regimen and the good results.

[hapyman]

Good stuff Eric. That sounds like an awesome setup you are using. So each tray only needs 11 days to sprout and grow? and... What kind of lights does your setup use? Red/Blue LEDs? Fluorescents? Thanks.

[Eric WhoRU]

Well, actually, you could probably press the juice sooner, maybe even in only 8 days. For light I use a fluorescent, with one single 15" tube, purchased at Lowe's as a light for garden or aquarium, for about $15.00, before Omoneybombthenation's inflationary give away scam.

[albylovesscience]

i want to get a cat but my mom say they stink (which i think is not true :( ) do they actually smell a lot and can a cat get along with my pet guinea-pig named baby

[ChrysN]

Cats are really clean, they are always washing themselves (with their tongue), my cat doesn't smell at all. The litter box can be stinky, but if you clean it regularly and keep it in an out of the way place it should be okay. I think cats can get along with other pets, like a guinea pig, it may just take some time to get used to each other. Keep them apart at first and slowly introduce them to each other.

[b1russell]

Alby, I agree with what Chrys said above.  Here's a little more, though.  When trying to overcome the prejudice of a parent (especially a MOM), you need to be extra diligent in caring for the existing pet, first, to convince her that you'd do the same for the new one.  Then, once she gives in, cleaning the litter box "regularly" means every single day, at least once!  I keep my cats' litter boxes inside a grocery-store cereal carton to contain the "cast-off" from cats' paws, both scratching and jumping out.  The carton is about the same size as the litter box, just taller.  This slightly minimizes the need to sweep and/or vacuum around the litter box multiple times a day.  Mom will also be happier if you use the best quality litter you can find, instead of the cheapest!

[Retirement1]

Great instructible - Thanks so much! Would it still keep it's nutritional value if frozen?  Just had a thought that freezing it in ice cube trays would make a handy way to store it then plunking a couple of cubes in a blender to mix with a smoothie.

[ChrysN]

That sounds like a great idea!  It may lose some of it's nutritional value, but I'm sure it would still be good for you.

[bythepiece]

This is more of a question than a comment.  I found cat grass seeds years ago and grew them for my cats.  They looked funny gnawing at the gras but loved it.  One of the farmers at our organic type farmer's market here in Birmingham, Alabama had wheat grass, which looked like the picture shown here.  They were unimpressed and after one gnaw, wouldn't eat it.  Ya'll have mentioned wheat grass seeds, oat grass seeds and cat grass seeds.  Can the one the cats love - the cat grass seeds - be different than wheat grass?  Has anyone else had the same experience? 

[ChrysN]

I think that most seeds sold as cat grass seeds are actually oat.  Cats can eat both oat or wheat (or other types of grasses too), my cat doesn't seem to have a preference,  but cats have differing tastes.

[bythepiece]

I hope you don't get this twice but I lost my last message.  Do you know a good source of oat grass seeds?  I have 9 cats and am trying to spoil them. We do have a big fenced back yard and they have a 12x14 Solarium but they still like to gnaw on the good grass. Thanks.

[ChrysN]

I get my seeds here: http://www.sprouting.com/canstore/front.html, I usually use get the wheat grass, but they do have oat grass. 

[dearcole]

do you know if you can reuse wheatgrass seeds? or do you have to start with new seeds and new soil everytime after you harvest? just seems wasteful is all.

[linuxnewbie]

Yes, you can reuse them-up to a point. After your first harvest, you can keep growing the wheatgrass, but remember, each harvest will be a little small and lack some quality and flavor. That's because the seeds have only so much energy and nutrition. You could fertilize, but then you're dealing with chemical laden wheatgrass-not much point. Still, getting an extra harvest or two before dumping the flat on the compost pile is better for the environment than just pitching the flat after one use. By the way, this technique for growing wheatgrass also works great for baby lettuce. Simply use organic lettuce seeds instead of wheatgrass. And Sooo much cheaper than organic baby lettuce mix at the supermarket. Or grow one flat of each and then juice together - yummy

[BlondGuy101]

Does fertilser always mean synthetic chemicals? What plants really need is nitrogen and that must be in a form that they can utililise if they are not nitrogenous (I dunno if wheatgrass is nitrogenous though). Nitrogen from 'organic' fertilisers, is acquired most commonly from ones that are based on rotted/fermented manure (apparently a horse's is best but that's not to say that you could not give your own a try - they will contain much the same chemicals if you are vegetarian, just in different ways). Urine also contains a good quantity of nitrogenous wastes (the yellow colour is urea, a nitrogenous chemical your body produces) and it is sterile unless yo have some horrible urinary tract infection, which you probably won't have if you are healthy. If you could find some way to neutralise the acid content (though it is weak) then it would be prime fertiliser (patches of grass that dogs have tinkled on is always greener eventually, even though it gets damaged and is yellow at first). BTW I have just though that you could also do some kind of crop rotation with leguminous plants. That would infuse the soil with nitrites that other plants need too. In fact you could go so far as to grow some bean plants or whatever and then mulch the whole thing roots and all into a liquid fertiliser. Sorry for the long post I can suffer from logorrhea sometimes.

[london_kitty5]

Where do you get your baby lettuce seeds? Now I'm off to search for a baby lettuce growing instructables...

[linuxnewbie]

I've had good results on ebay. Most garden centers have seeds that are coated with pesticides, and fungicides (so they don't rot when you put them in wet soil) so you might wanna pass on them. When I ran a community garden, I was able to get them thru the gardening co-op; try them as well.

[static]

How long you can grow it and continue to get quality cuttings has to depend a lot on the quality of the potting mix at the start. Everything is a chemical compound, and all are not bad.. A nutritious "tea" could be safely applied to the soil as needed. For the long term it would make sense to plant in roomy container, get multiple harvests of grass before letting to grow to maturity, to harvest the berries. I think that's what they call sustainability. ;) A dirty word for corporations, that may be why I like the idea so much ;)

[lu88cky]

This water is known as wheat berry tea if left left to soak for a day in the sunshine. I only use spring or rain water with a tiny pinch sea salt to up the mineral count. Never town supply tap water. Drink it at the end of the day. It packs as much punch (on a different level) as a shot of wheat grass juice. It centres me. Probably synchronises brain hemispheres. Uber clarity.

[ChrysN]

Good to know, I usually toss it or water my plants with it, I'll try it next time.

[hishealer]

I have tried to grow this grass and also oat grass for my cats. The LOVE it, and it stops them from trying to eat stuff that is not food. The problem I have is that they pull it up by the roots to eat it. Any ideas of a way to keep it rooted against attempts to pull it up? I tried letting the roots go deep before giving it to the cats. I tried cutting it first, and the cats just play with it. They pull it up, but don't actually eat the roots. Thanks for any ideas!