Measure out enough seeds to create a light layer on the seed tray you use to grow the grass. For a 16" x 16" tray, use about two cups of seeds. Rinse the seeds in cool, clean water using a colander with very small holes or a strainer. Drain them well and put them in a bowl.
Pour cold water, preferably filtered, into the bowl of seeds. Add about three times as much water as you have seeds. Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap and place it on the counter to soak for about 10 hours, or overnight. [2] X Research source Drain the water from the seeds and replace it with more cold, filtered water - again, about three times as much water as you have seeds. Let it soak for another 10 hours. Repeat the process one more time, for a total of three long soaks. By the end of the last soak, the seeds should have sprouted roots. This means they are ready to plant. Drain them and set them aside until you’re ready to plant them.
If possible, use paper towels that have not been treated with chemicals or dyes. Recycled, chemical-free paper towels are available at health food stores. Use pre-moistened compost or potting soil free of pesticides or other chemicals. It’s important to use organic soil to get the most benefit from your wheatgrass.
It’s fine if the seeds are touching each other, but make sure there’s not a pile of seeds in one area. Each seed needs a little room to grow. Water the tray lightly, making sure each seed gets a sprinkle. Cover the tray with a few moistened sheets of newspaper to protect the seedlings.
Lift the newspaper and water the tray thoroughly in the morning so that the soil is wet, but not completely waterlogged. Use a spray bottle filled with water to lightly mist the soil in the evening before you go to bed, so the seedlings don’t dry out overnight. Spray the newspaper, too, so it keeps them wet. On the fourth day after planting, remove the newspaper to prevent the seeds from sprouting under it. Continue watering the sprouted grass once a day.
At this point the grass should be about six inches tall. Grass is usually ready to harvest after 9 or 10 days of growth.
Harvested wheatgrass keeps in the refrigerator for about a week, but it tastes best and provides the most health benefits when it’s harvested right before you plan to juice it. Keep watering the wheatgrass to produce a second crop. Harvest that crop once it’s mature. Sometimes a third crop comes up, but it’s usually not as tender and sweet as the first one. Empty the seed tray and prepare it for another batch of seedlings.
Time the growing and harvesting cycle so that you have a new batch of seeds soaking while the previous batch is in the process of taking root. If you have two or three seeds at various stages in rotation, you should be able to produce enough wheatgrass to have a shot of juice every day. Wheatgrass is a beautiful bright green color, and adds a natural touch to your kitchen or sunroom, wherever you choose to grow it. Consider growing wheatgrass in a decorative container and surrounding your wheatgrass with other plants, so that you can enjoy the beauty of wheatgrass as well as its health benefits.
Avoid using regular juicers, since wheatgrass can clog them and cause them to break. You can use a blender if you don’t have a juicer. Once the wheatgrass is completely blended, use a strainer to take out the solids.
