Health Blog April Archive

Wheat Grass almost ready at 5-1/2 Days

By Wilbur Corncob at 04/18/07 08:52

My wheat grass at 5-1/2 days is starting to look like I might have some good stuff to juice in a few days. So far the process has been pretty painless.

# Compared to the photo yesterday, its getting taller, greener and thicker.

Here is a better shot that shows the wheatgrass in the automatic sprouter. It is setup to spray water on the greens for 3 minutes every 3 hours. This picture was taken 2-1/2 hrs after the last spray. You can see the nice water droplets on the wheat grass. The sprouter is very quiet, however does make a slight hissing type noise when it turns on. I can hear it when watching TV and my cats are very excited and go running to the kitchen when it turns on. So far they are more interested with the water dripping out the drain and not what's inside. Hopefully, the smell of the wheat grass won't entice them into exploring inside the box.

Wheat Grass at 4-1/2 Days

At 4-1/2 days the my aeroponic grown wheatgrass is starting to look thicker, longer and greener. Making my mouth water for the taste of some wheat grass juice!

Compared to the 3-1/2 day old sprouts it not as distinctive of a difference.

Wheat Grass at 3-1/2 Days

At day 3-1/2 it's starting to look like grass. The sprouts changed from small white roots to green grass in the last day. Less than a week and it should be ready for juicing. You can also see the water droplets on the grass.

Here's the wheat seeds sprouting just 2-1/2 days after being put in the automatic sprouter, dry and unwashed. You can also see the water droplets on the tray.

Wheat Grass at 2-1/2 Days

Here's the wheat seeds sprouting just 2-1/2 days after being put in the automatic sprouter, dry and unwashed. You can also see the water droplets on the tray.

By comparison you can see the roots at 1-1/2 days. The roots have more than doubled in length. In no time it should start looking like wheat grass.

Seeds Germinating

After a day and a half the wheat seeds are germinating nicely. With a little luck it won't be another week and it will be ready to juice.

The lentels are also nicely germinating. It will be just another day or two till these are ready.

Ready for Some Wheatgrass

After only a little frustration my automatic sprouter is ready to make me some wheatgrass. I started the first batch last night and we'll see how it goes. I'm trying a bunch of different seeds here.

It only took a couple hours to put together and incase there were any leaks I tried it in the laundry room first. Everything went well.

My cat had to be the first to check out my installation in the kitchen. Cat is quite pleased with it. Not sure what will happen when my wife gets home!

Here's a better look in the kitchen. It drains right into the kitchen sink. The small green hose comes in from a window from the laundry room where the timer and value is.

My first frustration with the project was waiting over a week to get the parts through customs and paying way too much in taxes. The second frustration came when I had everything together and couldn't hook up the water hose as the threads were wrong. A quick trip to the hardware store fixed that, though I fear the new coupling will split apart under the water pressure.

Now I just have to wait for my first batch of seeds to sprout.

If you missed my previous message I got the parts (and idea) from EatSprouts

Automatic Wheatgrass Sprouter

Now the fun begins. I had originally ordered the sprouter ebook plans in hopes of an easier way of growing wheat grass.

Using a tray with dirt worked, but I had terrible mold and my one littler helper (cat) really enjoyed eating, digging, ummm and I think other stuff in my wheat grass trays. With a small apartment I didn't have too many options for where I could put the trays... and one helper has now turned into two!

The plans and the concept looked good and in a covered plastic box the cat problem is resolved, but connecting it to water and a drain presents a different challenge.

After putting it off for a couple months (and Val from eatsprouts suggests to make a specific plan, schedule for when you will have your sprouter complete so that doesn't happen) I decided it would be easier to order their kit.

The alternative would have been pounding the pavement looking for the parts and trying to figure out the Spanish words for everything. I am trying to be more lazy in my life and that didn't fit so well.

The order processing went well and the kit shipped promptly. It even arrived promptly. Then it took way too much money and time to actually pick up the package at the post office.

They apparently decided the simple plan of just charging 60% import taxes gave way to the hassle the customer if your package is worth more than US$100.

Pictured here (click on it for a bigger view) is what I got... the big plastic box I bought at a hardware store. I got the electronic timer, value, misters, tubing and some miscellenous connectors. Also you can see helper #2 is more excited about the project than me!

Now comes the real challenge... putting it all together!

Automatic Wheatgrass maker from EatSprouts

What I really like about the stuff from Eat Sprouts is that it is perfect for the lazy people like me. Pop the seeds in and wait.

I purchased the automatic sprouter plans from them (under ten bucks) and it gives you all the information you could possibly want. After pondering it a bit I decided to order their mister kit which should arrive next week or so.

Unlike other wheat grass growing systems this one is basically aeroponic. It automatically mists the seeds (and sprouts once they start) for a few minutes every couple hours.

Once you get the sprouter built (or you can order one ready to use) this looks like the simplest and most effective method to grow wheatgrass and other sprouts.

Wheatgrass from Monocot

I haven't ordered anything from monocot yet. However, they have an excellent article on growing wheatgrass and the benefits some have attained.

They also sell a book, seeds and juicer. The really nice thing about wheat grass is that it's really cheap and good for you.