Here's how to grow wheatgrass at home and enjoy its benefits - 24 Mantra Organic

Wheatgrass is the newly sprouted first leaves of the common wheat plant, often used as a food, beverage, or dietary supplement.

People serve wheatgrass freeze-dried or fresh, and thus it differs from wheat malt, which is dried convectively. Wheatgrass is allowed to grow higher than wheat malt.

While purchasing any food item, you must prefer organic food as it promotes a host of tangible health benefits.

Benefits of wheatgrass

The health benefits of wheatgrass are magnificent enough to entice people to include it in their everyday diet. Here are some of them which you can enjoy after regularly consuming wheatgrass.

• Nutrient-dense & Rich in Vitamins

Wheatgrass is rich in iron, calcium and magnesium. It is also vitamin-rich, especially vitamins A, C and E and contains eight vital amino acids, which our bodies cannot produce and thus have to be ingested.

• Presence of Antioxidants

Wheatgrass also contains several antioxidants that prevent cell damage, diminish oxidative stress and even protect against heart disease, cancer and numerous other health issues.

• Great Source for Living Chlorophyll

Wheatgrass juice is one of the richest sources of chlorophyll available and contains around 70% chlorophyll.

Some benefits of chlorophyll include reducing inflammation, building blood, deodorizing, detoxifying, energizing, preventing cancer, weight loss and many more. Wheatgrass derives most of its benefits from chlorophyll.

• Regulate Blood Sugar and Cholesterol

Wheatgrass regulates blood sugar levels in people with diabetes. This quality is prevalent because wheatgrass contains compounds that leave an impact analogous to insulin.

These compounds lower the glycemic index of foods, rendering a positive impact on controlling blood sugar and elevating good HDL cholesterol levels.

You must practice the daily consumption of organic foods as they adhere to international standards of healthy meals. Organic farming safeguards the environment because of its eco-friendly cultivation practices.

• Promote weight loss

Because of the presence of thylakoids in wheatgrass, the feeling of being full and satiety gets triggered as it suppresses the hormones that induce hunger.

Other Benefits

Wheatgrass can also slow down ageing, neutralize toxins, be used as antibacterial and antiseptic, boost respiratory function, remove acne and scarring.

It can also comfort a sore throat, regulate your bowels and can also be used by patients undergoing chemo to combat the side-effects of the treatment and more.

Methods To Use Wheatgrass

You can use wheatgrass to supercharge different juices, smoothies, various beverages, salad dressings, and a variety of other options.

Fresh wheatgrass juice is not used merely for ingesting. You can also add wheatgrass juice in your bath to relieve your skin, diminish scarring and acne, and enjoy clear skin texture.

Some people also use it to massage into the scalp to reduce dandruff, apply topically to soothe bites and scratches, and soften hands and skin.

You must note that if you include wheatgrass into your diet now, it can slightly upset your stomach if your body is not accustomed to its detoxification.

To counter this, you can initially include a 1/2 shot (30ml) into your diet to begin with and increase the amount with time, or else you might encounter side effects that include a headache, fatigue, and nausea.

How to grow wheatgrass at home?

This guide will explain to you the details on how to grow wheatgrass at home, with and without soil.

You must note that once you have cut the wheatgrass, you can even let it grow another time for more wheatgrass juice. However, after that, health benefits will weaken as you regrow it.

Requirements

Here are the basic requirements necessary for wheatgrass cultivation –

1. Organic wheatgrass seeds
2. Water
3. Sprouting container/glass jar
4. Soil (if growing with soil)

Once you have gathered all the requirements, follow these steps to know how to grow wheatgrass at home.

Sprout the seeds 

This step is the same for cultivating wheatgrass with or without soil.

1. Rinse the seeds, place them in a sprouting container and cover using a mesh.
2. Add one cup of water and let it stay soaked for eight hours.
3. Drain and rinse it well.
4. Load the tray with water, invert it, and drain the water through the mesh.
5. Let it remain upside down.

Rinse the seeds about 2-3 times a day for 2-3 days. You will observe tiny sprouts appear within 2-3 days.

How to grow wheatgrass at home with soil?

When you first observe the sprouts, it is time to plant them. Follow these steps to get started.

1. Introduce 1 inch (2.5 cm) organic compost/planting soil into a tray that has holes at the bottom and begin watering it.
2. Sprinkle wheatgrass seeds across the soil.
3. Cover the tray using a lid or a newspaper as the darkness will facilitate faster growth.
4. Spray the seeds with water every day.
5. Raise the lid/newspaper when the grass hits about 1-2 inches (2.5-5 cm) and keep watering daily.

You can begin harvesting when the grass attains about 5 inches (12 cm) of height. Cut the grass near the root.

How to grow wheatgrass at home without soil?

Growing wheatgrass without soil is an economical and cleaner alternative. It also requires more hands-on hassles in terms of the growth process.

However, growing wheatgrass devoid of the nutrients provided by an excellent quality organic compost will lead to the plant having fewer nutrients.

Methodology

Growing wheatgrass without soil is somewhat similar to the method that involves soil. First, use the same procedure to sprout the wheat.

After this, the method varies and involves the following steps.

1. Spread out your seeds across the bottom of the tray and cover with water.
2. Cover the top of the container using cloth for the first night to induce a warmer, darker region to facilitate better growth.
3. Repeat the process of rinsing and draining the seeds a few times each day, as this will help you ward off mould.
4. After a few days, you will notice that the shoots have started to grow. By the eighth or ninth day, you can harvest them.

You can then consume the freshly harvested wheatgrass to juice right after harvesting and drink.

You can also keep the fresh juice in the fridge for over a week; although, it might lose its nutritional value with time.

Final Words

With a plethora of health benefits offered by wheatgrass, several people would feel tempted to include it in their diets; however, purchasing it from the market can rapidly burn through your grocery budget.

Follow this step-by-step guide to realize the methods to grow wheatgrass at home with or without soil, and you will start enjoying its benefits in no time and at minimal costs.

Regular consumption of organic food can protect your children and family from cancer-inducing pesticides.

Try 24 Mantra Organic’s Wheat Grass powder and savour the taste of organic goodness.