Wheat Grass

Wheat grass has been traced back as far as ancient Egypt. Ancient Egyptians held wheat grass as sacred due to the positive affect on health and vitality. Legend claims that the goddess Isis brought wheat and barley grains to the people of Egypt from Lebanon.

Charles Schnabel in 1930 was experimenting with food mixtures in attempt to increase chicken health and egg production for winter months. He was unsuccessful in his attempts until he noticed the hens searching and consuming cereal grasses when they were available. He was amazed to find out when he had included wheat grass and oat grass in the chicken feed their health boosted significantly as well as egg production went up 150% per chicken. Further research shows that wheat grass improves reproductive ability and milk production in cows. Human infants with mothers drinking milk from wheat grass fed cows developed faster than infants with mothers not drinking wheat grass fed cow milk.

“15 lbs of wheat grass is equal in overall nutritional value to over 350 lbs of ordinary vegetables.”

–Charles F. Schnabel

Wheat grass is believed to have many unexplained natural healing qualities. It is well known that wheat grass contains large amounts of chlorophyll (the “blood” of plants), which is very similar to hemoglobin, the molecule that carries oxygen in the blood. Most of us can agree that 'nature made' is better than 'man made'. Vitamins and minerals are absorbed easier when they occur naturally in foods as opposed to vitamins.

You too can have all the benefits of wheat grass in your very own home. You don't need a large garden plot or even a back patio. All you need is a container, some soil, some fresh wheat, and a bit of sunlight. Wheat grass is very easy to grow, even if you don't have a green thumb. This is a great activity to get your kids involved in as well because there is a very high success rate. Wheat grass can be grown on a large or small scale, for this article, we will demonstrate how to start a small crop of Wheat Grass.


Step 1: Select a suitable container for your wheat grass. It is best to choose a container that is capable of draining excess water to prevent your wheat grass from getting moldy.

Step 2: Fill your container with organic soil.Step 3: Sprinkle rinsed wheat on top of the soil and thoroughly moisten. Remember to water each day making sure to keep the soil moist.


Step 4: Place your container in indirect sunlight and wait for some sprouts.

At first, it is pretty sparse.
But with time it will fill out.
When the grass is around 6-8 inches tall it is time for a haircut, regular scissors will do just fine! (do not attempt cutting your wheat grass with hair clippers) As long as you keep the grass watered and add some nutrients to the soil, you will get many crops of wheat grass. Not only can you enjoy the beautiful lush green grass indoors, but you can benefit from it nutritionally as well. Here are just a few of the ways you can use it.

• Add it to your bread or muffins

• Include it in your smoothies

• Try adding it into your pizza dough

• Feed it to your chickens to help with egg production

Experiment with it where ever you want!

Have you ever grown wheat grass and what do you use it for?

~Marisa

* first image of wheat grass is from Wikipedia