Here's a great kids science project, an easy way to grow pet food, and a way to produce your own wheat grass for juicing.
Wheat grass is nothing more than the young seedlings of wheat. It's fast and easy to grow and valuable for so many things. It is the perfect lesson for young students learning plant science, so let them join in the process.
If you own parrots, cats, hamsters, guinea pigs or rabbits, you know how much they benefit from fresh graze. At pet stores and garden centers a 4 inch pot of grass can cost 4 dollars. You can grow your own for a few pennies.
Many respected health advocates claim that
wheat grass is an important dietary supplement. Growing your own will save a daily trip to the juice bar where a 1-ounce shot costs at least a buck.
To grow wheat grass you need wheat berries (seed) which you can find for a dollar a pound at any good natural food grocery store.
You'll also need a growing tray at least 2 inches deep. A used flat from a gardening project works well. If you can find one with small drainage holes, that is best. Those flats with large drainage holes should be lined with a sheet or 2 of newsprint before adding soil.
Soak wheat berries (seed) for about 8 hours in clean water.
Add soil to the container and spread seed over the top. Use enough seed to cover the entire surface. The seed can be very close to one another. I like to cover the seed with a thin layer of Spanish moss. Use scissors to cut the moss into small bits and sprinkle them over the entire surface.
Water well, and cover with plastic. Leave the plastic in place for a couple days, or until it's obvious the wheat has germinated.
Once the wheat has sprouted, I've had good luck avoiding mold (a common problem) by misting the wheat daily with a spray of water with with baking soda and kelp extract. Use one of those inexpensive spray bottles which hold 16 ounces of water or so. To that, add a couple tablespoons of kelp extract, and a quarter teaspoon of baking soda.
When your wheat grass is about 3-4 inches high, it's ready to use. Just clip 3/4 of it's length and allow the blades to regrow.
For pets, either clip and serve, or allow them to graze from the flat.
To juice your crop, you'll need a special wheat grass juicer which is available at most juice bars, or at natural food stores. Unfortunately, the juicer you may already have for other fruits and veggies, won't work for wheat grass.
You can also extract the juice by chewing, but will need quite a bit of it to get the same benefit as from juicing.
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