How I Grew My Own Wheatgrass at Home (Quick & Dirty Method)

Buy some organic wheatberries. I got mine from the local organic and health food store. About RM10 per kilo. I used about 3 handfuls of wheatberries.

Day 1: Soak overnight in filtered water.

Day 2 and Day 3: For the next 2 days, rinse the wheatberries every 12 hours or so, and keep covered with a moist cloth.

Day 3-4: When you see tiny tails shooting out of the berries, move these to trays containing potting mix. I recycled some food containers that would otherwise be thrown away.

Day 5: These look like little, pale spring onions.

Day 5-12: Place the tray where it will receive some indirect light, for example your kitchen window or front porch, or balcony. Make sure there are no animals that might disturb the tray, or even worse, burrow in it! :-)

Day 7. Looks promising :-)

Water everyday. Either spray/mist lightly, or carefully pour water at the edge of the tray. Don't overwater, unless you have to be away from home for a few days.

Day 12: When you see the beginnings of a second shoot on your wheatgrass sprout, you are ready to harvest!

Day 12: ready to harvest!

I harvest a couple of inches above the roots for safety reasons. Don't want to get any dirt or nasties into my wheatgrass.

I harvested 1 and a half containers today. The slightly longer grass was from when I harvested yesteday. 

Then I juice them using the manual juicer below:

Yield: 1 1/2 tablespoons, according to my measuring cup here.

Smell: Mossy.

Taste: Slightly leafy but overwhelmingly sweet. I drank it neat, no addition of sugar, lemon or water.

Verdict: A bit tedious having to rinse and water but after a while it gets easier. Now I might try having several staggered batches going on at the same time. I might start a new batch every time I get to the point where I move the wheatberries onto potting mix. So fresh wheatgrass everyday.

Warning: If you are new to green juices, it is a good idea to start slow, because excess green juice can cause diarrhea. I started at 1/2 tablespoon, and am slowly working my way up to 2 tablespoons or more. Also drink on an empty stomach so the juice can be digested quickly. I once drank wheatgrass juice after lunch and I had a LOT of flatulence.

Main reference: Wheatgrass Greenhouse

Thank You Ummu Aidan :-)

These were waiting in my mailbox today :-)

A big barak Allahu feekum to Ummu Aidan of Aku di Fiji Islands for her kind gift of these not-available-where-I-am seeds :-)))))) Am so excited to find this after a long day of hard travelling. Insha Allah these will be sown soon!

Tremulously Tuberous: Carrots, Radish, Turnip?

Travelling and life got in the way of gardening pursuits. Also I was distracted when Miss Poogey, a cat who hangs around for the free food, brought her kittens to live with us. Yes. There are signs of my pots and styrofoam boxes being dug up by these curious kitties. Unfortunately I don't have a good picture of them because they are extremely unfriendly. One of them bit me when I took hold of her/him/it, and all I see of them are their little tails as they scurry away to hide from scary ole me. 

Yesterday I finally sowed another batch of carrots:

• Topweight
• Mixed Heritage
• Dragon
• Early Scarlett Horn

So today I thought I'd update on the other carrots here in my humble garden.

My BBS009 F1 hybrid carrots from Serbajadi have flowered, and gone to seed. There are about 4 blooms from this single flowering carrot.

Topweight carrots under the shade of a Rangoon creeper. I really think they need the sunshine. 

A potato that started sprouting on my kitchen counter continued its existence sharing a spot with a tomato plant. I did not plan this companion planting buddy but their roots were so closely intwined in their previous pot, that I just moved both of them without disturbing the roots too much.

Sweet potato, of the purple variety, I think. Aunty Kan gave me the cuttings, I stuck them in this styrofoam container, and now they are spilling outwards. Also bloomed a few times, a light purple flower similar to morning glories.

I think these are Paris Market carrots and parsnips.

Purple Dragon carrots in their purplish-coloured pot. I am not sure why this one has its leaves spread out.

To be honest I've forgotten what these are: Snowball Turnips or Watermelon radish? Help! Next to it is a tiny heirloom beetroot.

Heritage mixed carrots in a pot that si perhaps too small. Poor things.

Topweight carrots again, in a pot. Huge pot. The tiny Sergeant from Ali Baba Bujang Lapuk can easily fit in.