Wheatgrass Growing Supplies

Here is a list of the things you need for your wheatgrass growing supplies, and the cost of them:

Good quality wheat grain [you will get to know a good supplier by how much mold is produced as it grows]
Organic compost, again know your compost sources because you’d be surprised at the standards out there
Seed trays with holes
Something to line the seed trays to prevent drip through when you water them every day, either another seed tray without holes or food grade plastic sandwich bags cut to size [easiest, may depend on your situation and preferences]

Optional Extras [I do these]:

Shelves to hold the trays neatly, providing easy access to them for watering [Greenhouse shelves work well]
A nice sharp knife or scissors for cutting the grass
A kilner type jar with a good sealed lid to hold the wheat grain once you’ve opened a bag of it, because occasionally there can be weevils in the grain and you don’t want them spreading out like an army over your kitchen, as once happened to me when I left the grain in a pretty glass jug…!

Getting Fancy [I don’t do these]:

Seaweed mix to enrich the soil [you can either buy this or make some up yourself]
Hydrogen Peroxide [some people use it for mold, didn’t work so well for me]
Extra seed trays with no holes to germinate in the dark [Elaine Bruce does this, I had chronic fatigue when I started so skipped any step that was not absolutely necessary and it worked fine without this step]

So basically your wheatgrass growing supplies are a bigger more expanded version of those little wheatgrass kits that you see for sale, those are nice as a starter pack but you want to be producing larger yields and more economically.

What is Good Quality Wheat Grain?

Mold Free
Organic

Mold Free: I found this out the hard way – one day I had a severely infested bag of wheat grain, the company who sold it to me was not very pleasant when I told them about the army of weevils that spread out all over my kitchen, so I decided to look elsewhere – very lucky I did – because when I bought wheat grain from another supplier I quickly saw a huge difference! I suddenly had beautiful clean mold free wheatgrass, yet I was using all the same preparations and conditions!

Quality Wheat Grain Does Not Produce A Lot Of Mold

I had thought it was me, or the house I was in, but there was no longer a carpet of mould at the bottom of my fresh wheatgrass trays when I changed supplier! [BTW if you do get mold you can cut the grass off above it, though some people will NOT like that idea, it may depend on how higher risk you are.]

I tried different suppliers and a lot of them were giving me mold while some clearly did not! Always follow your instinct and check out other suppliers rather than depending on a grumpy supplier, you may be pleasantly surprised!

Quality Wheat Grain Does Not Have Roundup Used During Haresting

Why Organic?: Did you know that non-organic wheat crops now use Roundup / Glyphosate [yes the weedkiller!] as a dessicating agent during harvesting, yes that means it stays on the wheat and you ingest it! That sort of defeats the purpose of taking wheatgrass for you health if it is covered in chemicals like that dangerous one by Monsanto.

What is Good Quality Organic Compost?

Quality compost is not made from filth!

You really need to know your sources for compost these days. There is a new movement now whereby ‘free compost’ is available to people, but you’d be sick if you knew the waste that goes into that so-called ‘compost’, real filth that suddenly gets deemed fit to grow your food in, I don’t think so! Good compost will actually have a nutritional status, and what goes in is very much what comes out!

Organic Worm Cast Compost

Even when it comes to organic compost brands, I was once using an organic brand that sent a shiver down my spine when I opened the bag, as it was so moldy and filthy looking and did not look like anything I should have in my kitchen! So then I tried some worm cast compost from a company in Donegal that is a dedicated wheatgrass company and OMG when I opened that first bag of compost it was love at first sight! They are Living Green, and supply many garden centers around Ireland, as well as having an online shop which delivers by courier to your door, which is a good deal if you are ill and don’t have the energy to be trekking off to buy it then manage the lifting process somehow.

Seed Trays and Shelving

You can see from my pics here [coming soon] how I can produce a large amount of wheatgrass (aiming for a tray or two a day) in a neat and tidy and very functional way.

Basic Seed Trays Are Fine

The seed trays are just standard seed trays that you will get anywhere. I’ve taken a course at The Living Food Centre UK by Elaine Bruce [a former student of Ann Wigmore] and they use seed trays with holes in them, and have another seed tray with no holes under them to catch the water. That system did not work so well for me, either it was too hard find enough seed trays without holes [I was living in a rural place and money was tight at the time] or the water was pooling and creating another job for me to do by having to constantly empty the bottom tray. So I opted for using sandwich bags, Supervalu medium size cut open do fine. I know, I know, plastic, environment, leaching – well wheatgrass grows too fast for the leaching to be a problem and you can always wash and recycle them. In my case as a very ill person I decided having wheatgrass by the best means possible was what I had to do, and it worked out fine.

Standard Greenhouse Shelving Works Great in the Kitchen

Where do you put 10 trays of wheatgrass in various stages of growth then? Well my housing has been pretty cramped so a way that fits in easily to any decor is those nice green metal greenhouse trays. I’ve seen Elaine Bruce put wooden shelving in her windows, fine it you like that. I like the easier and more portable option that also did not block the light as my kitchen also tends to be my office and living room!

Cost of One Tray of Wheatgrass Per Day When You Grow it Yourself?

30 Euros Gives You a Tray of Wheatgrass a Day for a month!

I calculate that about 30 euros a month gets me 30 trays or more of wheatgrass, easily one per day. Considering they currently sell for around ten euros per tray – AMAZING VALUE!!!

Also, if you’ve seen the frozen wheatgrass at the stores, huge money, something like 18 euros for a few shots that could have come out of 1-2 trays you grow yourself for 2 euros!

500g wheatgrass costs approx. 1.50 euros, maybe 12 bags of this for the month
compost is coming in at under 10 euros for the month
one off setup costs are seed trays around 3 euros each [or less]; shelving was the most expensive part for me but worth it to have an effective production line that looks neat in my kitchen, they are abotu 40 euros in Argos.
The sandwich bags to line the trays amount to about 3 euros for the month, such is the price of convenience 🙂

Alternatives to Growing Wheatgrass, Buy It!

Jurassic Greens, by Christopher Original Formulas

If you genuinely can’t grow wheatgrass for whatever reason then the one alternative that I suggest that I KNOW is good quality and effective to give energy to someone is:

Jurassic Greens, a Christopher’s Original Formula, by The School of Natural Healing. It contains the freeze dried juice of organic Kamut grass [an ancient wheat], along with freeze dried barley grass juice and alfalfa.

Aconbury Sprouts

This is a UK company who ship trays of wheatgrass in various stages of growth, as well as all wheatgrass growing supplies – it is worth taking a look at this company even if you are outside the UK and Ireland/ Europe, as they will inspire you as to what is possible in terms of grasses and sprouts 🙂

**Remember: Wheatgrass is Gluten Free!

So many people are gluten sensitive now or dealing with autoimmune conditions. Remember these wheat and barley grass juices will not have any gluten in them! Just make sure when you are cutting your wheatgrass that you don’t also include a wheat seed in with the cut grass as you go to juice or blend it 🙂

Next I discuss the best type of Wheatgrass juicer, it may surprise you that it is not the most expensive one 😉