How to Grow Wheatgrass & Make Wheatgrass Juice at Home

Wheatgrass can either be grown at home or you can buy from health food store.  You can drink the juice at juice bars (such as Jamba Juice, too expensive for a shot of wheatgrass juice!) or there are bottled juices and wheatgrass in powdered forms to be mixed with water.  I grow wheatgrass at home regularly and being a vegetarian, I personally drink wheatgrass juice because of its high iron content in comparison to spinach, broccoli, etc.

how to grow wheatgrass

Update (19 Feb 2013): FAQ on wheatgrass growing procedures and wheatgrass juicing at home, answering reader's questions. 

Update (18 Apr 2013): Interested in watching me demonstrate how to grow wheat grass at home?  Here it is:

And here's my video on how to make wheatgrass juice at home:

Or read the entire process and check out the step-by-step process to grow wheatgrass:

There are several ways people begin the wheatgrass-growing process, but honestly I don’t see the need of buying special strainers, baby blanket kind of stuff, or fancy trays & containers.  Through pictures below I will show you step-by-step procedure how I grow wheatgrass in simple ways and make wheatgrass juice at home.  Since how many cups of seeds you must sow depends on the area you will be planting, I cannot give any measurements of seeds, water, soil and how much grass will grow out of them.  But I hope the pictures will give you a slight idea of how it goes.

Start prepping wheat

• You will need wheat grains, a container, tap water, sieve or small cloth.
• You can use pots or trays if you have, otherwise here’s a DIY:  from what you will see in the pictures below – I have used a tofu container, a milk bottle & an oil bottle sliced in half (bottom portion), then poked knife randomly to create small openings for extra water to flow out.

soaking wheat grains in water

Soak the wheat

• Wash wheat grains with cool tap water & soak in water for 12 hours or max for 24 hours & cover the container.  Wheat starts to smell bad if you soak it any longer than that.
• The wheat grains will have increased in size after being soaked.  I used about 1 cup wheat grains & 2 cups water.
• After 12 or 24 hours, drain the water & rinse them under running water once, then drain.

how to sprout wheat grains

Sprout wheat

• There are 2 ways to sprout them:

(a)        wrap the wheat grains inside a wet cloth in a container; or

(b)        spread the wheat grains on a sieve or colander & cover with a damp cloth.

• Wheat should sprout in another 12 hours.

how to sow wheat in soil for wheatgrass

Sow the wheat

• Since wheatgrass is not heavy, small lightweight make-shift DIY pots as I mentioned above work just fine.
• Now fill it quarter way (or at least 1 inch) with soil or potting mix, dampen it, and add a thin layer of sprouted wheat grains spreading it around until you see no soil underneath.
• Sometimes wheat grains do not grow into grass, so if you put few seeds there’s a possibility of getting small amount of wheatgrass.
• Then sprinkle very little soil on top, sprinkle some water, and cover with a damp cloth.

growing wheatgrass at home

Growing wheatgrass

• After you keep the cloth on the pots for 2-3 days & dampen it by watering on top twice a day, you will see tiny greenish/whitish blades appearing out of the soil – here onward you don’t need to cover the pots.
• Continue to water the grass twice a day, just enough to moisten the soil.
• In a week the grass grows to about 5 inches, and within about 10 days it reaches 6-7 inches, this is when you’re ready to harvest.

how to make wheatgrass juice at home

Make wheatgrass juice

• Cut the wheatgrass just above the white portion, wash well under water.
• If you have a Wheatgrass Juicer then you can put a bunch of grass in it green side down, pulp will emerge one side & filtered juice the other side.
• Otherwise, you can use a simple, regular kitchen blender like I do, put all the grass out of one pot inside the jar, add around 1-2 Tbsp water, and churn it.
• Using a sieve or tea strainer, press until thick dry pulp remains.  Blend the pulp in the blender along with 2 Tbsp water again, strain the juice, then discard the thick pulp and you can have fresh, homemade, inexpensive and healthy wheatgrass shot at home.
• It’s best to drink fresh wheatgrass juice shot.

juice of wheatgrass at home - cheap, healthy, fresh

What to do with the remaining white part & roots of wheatgrass & the soil?
Remove soil from pot (on a newspaper, etc) & let it dry.  Then discard the remains of wheatgrass & reuse the soil, proceed with Step 1.  The cycle continues.

Update (19 Feb 2013): You may also like to read the FAQ post - questions asked to me by readers about wheagrass growing and juicing at home and my answers.

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There are several books on complete details about wheatgrass, all the way from its history until its benefits; you may read if you’re interested.  Here’s what some authors have to say about wheatgrass:

"Wheatgrass is loaded with vitamins and minerals, including vitamins C and E, as well as B complex vitamins.  It is also full of iron, magnesium, potassium, calcium, zinc and many other necessary minerals.  In addition, wheatgrass is extremely high in chlorophyll, and has more than 15 amino acids and 80 enzymes, and when used in juice form, provides many of the day's required vitamins and nutrients in a single serving."  ~ 'Growing Wheatgrass' by Adrian Frink

"Moreover, when wheatgrass juice is used fresh, it is full of living enzyme energy that can promote healthy blood circulation and rejuvenate aging cells."  ~ 'The Wheatgrass Book' by Ann Wigmore

"Wheatgrass is not a magical potion.  It is not an overnight cure-all, and it is not a replacement for a nutritionally balanced diet.  It is a live food that, when woven into a program of exercise and other life-giving foods, can help the body to rejuvenate and overcome sickness and disease."  ~ 'The Complete Guide to Growing and Using Wheatgrass' by Loraine Degraff

"It has broad effectiveness, but its three most therapeutic roles are: blood purification, liver detoxification, and colon cleansing." ... "For therapeutic purposes, you need to take a minimum of six to ten ounces of fresh juice daily or the equivalent in powder."  ~ 'Wheatgrass Nature's Finest Medicine' by Steve Meyerowitz

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Ultimately, it’s all about what Juvenal (1^st century Roman poet) said:

“mens sana in corpore sano” which means “a sound mind in a sound body”

I hope this post on how to plant wheatgrass at home and how make wheatgrass drink is helpful to you.  If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Stay healthy, be positive,
Nisha 

Note: This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

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Disclaimer:  The author of this blog has strived to be as accurate as possible in sharing the knowledge and the information in this blog post and the procedures are based on the author’s personal experience.  This post is not intended to be a prescription, does not offer and is not meant to be a substitute for professional medical advice.  The content has not been evaluated by US Food and Drug administration; therefore the reader assumes full responsibility and is urged to consult a qualified physician for any concerns before following the information given here.  The author of this blog is not responsible for any adverse effects resulting from the use of any suggestions, preparations, or procedures in this blog post.

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