Let Food Be Thy Medicine: Wheatgrass

"Let food be thy medicine and let medicine be thy food."

~ Hippocrates

It was this wisdom upon which Dr. Ann Wigmore based decades worth of research into the health benefits of wheatgrass and other living foods for detoxifying and healing the body, mind and spirit. According to Dr. Wigmore, wheatgrass:

• cleanses and builds your  blood,
• improves skin and hair,
• builds muscle and endurance,
• fights infections,
• lowers blood pressure,
• dissolves tumors,
• acts as an appetite suppressant.

And according to my husband, wheatgrass was a key factor in the training program which led him to qualify for the Boston Marathon earlier this year! He also claims it grew hair on his head, but I'm not so sure about that one...

Whether my husband's claims are true or not, wheatgrass juice is an effective healer because it contains chlorophyll, all minerals known to man, and vitamins A, B-complex, C, E, and K. Wheatgrass is extremely rich in protein, and contains 17 amino acids, the building blocks of protein.

Whether you are just starting to try wheatgrass juicing, or you have been drinking it for some time, I highly recommend Dr. Ann Wigmore's book The Wheatgrass Book. It is a simple, straight-forward read with decades worth of research and experience behind it, and it tells you everything you'll ever need to know about the health benefits of wheatgrass and how to grow it.

Growing and Juicing Wheatgrass at Home

You'll find lots of websites and books that tell you how to grow wheatgrass. Many of them have conflicting methods on what kind of tray to use, planting medium, sprouting techniques, etc. The method I describe is the way I have always done it, and it seems to work for me.

What you'll need:

• organic hard, winter wheatgrass seed(also known as wheat berries) - available at many health food stores or online
• shallow growing trays without drainage holes - seeding flats or any other shallow tray work great
• a second seeding flat with holes (for air circulation)
• good quality organic growing mix
• plant  mister or water spray bottle
• watering can with a fine diffuser spout 
• masticating or auger-style juicer- centrifugal blenders and juicers with blades will not work with wheatgrass

How much seed?

The amount of wheatgrass to sow depends on the size of your growing tray and the climate where you live. Wheatgrass is very prone to mold problems, especially in hot, humid conditions. I find that I have to use less seed in the hot, humid summer months than in the dry winter months to allow for better airflow between the plants. If mold is a problem, it has been recommended to place a small fan near your grass to increase air circulation.
For a standard 21" by 11" growing flat, I use about a cup of wheatgrass seed in the winter and about 3/4 of a cup in the summer. You'll have to experiment with amounts depending on your own growing conditions and tray size.

Soak the seeds

Soak seeds overnight

Pour the seed into a sieve or strainer and rinse it well under running tap water. Next put the seed into a bowl or a jar and soak the seed for about 12 hours or overnight in cool water kept at room temperature. The seeds will expand during soaking so be sure to double the amount of water to the amount of seeds. After 12 hours, use a strainer to drain off the soaking water and rinse the seeds well under tap water once again.

Preparing the seedbed

Wheatgrass does not require alot of soil to grow. Spread about an inch of soil evenly over the bottom of the tray - the one without the drainage holes. Pick out any twigs or debris that may be in the soil. Water the soil well so that it is quite damp but not muddy. I use the spray faucet on my kitchen sink to do this.

Sowing the seed

Sow the seeds

Spread the wheatgrass seed on top of the soil. Try to disperse it evenly across the entire surface of the soil such that the seeds are in a single layer. The seeds can touch each other, but try not to have them on top of each other. Mist the seed with a water sprayer so that it is evenly dampened.

Using the second tray (with holes), invert it and cover the seed tray to keep the seeds in darkness while they sprout. The covering tray should have holes in it to allow for air movement. If your growing tray is not a standard size, you can cover the seed with a couple sheets of newspaper instead.

Growing the seed

2 Days after Sowing

Within 24 hours you will start to see tiny roots and shoots sprouting out of the seeds. Mist the seeds evenly a couple times a day to keep them damp and re-cover them to keep them in the dark.

4 Days after Sowing

After about 3 to 4 days, the roots will be reaching into the soil, and the yellow shoots will be about 2 inches high - sometimes they will lift the cover right off the growing tray. At this point you can remove the cover and place the tray in a bright spot with indirect light. The shoots will quickly green up once it has been uncovered.


Over the next few days it is important to keep the soil moist. Do not allow the soil to dry out but be careful not to overwater either. I use a small watering can with a water diffuser spout. If you miss a watering and the soil becomes too dry, the wheatgrass blades will droop. This is ok as long as it is still bright green. Moisten the soil but don't soak it. The blades will not stand up again, but the wheatgrass is still good.

Harvesting

The wheatgrass is ready to harvest when it is about 7 inches tall - about 7 to 10 days. Unless you need the space, harvest the grass as you need it to ensure maximum freshness and nutrient content.

To harvest, grab a small clump of blades with one hand and using a sharp kitchen knife or scissors, cut it as close to the soil as you can get without taking up any soil clumps. If you find any white mold just above the soil level, cut the grass above the mold.

Harvesting the Full-Grown Wheatgrass

Rinse off the grass lightly and shake it dry or lay on a paper towel and pat dry. Try to keep the blades lined up in one direction to make it easier to feed into the juicer. You'll need a good handful of grass to yield an ounce of juice. I can usually get about 6 ounces of juice from one tray of wheatgrass when I've used a full cup of seeds.

Juicing

Use only a masticating or auger-style juicerfor wheatgrass. Centrifugal blenders and juicers that use blades will only shred the grass and make a yucky, green mess that is indigestible to humans. The wheatgrass fibers can clog up the juicer blades and screens and possibly damage your blender/juicer. Furthermore, centrifugal juicers create enough heat to destroy the enzymes and nutrients that make wheatgrass so healthy in the first place. An auger juicer squeezes and presses the juice out of the grass, separating the juice from the indigestible fibers, and generating a minimal amount of heat.

Juicing the Wheatgrass

Feed the grass into the juicer in whatever size clumps the opening can handle. The juice will trickle out the juice output opening while the pulp churns out the other end. Once you've fed all the wheatgrass blades through the juicer, re-feed the pulp back into the juicer. You'll find that you can squeeze more juice out of the pulp if you re-feed it once or twice.

The juice is now ready to be tossed back (like one might toss back a shot of whiskey!).... or now that your juicer is dirty anyway, mix up a cocktail of fresh vegetable juice to add to it.

Some people don't mind the taste of wheatgrass, and others need a chaser of some sort. Whatever your taste is, enjoy the health benefits that you are getting from consuming one of our healthiest Superfoods - or as some people refer to it - liquid sunshine!

Notes:

Wheatgrass juice should be consumed within 30 minutes of juicing. After 30 minutes, the nutritional value is minimal and it should be tossed out. Do not try to juice and store wheatgrass in quantity, it's not worth it.

If you need the space, you can harvest the whole tray of wheatgrass at once and keep it in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week. Be sure the grass is as dry as possible before storing.

If you are just starting with wheatgrass, begin slowly. Wheatgrass is a "cleanser", and in doing its job, can cause unwanted, unpleasant effects on your digestive system (mild diarrhea). Start with an ounce or less per day until your body becomes accustomed to it.

Some growers get a second and third crop of wheatgrass from the same tray of seed by continuing to water the plants after harvesting. I have found that a second crop is not as tall or as large. If you have the space for many trays, give it a try, but I prefer to have only 3 fresh trays with a good yield growing at any given time.

After harvesting, what's left in the tray is a mass of roots and soil that is inseparable and will pull clean from the tray in one large mat. Break up the mat into smaller pieces and throw it onto your compost pile. You could also leave it in your yard for a day or two. The birds and chipmunks will enjoy what's left of the seeds.