Wheatgrass Planting Checklist

• Soak the wheatberries in water for 12 hours
• Thoroughly moisten a hemp mat and place on the slotted tray
• Spread the soaked wheatberries on the mat
• Cover the slotted tray with the solid tray like a dome for 2-3 days
• Day 4 uncover and place solid tray under slotted tray and begin bottom watering and set in indirect light
• Harvest wheatgrass with bonsai scissors when grass reaches 7-10 inches

The Details

Growing wheatgrass for juicing is fairly easy and yields results in about a week to 10 days.

Put the pre-measured berries in a mason jar and pour enough water in to cover the berries by 2 or 3 inches. Like dried beans, the wheatberries will soak up some water so make sure there is enough to account for absorption. Cover the jar and soak the berries for 6-12 hours. Do not soak longer than this as that can lead to mold issues.

Completely mist one of your hemp fiber mats so that it is very wet but not dripping. Place it in your slotted tray. Spread the soaked wheatberries across your entire mat. The coverage will be very dense. It's fine to have the seeds touching each other but try not to have them piled on top of each other. Mist the entire seed area so everything is damp but not to the point of puddling.

Place the solid tray on top covering the seeds like a dome. This will create a mini-ecosystem that duplicates the conditions under which wheat would normally grow outdoors - moist, warm and protected from the light. Set it aside like this for 2 or 3 days.

After a few days the wheatgrass should be about 1 inch long and white or yellowish. At this point you can place the solid lid tray on the bottom of the slotted tray and set the kit in indirect light. Carefully lift the slotted tray to look under and see the beginnings of white roots poking through the slots. You can now water by filling the bottom tray so the troughs are full about once a day until harvest.

After six to twelve days your wheatgrass should be 7-10 inches tall and ready to harvest. To harvest, I prefer to use a bonsai scissor but you could use a sharp knife (very carefully). With my free hand I gently grab a clump of wheatgrass and cut between my hand and the grow mat as close to the grow mat as possible. The highest nutrition is found at the base of the blade.

An important final note: Wheatgrass is best consumed VERY fresh. Ideally, you should cut a handful of wheatgrass and put that handful directly into your juicer. Harvested wheatgrass blades can keep in your refrigerator for a few days but it is better to just harvest what you need, when you need it.