Wheat Grass Juice

Though you can go to your nearest Jamba Juice Outlet if you are in California and get a one ounce or even a two ounce shot of Wheat grass juice that is juiced right in front of you with a slice of orange with it, you can also grow your own wheat grass from wheat berry seeds that is used to grow wheat for bread. You can find this in places like Whole Foods usually or your local health food store that sells organic wheat berries for sprouting. So, what I do is to use the plastic covered cardboard flat that my cases of dog food come in and then get a large white plastic trash bag (unused) and tie it around the cardboard flat. Then I buy organic potting soil that is used for growing plants or things like tomatoes or carrots or potatoes or whatever you want and put about 1/2 to 1 inch deep of potting soil in the flat. Then I take take some wheat berries and cover all the soil so there is no bare soil at all without wheat berries on it. Then I take a paper towel and cover all the wheat berries and soil in the flat and then put some water gently over the whole thing. (Just enough to start the germination process). Then I cover the whole thing with Paper bags or cardboard so the seeds think they are in the dark so they will germinate bettter. I water these seeds that I keep in the dark for 3 days once a day. Then on the 4th day I water the seeds again and put them outside in the sunlight so the sprouts turn green from the sun. However, if it is 100 degrees or more outside you might want to protect them from direct sunlight. Also, for the first week (after the first 3 days or so) you have to find a way to drain the seeds and soil without losing all the seeds. After about a week usually all the roots from the sprouts have made the soil and the whole thing one unit and if you are careful you can then take the whole unit carefully out of the plastic and cardboard and let it sit without its cardboard and plastic. But if it is too dry where you are I wouldn't advise doing this. You want the roots to stay moist. So you have to modify what you are doing for where you live and the type of climate you have there year around. So, for example if it is getting really cold (below 40 or 50 degrees Fahrenheit at night you might think about putting your wheat grass sprouts in a window looking outside as long as they don't get too burnt by the sun. Every day you water them. When they get to be about 6 to 12 inches tall you can begin to harvest them. I harvest twice about one week apart or so. What this means is that I take only as much as I want to harvest to put into my wheat grass juicer any day I want wheat grass juice. And remember it is usually best to water them every day as long as you are draining them too. For me, I used the cardboard and plastic bag under them to move them but I let them live outside during the day without the cardboard and plastic on a redwood bench in the sun and clouds during the day. I have developed a technique where I have the roots exposed in this way after about 1 week of growing them so the water drains out onto the redwood bench without the cardboard or plastic under them. Like I said if you like wheat grass juice the first cuttings are the best and some people only do one cutting. My own style is to plant the flat into my yard when I am done but everyone has their own thing that they do. In some areas you might have wheat growing in your back yard. In my area of the northern California coast the wheat isn't happy for long and usually dies out within a month or two after I plant it in the ground. However, it is happy I think for being free and in the ground during that time. Wheat grass juicers come in many shapes and sizes (look online). I prefer a hand crank model made of stainless steel with reverse threads on the end because I used to own old fashioned cherry pitters and apple peelers and I love hand crank technology. However, you might want the most fully automatic set-up in all ways because of either your tastes or your location or both. So, if you develop a taste for Wheat Grass Juice (it is an acquired taste for straight chlorophyll from the sun) through the Wheat grass from wheat berries then go for it any way that you choose. I like it because it is in some ways like drinking liquid sunlight direct from photosynthesis through these plants. It is for some of us like Coffee without the coffee crash once you get beyond the initial nausea if your diet isn't pure enough to drink it. It is very cleansing and empowering in a very natural way. You will feel amazing if it is done in conjunction with a really good diet and healthy exercise.

Note: After about one week usually the sprouts and potting soil are so amalgamated into one unit that you can gently water them by pouring through your upturned open hand with a glass or pitcher of water. Don't use outside hoses because most of them have lead in them that are made in China and are now unsafe to drink from ever for humans because of this. Also, you are going to be juicing these sprouts so you want the water to be clean and uncontaminated that you will be drinking from these sprouts that is pure chlorophyll. So you want to use your tap water from your sink for best results. Also, after about one week you don't need to water with the paper towel over the seeds and be sure to remove the paper towel after watering them when you put them in direct sunlight on the 4th day. After one week if you are gentle you don't need the paper towel at all to water them. Good Luck.